Trusty's Hill

54°52′43.97″N 4°12′3.42″W / 54.8788806°N 4.2009500°W / 54.8788806; -4.2009500OS grid referenceNX58895601TypehillfortLength29 m (95 ft)Width17 m (56 ft)Area0.04 ha (0.099 acres) (summit enclosure)HistoryFoundedc. 600 ADAbandonedearly 7th centurySite notesExcavation dates1960, 2012
Scheduled monument
Designated19 January 1926Reference no.SM1100

Trusty's Hill is a small vitrified hillfort about a mile to the west of the present-day town of Gatehouse of Fleet, in the parish of Anwoth in the Stewartry district of Dumfries and Galloway.

The site is notable for a carved Pictish stone located near the entrance to the fort, one of only a handful of such stones found outside the core Pictish heartland of North-East Scotland. Recent (2012) archaeological investigation has also found evidence of feasting and high-status metalworking at the site, and what has been interpreted as a constructed ceremonial processional route. Together these have led to speculation that the site might have been an important centre or location of royal inaugurations for a Brythonic kingdom centred in Galloway and South-West Scotland, circa 600 AD — perhaps to be identified with the elusive north British kingdom of Rheged, which gained greatest prominence under its legendary leader Urien at a similar time in the late 6th century before apparently utterly disappearing in the early 7th century.

Description and history

  • 1856 drawing of the symbols on the stone. To the left is a double disc with Z-rod, to the right a fish monster and a sword. The head with antennae is a 19th-century addition.
    1856 drawing of the symbols on the stone. To the left is a double disc with Z-rod, to the right a fish monster and a sword. The head with antennae is a 19th-century addition.
  • The stone in 2015, protected by an iron grille.
    The stone in 2015, protected by an iron grille.

Further reading

  • Ronan Toolis and Christopher Bowles (2017), The Lost Dark Age Kingdom of Rheged: the Discovery of a Royal Stronghold at Trusty’s Hill, Galloway. Oxford: Oxbow Books, ISBN 9781785703119. (Publisher's website; JSTOR; Google Books). Official published report of the 2012 investigation.
  • Interim report, October 2012
  • Historic Environment Scotland. "Trusty's Hill, Anwoth (63641)". Canmore.
  • Ronan Toolis (May 2017), Rheged rediscovered: uncovering a lost British kingdom in Galloway, Current Archaeology, 327
  • James Hoare (31 January 2017), The Lost Kingdom of Rheged: What the Trusty’s Hill dig can tell us about Celtic Britain, History Answers
  • Discovery of Lost Dark Age Kingdom In Galloway, Guard Archaeology, 15 January 2017
  • The Galloway Picts Project, Excavation website
  • A Window on Dark Age Galloway, Gatehouse of Fleet community and visitor website, Gatehouse Development Initiative.