Ok now I guess many think my story about Vikings on Pict Island is bullshit? Do not see the old BBC documentary it is so wrong I almost throw up. Vikings had long control and power in France example which was not even mentioned in BBC so called crap documentary.
Viking Raid on Picts Quote: AS the Vikings sailed away, they probably thought they'd done a good day's work.
The Pictish fort behind them was ruined and ablaze, its defenders put to the sword and anything worth looting had been thoroughly pillaged.
But now archaeologists examining the remains of the 10th-century settlement at Burghead on the Moray coast say the attack by the Northmen has actually helped preserve the site and ensure it could be studied by future generations.
A team probing the ruins have been amazed by the detail of the structures left behind, which include a Pictish longhouse and a huge timber-laced wall which would have stood more than six metres high.
The fort at Burghead is believed to have been one of the most powerful created by the Picts, and was the largest of its kind in Scotland. The raid which brought about its destruction probably spelled the end for a way of life for Pictish life on the promontory, and little archaeological work has been undertaken there as it was believed all significant evidence was destroyed when the building of the modern town commenced in 1805.
However, a team from the University of Aberdeen led by Dr Gordon Noble, head of archaeology at the University, returned to Burghead in April to continue excavations at the fort and have made a series of startling discoveries.
Dr Noble explains: “We are fortunate to have the descriptions of the site written by Hugh Young in 1893. He describes a lattice work of oak timbers which would have acted as an enormous defensive barrier and must have been a hugely complex feat of engineering in the early medieval period.
“In the years that have passed since he made his observations, the Burghead Fort has unfortunately been subject to significant coastal erosion and the harsh North Sea environment.
The level of preservation has allowed the archaeologists to take multiple samples for carbon dating which should provide new insights into the period when the fort was built, its construction and final destruction.
“The Picts were a huge influence on northern Scotland but because they left no written records, archaeology is essential in providing answers in regard to their lives, influence and culture,” Dr Noble added.
