Posted on 08/23/2013 6:03:38 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
A medieval castle in the Highlands has revealed signs of its bloody past after a musket ball and cannonball were found by archaeologists.
The artifacts are the latest discoveries by the team tasked with excavating Mingary Castle in west Ardnamurchan, Lochaber, for the first time.
The castle is thought to be the best preserved 13th-century castle in Scotland.
The musket ball is just under an inch in diameter and has been described as being “extremely heavy” due to having a high lead content.
It is also slightly flattened on one side which historians believe indicates it came into contact with a solid surface such as the castle wall.
The musket ball and cannonball were both found in the moat.
The cannon ball was found in four pieces.
Previous finds from the excavation include the charred remains of the sandstone castle archway, which it is believed were destroyed in an attack by Alasdair MacColla Mac-Donald in 1645.
The castle was occupied by the Campbells at that time and it is thought Mac-Donald was acting on behalf of the Duke of Montrose.
Other finds include pottery, a barbed iron arrowhead, coins, bones and another cannonball.
The well-preserved castle near the most westerly point of the British mainland was a stronghold for several clan chiefs and the Lords of the Isles, who ruled the Scottish islands.
The site is believed to have close links to Somerled, a 12th-century leader of mixed Norse and Gaelic descent.
(Excerpt) Read more at scotsman.com ...
Now who would shoot a cannonball at a perfectly good castle?
A stone castle surrounded by a moat in the farthest reaches of Scotland had a “bloody past” in the 13th century. Shocked, I tell you! I never would have imagined that. My history books told me it was all a kumbaya socialist paradise back then until those Pilgrims left for America and ruined everything thereafter.
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
Montrose! "You are the shite, Montrose, and the flies upon it!"
The Mingary Castle blog is written by Jon Haylett, who lives in the local village of Kilchoan
That's a common problem with bullets everywhere. Thank God it wasn't depleted uranium.
82% lead, 18% carrot cake.
We’ve got lead balls
He’s got lead balls
Hoot man—she’s got lead balls
Our balls are always booncing
To the left and to the right
‘ware our lead balls.
The Campbells
EPA ALERT!!
EPA bans all castle visits
by US tourists due to high concentrations of lead.
This is Mingary Castle in west Ardnamurchan, Lochaber. Castle Arrrggggghhhhhhh is in West Lochaber, nearer to Bungerly Hippenstones, on the River Ribble.
I’m kind of confused. I thought the Campbell/MacDonald feud took place at Duntrune Castle, and that was where the ghostly piper was, too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duntrune_Castle
always cool stuff in history
a musket ball and cannonball
That’s it? Oh my.
Typical that historians would just jump to a conclusion based solely on opinion.
Wonder how much it would cost to restore the place?
Obviously served a ritualistic purpose. *<];-')
I’ll have to built one of those ...
LOL!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
