White Caterthun

A historical perspective, drawn from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885.

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Caterthun, White and Brown, two hills in the N of Menmuir parish, Forfarshire, 5½ miles NW of Brechin. White Caterthun (976 feet) is so steep that its top can be gained only from one side; and, as seen from a distance, resembles the frustrum of a cone. An oval Caledonian fort on it, measuring 436 feet by 200 feet, consists of loose stones round the crest of the hill, with a deep outer ditch; includes near its E side remains of a rectangular building; and was defended, 200 feet lower down, by another double intrenchment. Brown Caterthun (945 feet), ¾ mile to the NE, has also a Caledonian fort, consisting of several concentric circles, but inferior in strength to the first; it takes its designation ' Brown' from the colour of the turf ramparts, whilst its neighbour was named from its rings of white stone. See vol. i., pp. 84,85, of Hill Burton's History of Scotland (ed. 1876).

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Note: This text has been made available using a process of scanning and optical character recognition. Despite manual checking, some typographical errors may remain. Please remember this description dates from the 1880s; names may have changed, administrative divisions will certainly be different and there are known to be occasional errors of fact in the original text, which we have not corrected because we wish to maintain its integrity. This information is provided subject to our standard disclaimer

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