Ghosts of Nechtanesmere

Dunnichen Moss, looking north towards Dunnichen Hill (Photograph B Keeling).

On 20 May 685, at Dun Nechtin (‘Nechtan’s Fortress’), an English army from Northumbria was massacred while advancing deep into Pictish territory. As well as being associated with a fortification, the battle was also close to an area of wetland known as Linn Garan (‘Heron Pool’ in the ancient Brittonic language of the Picts) and as Nechtanesmere (Old English: ‘Nechtan’s Mire’).

The location of the battlefield is a ma...