THE EXCAVATION OF COULL CASTLE, ABERDEENSHIRE. 45 IV. THE EXCAVATION OF COULL CASTLE, ABERDEENSHIRE. BDOUGLAYW S SIMPSON, M.A., F.S.A.ScoT. HISTOKICAI L INTRODUCTION. The ruins of Coull Castle stand on a prominent knoll of red granite abou yard0 20 t se paris soutth f ho h kir f thako t e namesouthth n i ,- eastern corneHowe th f Cromarf eo ro positios It . mosa s ni t command- viee oneg wTh in . embrace e entirth s mose eth Howef t o beautifue on , l districts in Aberdeenshire; a fertile basin enclosed by a fine range of hills which, commencin Mortlicn gi h (1248 feet), immediately behine dth castle, sweeps round by the north through Pressendye (2032 feet) to culminate westwar noble th n dei mountai Morvef no n (2862feet)—Byron's "Morve f Snow"—whoso n e great buld finan ke outlinee (seeth n i n background, fig. 15) lend character to the whole district. Through this Howe flow e Tarlanth s d Burn, sweepin a dee n gi p narrow gully past e westh e kirtd castle th sidan kt presenf A o e. e burth t n appear, a s more formidable defence to the castle on this side than it really was in the Middle Ages, for its channel was deepened and canalised early in the last century, in order to drain the flats below the village of Tarland.1 Previou thao st t operation these flats were largely marshlande ar d an , still known as Bogmore. A yet earlier stage in the physiography of the district is revealed by the large trees—oak, fir, and alder—which are frequently dug up in the soil of this ancient marsh, sometimes at a depth of 8 feet below the present surface.2 . MiddletoW r 1M n Stewart, Aberdeen, inform froe sm m private sources that this drainage s effectewa 1840n Statisticali w dn th I eNe . Account parise th r hfo (vol. xii . 958)p . , written ni August 1842, reference is made to the operation. "There is a considerable extent of level ground in the centre of the parish, called Bogmore. It consists of alluvial deposit on moss. At one generallperios wa t di y covered with water formed an , disagreeableda , unhealthy swampy B . recent drainin greatee gth s beeha r nt pari broughf o t t into cultivation remaindee th , s beeha r n converted into good pasture, and the climate has been greatly improved." Even previous to this work of drainage, however, the bottom-land cannot all have been marsh, for we are told by Spalding (Memorialls of the Trubles in Scotland and in England, vol. ii. p. 472) that on Sunday, llth May 1645, the Covenanting Lieutenant-General Baillie "marchis to Cromar, and campis betuix kirkie th t Coulf s o Tarlan.d lan " Statisticalw Ne e th n 1I Account, cited above, occur followine sth g passag appeark oa e e": s Th havo t e once flourished here specimea , f enormouno s size having e beeth n o recentlp u g ydu far Weste£ mo o largr Coulltw ed beaman , f oako s , rudely joined togethe blocky b r f woodo s , were lately foun pieca n di f mosse o y ground nea manse.e greaa th s ri tt I pit" y tha exace tth t place of this discovery had not been specified, as the description of mortised woodwork at once suggests a crannog. 46 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F O S , DECEMBE , 192310 R . indebtem a Charler 1 M o dt s B. Bisset, M.A. followine j B.Sc.th r fo , g geological note on the site of the castle:— "The castl buils bosa ei f n granitio so t c rock which occurs wher flae eth t land of the Howe of Cromar begins to rise and grade into the drift-covered slopee Hil f th Mortlicho lf o s rock-mase Th . marginaa s i s l offshoot froma tongue of granite extending roughly from Tillylodge to the summit of Mortlich Hill t appearI . rocka s sa y eminenc e valleth n i ey whic Tarlane hth d Burn, emerging from the flat, has cut in the surrounding glacial deposits. The burn traverse e rocsteep-wallea sth n ki d gorgee entrancth t a , whico et t formehi d leavinlocha n O .gorge gth t forspreaei o t mt marsh—soma dou e indications of which still remain. The loch and marsh have been drained by an artificial deepening of the stream's channel, apparently to a depth of about 20 feet. Thus the site stands out from the valley side, and sloped steeply down, in its former condition e north-west th loca n o ho t , rock-gorga o t , e occupiea y db stream on the south-west and south, and to marshy ground on the south-east. On the north and north-east the rock-surface slopes up and merges into gently