Welcome to the King’s Seat Community Archaeology Project Blog. Here you can read the latest news from the project including our excavation dig diary which will be coming very soon as it’s only 7 days now until we start our first season of excavations on the hillfort.
Preparations for the dig have been stepping up apace this week at PKHT and also on site with tree and lower lying vegetation clearance taking place to prepare the areas where the trenches will be going in. We have 5 trenches planned which we hope to open over the duration of the project and this year we’ll be starting with Trenches 1-3.
Keep checking back here for more updates as the Schools programme gets started next week and then deturfing!
Volunteer with PKHT and Unlock the Hidden Secrets of King’s Seat Hillfort, Dunkeld!
We’re delighted to announce the launch of Perthshire’s latest community archaeology project. The King’s Seat Hillfort Community Archaeology Project is an exciting new venture that we’re embarking on in partnership with Dunkeld and Birnam Historical Society to find out more about this curiously named hill to the east of Dunkeld.
Project Background
Known as 'The Fort of the Caledonians', the hillfort of King’s Seat is situated on a prominent hill on a major bend in the River Tay. With such a dominating position in Strath Tay, King's Seat is not just a dramatic geographical feature in the landscape but a fascinating choice of location for human activity in the past.
PKHT was approached in November 2015 by members of the Dunkeld and Birnam community who were concerned about the lack of access to the top of their local hill fort, and the impact that dense rhododendron and tree cover was having on the condition of the archaeological site. Initial vegetation removal by volunteers in 2016 revealed features that have been hidden secrets until now such as a large outcrop of rock which may offer a clue to the naming of the hill.
The King’s Seat Hillfort Community Archaeology Project is managed by out Heritage Officer Sarah Malone and is a Citizen-science project funded by Heritage Lottery, the Gannochy Trust, and Scottish & Southern Electric Community Fund. It is an exciting opportunity for professional archaeologists to work alongside volunteers and students to archaeologically excavate a portion of the hillfort to better understand the impact that vegetation is having and increase knowledge of this mysterious, unstudied site.
Get Involved
We have a variety of interesting opportunities for anyone from the local community interested in volunteering with the project
Even if digging isn’t your thing, there’s topographic survey to get involved in plus archival research and the chance to participate in place-name research. Here we’re hoping to help reveal more about the intangible heritage of the hillfort and its surrounding environs.
Local schools are involved with classroom-based lessons and site-based skills workshops already scheduled for September 2017. It’s also hoped that the imaginative work produced by pupils can be incorporated into interpretation materials.
The project will be running for three years with the first spades breaking turf this September for a two week excavation (7-19 September 2017).
If you’re interested in getting involved in the project then log-on and sign-up at www.pkht.org.uk/projects/kings-seat to express your interest. Guided walks and site tours will be taking place throughout this period, more information is available in our Perth and Kinross Archaeology Year Programme.
