Th’ Auld Torwood Castle Page

12/06/2026

The "Dark Age" of Torwood

I've talked a bit about the Picts, the Gaels and the Romans, but after this period, Torwood enters a bit of a "dark age". This doesn't mean anything particularly bad happened here, it's just a period of history where there isn't many surviving records.

We know the Romans left Scotland around 211CE, leaving Britannia altogether shortly after. The Romano-British people had been disarmed under Roman rule, so they called in mercenaries from the Germanic tribes to help speed up the Roman removals and return control to the Celtic people of Britain. Unfortunately this backfired, as after the Saxons, Jutes and Angles had ousted the Romans, they returned to rule over the disarmed British in the 5th Century. This likely didn't extend up as far as Torwood, but it is very likely that this area experienced plenty of refugees fleeing north.

The Angle Kingdom of Northumbria expanded in the 7th century, incorporating Lothian into its territory when King Oswui conquered Dùn Èideann (Edinburgh) from the Gododdin clan. Dumfries and Galloway were also added to the Kingdom of Northumbria. Though there are no specific mentions of the Torwood area, it is likely that such a huge shift in power affected the local area. The Angle occupation lasted around 30 years, before they were defeated at the battle of Dunbar in 685CE.

Beyond this, we know relatively little until our story picks up around the Scottish wars of Independence. The Kingdom of Alba was formed around the year 900CE, when the Gaels of the West and the Picts of the East united to begin modern Scotland. The Viking Invasions of the 9th and 10th Century shook things up, as they raided the coasts and eventually begun to settle. The Norman Conquest of England was so decisive that they did not even need to invade Scotland - within a century, the ruling class of Scotland had married into most major Norman families.

One of those Norman families gave us the Walais - the Wallaces. William Wallace himself spelled his name as "Walais Willelmus", the Norman way, as shown on his seal.

Another of those families were "De Bruis" - The Bruces, who held dominion over Torwood.

It is with these people that the story of Torwood once again enters the record books.

- Elliot

Image 1: The Anglo-Saxon Invasions of Britain
Image 2: The Aberlemno Kirkyard Stone, depicting the Angle King Ecgfrith being defeated by the Pictish King Bridei at the battle of Dunnichen
Image 3: The personal seal of William Wallace, from his letter to the Mayor of Lübeck

29/05/2026

Last week, I visited the Tower of Hercules, a place in the north west of Spain that has many myths surrounding it. Like the dolmen I recently visited, this is in Galicia, a place with ancient connections to Ireland and Scotland. It also has a direct connection to Torwood Castle, as it is said that Julius Caesar himself arrived here at the port of A Coruña, which was then known as Brigantium. If you remember my post about the Celtic clans of Britain, you may notice that the Brigantine clan also held considerable territory in the north of England too. With 100 ships, it is said that Ceasar set sail for Britannia.... exactly as the Tappoch Broch was being built, ready to give the Romans a Caledonian welcome.

The Romans built this tower, but the sheer number of myths in this area that mention a tower standing here seems to indicate that there was an earlier structure here too. The statue is of the Celtic king of Galicia, Bréogan, and the compass indicates the direction of each of the Celtic nations, Alba, Eirinn, Cymru, Mannin, Breizh and Kernow. It was from this point that Bréogan set sail to settle in Ireland.

26/05/2026

Best grass cutter in the toon

22/05/2026

18/05/2026

Today I am at the "Tomb of the King", located just outside the city of Vigo in Galicia. This tomb is dated to around 3500 BC, a time in which there were many migrations taking place across Europe. If you have ever visited the dolmens of Ireland or the passage tombs of southern Albion, then this should look very familiar to you. That's because the people who built them are the same. The dolmens, known as Mamoas in Galician, are often simply stone walls with a capstone, but when these were first built, they were completely covered with earth. A door stone would have covered the entrance, and then it would have been buried, making the tombs appear as simple hills. It is unknown if any markers were placed to mark their location, as most dolmens we are aware of to this day have been looted in antiquity. This looting is also the reason why the stones are uncovered by earth.

The people who built these dolmens in Galicia are probably the ancestors of the people who built the dolmens (and the brochs!) all over Britain and Ireland. There is some dispute about this, as DNA evidence seems to suggest a total replacement of the neolithic farmers who built Stonehenge, however these megaliths continued to be built all across Britain, showing that the culture lived on.

