Dun Da Lamh - Fort of the Two HandsThis Pictish fort is located in Speyside, overlooking the River S

Dun Da Lamh - Fort of the Two HandsThis Pictish fort is located in Speyside, overlooking the River Spey and a reservoir. It’s a place I have visited before a few years ago and I remembered it fondly, so it was a no-brainer to return for a hillfort tour. A sign at the foot of the hill tells you a little bit of the background story of Dun Da Lamh, which means ‘fort of the two hands’, likely referring to two distinct peaks within the perimeter of the fort. The first thing anybody would notice is a copious amount of stones, which have tumbled down from a wall, which must have been visible to people from miles away. Archaeologist who surveyed the fort believe it to be between 7.5 to 4 meters (24 to 13 feet) in width and 2 to 3 meters (6.5 to 10 feet) in height. It encircles the entirety of the hilltop. It must have looked like a castle to people back in the day. Despite all the stones that have tumbled down, a lot of the wall still remains. Unfortunately, there have been no formal excavations of the fort, just ground surveys. Hopefully, in the future they will get around to it. It is not a pressing matter, as the fort’s integrity is not threatened the way other historical remains can be, for example through ploughing fields or quarries which infringe on a hillfort. Despite that, no excavations are needed to confirm that somebody used to live here hundreds of years ago. There is no mistaking with all the evidence that the wall provides that someone up here was protecting themselves, likely a very important family clan, perhaps the chieftain of a tribe. The other members of the tribe would likely live around the bottom of the hill and come into the fort if protection was required. It is very hard to say which exact tribe lived here, as tribal Scottish history is murky at best. Some Roman writers attempted to outline the Scottish tribes, but likely would have missed a few. However it can be surmised that the occupation could have been anytime between the Iron Age and the Early Middle Ages.     Watch the hillfort tour here. -- source link

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