Pictish carving, Trusty's Hill
The top of this bracken-covered hill is surrounded by the
tumbled walls of a once massive stone rampart. To the north east is
a huge rock-cut ditch. These defenses may be late prehistoric but
excavation has shown that the whole hill was re-fortified as a
British stronghold during the 5th or 6th century. The fort was
destroyed by fire in the 7th century, perhaps during attack by the
advancing Northumbrians.
On a rock outcrop close to the fort's entrance is a strange
carving, now protected by an iron cage. The design includes a
z-shape with two discs, an abstract animal and a human head. These
are typical Pictish symbols and this is the only known example of
Pictish carving in south-west Scotland. Why was this carving made
so far from the Pictish heartland? Does it commemorate a successful
raid by Pictish warriors?
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