Dooket Hill
| Dooket Hill | |
 | |
|---|---|
 Boath Doocot on Dooket Hill | |
| Grid reference: | NH91725562 |
| Location: | 57°34’40"N, 3°48’44"W |
| Information | |
| Website: | NTS 'Little Gems' |
Dooket Hill or Doocot Hill is a man-made mound in Nairnshire which overlooks the village of Auldearn; it is all that remains of a castle motte. The hill is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland.
This motte is believed to have been the site of the Royal Castle of Auldearn known to have been possessed by King William of Scotland (William the Lion, 1165–1214): the second charter of the Burgh of Inverness was signed at Auldearn by William the Lion some time after 1180 and the Earl of Ross submitted to Robert Bruce at the Castle of Auldearn in 1308, which therefore must have been in this vicinity. It is uncertain whether the royal castle was built by William the Lion.
In the centre of motte's ramparted area stands a 17th-century dovecot, which gives the hill its name.
Remains
The motte within measures 194 feet in diameter externally by 26 feet. The top of the motte is flat and enclosed by a rampart, and measures 105 feet east-west by 88 feet across.
The dovecot which stands incongruously in the centre of motte's ramparted area was built in the 17th century.
The outline of the ditch is still clearly visible. No trace of an outer ditch could be seen though, and the external slopes are bounded by a modern wall.
In 1965 an archaeological survey of on a site immediately to the southwest of Dooket Hill revealed several isolated pits and gullies but with no datable material, a connection with the construction of the castle can only be surmised.
A well-preserved embankment that encloses the summit of the motte may represent subsequent modification; perhaps as late as the Civil War when a royalist force dug in before the Battle of Auldearn in 1646. Quarrying within the motte may represent gun emplacements for the battle or simply where material was dug out to built the embankment.
Outside links
- Little Gems - National Trust for Scotland