rising ground. Artificial protectio rock-cue s bee t herth nha ngo y eb t ditch. The site, thoughighese th t hno t e immediatpointh n i t e neighbourhoodt no s i , actually dominate othey an ry db eminence . Building heighy an f o ts would ensur adequatn ea e l directions.vieal wn i " oldese Coulth f to lChristiae Kiron s ki n site Aberdeenshiren si , being a foundatio t NathalaS f o n n (die h Januar8t d y 678), whose centrf o e influence was at Tullich, further up the Dee valley, where a fine collection of Celtic sculptured stones still mark earle sth y importanc place.e th f eo 1 Between 1181199d 8an , Willia e Lyomth n grante e churcdth f Cuho n i l Mar, wit s landshit , teinds, oblations foundationw ne s , hi etc.e o th t ,, great Abbey of St Thomas the Martyr at Arbroath. The present kirk dates from 1792 t occupiebu , e ancienth s correctls ti sited an , y oriented, 2 or nearly so (8' S. of E.). Its rather fine Renaissance belfry belongs to the previous church, and houses a Dutch bell dating from 1642.3 At Coull, as elsewhere, we see the mediaeval church and castle side by side, representing respectively the ecclesiastical and the civil nuclei of the Fo1 r St Nathalan and Tullich Kirk see my article in The Deeside Field, pp. 16-8. The Breviar Aberdeef yo n says that Nathalan founde e churchedth f TullicM,so Bothelim (Bethelnie =Both-Nathalan e cel r churcth ,o l f Nathalan)ho d Colle.an , Bisho . ForbeP . pA s (Kalendars of Scottish Saints, p. 419) says that Colle is Cowie, near Stonehaven, and quotes a rhyme said amone us fishermee n i g th e b o t n ther regarn ei "o dt Saint Nauchlan's hoard e t Cowie"a th n O . other hand, the "View of the Diocese of Aberdeen " (1732), paraphrasing the Aberdeen Breviary, says that Nathalan "built the churches of Bethelny, Cowl, and Tullich," and elsewhere states that "Cowl Churc s dedicatehwa t Nachlan"—S o dt Collection Shirese th n o s of Aberdeend an Banff, pp. 131, 633. The evidence associating Coull with St Nathalan, apart altogether from the geographical probability, seems fairly good. * Antiquities Shirese th f f Aberdeeno o e namevillcse Th th d Banff, n f i . san o 27 . p vol . ii . the parish are thus given in a marginal note on the charter: Ester Tochres, Wester Toohres, Ochter Cule, Galaun, Davata de Kule. The inscription on the bell is as follows: " SOLI DEO GLORIA • MICHAEL BURGERHU YS M(e1) F(ecit) 1642." A shield bears the Ross arms (a chevron between three water-budgets), with e inscriptioth n "INSIGNIA• ALEXANDRI COV• E D •L ME• • ROSSII L • DONANTIS.MI • N •I " E EXCAVATIOTH F COULNO L CASTLE, ABERDEENSHIRE. 47 parochial organisation introduced by the Anglo-Norman immigrants into Scotland in the twelfth century. Close eastward (see map, fig. 1) is the far f mMaino f Coullso , representin e anciength t demesne land attached e castleth o t ; further dow e Tarlannth Mile df th e o sitl Bur f th eo s ni Coull; while at about three-quarters of a mile to the south-east, on a spur of Mortlich, is the Gallowhill (seen in the background, fig. 21), a prominent knoll upon whose summit the gibbet, standing starkly forth with its ghastly burden against the morning sky, must have been a grim COULLCASTLE SKETCH-rtAP SHOWING SITES CONNECTED WITH I ANCIENT BARONY. ^ul W.DOUCLA....... t Fig. 1. Map of Coull Castle and Neighbourhood. constand an t reminder villeinse e Howee realitth th th o n f t f ,i o y,o "Baron's Law." The Castle of Coull was the great stronghold of the Durwards, the hereditary Door-wards (le Uissier, Hostiarius) of Scotland, the powerful family who in the middle of the thirteenth century held the destiny of kingdoe th theimn i r hands famile Th . y nam s properlewa Lundie yd n Fifeshire)(n ?i t theibu , r origit knownno s ni . They cam e Coulo et th s la result of a long dispute between Thomas de Lundin or le Durward and Duncan, Earl of Mar, from whom de Lundin claimed the earldom through mothers hi daughte,a Orabilaf ro , Countes firsr he f Mart s o d husband,an , 48 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F O S , DECEMBE , 1923R10 . Gilchrist. The dispute was settled apparently about 1228, and it seems tha e Durwardth t s then acquire dgreaa earldomr tMa portio e th , f no 1 including the southern half of the Howe of Cromar, and stretching in the one direction northwards to Alford and in the other eastward to Skene.