Crannogs, castles and lordly residences: new research and dating of crannogs in north-east Scotland

Abstract

This article outlines new research into the crannogs of north-east Scotland and dating of two crannogs in Loch Kinord, Upper Deeside, Aberdeenshire. The dating of the crannogs in Loch Kinord represents the first direct dating evidence for crannogs in the north-east of Scotland and indicates construction episodes at these crannogs in the last centuries of the first millennium ad. The radiocarbon dates, alongside various historic records, suggest that crannogs, including Castle Island in Loch Kinord, may have been significant nodes within early medieval landscapes of power in eastern Scotland.