Dunachton
Dunachton
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 Dunachton Moor |
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 Dunachton
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| Dunachton shown within the Badenoch and Strathspey area | |
| OS grid reference | NH820047 |
| • Edinburgh | 86 mi (138 km) SSE |
| • London | 417 mi (671 km) SSE |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | KINGUSSIE |
| Postcode district | PH21 |
| Dialling code | 01540 |
| Police | Scottish |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| EU Parliament | Scotland |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
Dunachton (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Neachdain) is an estate on the north-west shore of Loch Insh in Badenoch and Strathspey, in the Highlands of Scotland. It occupies land immediately to the north of the A9 road and General Wade's Military Road.
Recent research has suggested Dunachton as a potential location for the Battle of Dun Nechtain in 685 in which the Picts permanently secured independence from the Northumbrians.
The area around Dunachton shows evidence of human occupation in prehistory, with flintwork and whetstones being found in the vicinity.
The name Dunachton derives from Dun Neachdain the fort of Nechtan. Nechtan's identity is unknown, but it is likely he was one of several of the early Pictish Kings that went by that name.
Dunachton had some importance in the Early Medieval period. It is the site of an early class I Pictish stone which was discovered in 1870, having been recycled as a lintel stone in a farmstead building. Dunachton is first documented as 'Dwnachtan' in 1381, in reference to the 'capelle de Nachtan', the Chapel of Nechtan, which was dedicated to St Drostan.
Recent research has pointed to the possibility that Dunachton may have been the correct site of the Battle of Dun Nechtain in 685, when Bridei mac Bille, king of the Pictish kingdom of Fortriu defeated Ecgfrith of Northumbria, securing Pictish independence from Northumbria. The battle site was previously thought to be somewhere in the vicinity of Dunnichen in Angus, but reappraisal of the scant documentary evidence along with the reappraisal of Fortriu as being north of the Grampian Mountains has led to the suggestion that Dunachton is the true location.
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Wikipedia