These were the ancestors of the Celtic inhabitants of Britain. Celticness is a disputed term these days, and it describes a shared culture and religion rather than a single race. Political, religious and football rivalries tend to muddy the waters of this debate, making it difficult to study the Celts without constant arguments based on modern ideas, but if you look at the archaeology only and ignore modern biases, you can witness a shared culture that spans the majority of the history of Britain and Ireland. This culture evolved, shifted and absorbed other aspects from Christianity and the Vikings, but if you trace the journey back through time, it is very possible that this culture began here, in Northern Spain and Portugal.

Hopefully I can share some more cool sites with you if the weather and terrible roaming data doesn't defeat me again!

- Elliot

11/05/2026

I had hoped to get back to the history series this week, but I have been sick and tomorrow I fly out to Galicia, Spain.

This might end up working quite well, as it means I can talk about "Castros", the beaker people, the origin of the Celtic people and the similarities between the culture of Galicia and Scotland, specifically. This is relevant to my previous posts, though we will be jumping back in time....all the way to the building of Stonehenge! In fact, Stonehenge is specifically involved in this story - so stay tuned to find out how Galicia, Stonehenge and Scotland are all connected!

If all goes well, I will post a video explaining a few things and showing you direct evidence of these connections. Or I may delete it and just type it out - I'm not very good at the whole "influencer" thing 🤣

- Elliot

06/05/2026

Today I am doing my best to identify this pottery shard. I am not great at this so we can learn together.

I can't confirm that these came from the same pot, but the interior clay looks identical and the colour of the glazing seems consistent.

Glazing pottery was introduced to Britain during the Roman Invasion in the first century, but it wasn't commonly used until the medieval period. This means that it is possible, though unlikely, that this is a piece of Roman pottery - especially when you consider its proximity to the Roman road. The grey interior clay also could indicate it is from the first few centuries AD, possibly identifying it as Crambeck Ware, manufactured in Yorkshire before being traded in the North.

There is also the possibility that this is Stamford Ware. Grey clay is also used in this kind of pottery, and it is known to come with a clear or light green glazing. It is quite difficult to make out but the bottom shard does appear to have a light green glazing. If it is Stamford Ware, it is likely to be closer to the 9th century AD.

The most likely identification is that this is a piece of medieval/post-medieval "glazed coarseware" pot, as the variants found in medieval Scotland are commonly described as;

A fairly coarse, grey, clay fabric with uneven green lead or copper-rich glaze. Orange and brown staining may occur where the glaze thinned or iron rich soil stained the clay.

This would place it between the 12th-17th centuries. The thickness and curvature of the pot seem to indicate it was a thick, sturdy pot, probably used for cooking.

If anyone knows better than me about this kind of thing, I would love to hear your expertise.

- Elliot

01/05/2026

New flag torwood castle. (Zoom in)

30/04/2026

Today I'm going to do one final side-post before returning to the regular series with Part 5: Repelling the Romans. First, here is a timeline of the Roman Occupation of Britain.

c. 43 AD — Roman invasion of Britain begins

c. 71–74 AD — Campaigns under Quintus Petillius Cerialis into northern Britain

c. 78–85 AD — Governorship of Gnaeus Julius Agricola; new northern campaign, the Battle of Mons Graupius (traditionally dated c. 83–84)

c. 85–95 AD — Gradual Roman withdrawal from the North

c. 122 AD — Reign of Hadrian; construction of Hadrian’s Wall

c. 139–c. 160 AD — Antonine advance under Antoninus Pius: Roman occupation of the Central Belt, construction of the Antonine Wall (between Forth and Clyde)

c. 160–165 AD — Rapid abandonment of the Antonine Wall; Romans withdraw again to Hadrian’s Wall

c. 208–211 AD — Emperor Severus campaigns into Caledonia; and they were again repelled, returning to the Hadrian line

367–368 AD — Great Barbarian Conspiracy (a coordinated series of uprisings and invasions in Roman Britain by Picti, Scoti, Saxons and others); Roman military resources stretched; severe disruption across Britain

c. 380s–410 AD — Gradual collapse of Roman administrative control in Britain; troops withdrawn for continental defense. 410 is traditionally marked as the date for the end of Roman administration in Britain

476 AD - The end of the Roman Empire

As you can see, the Romans had difficulty establishing a foothold here. The native clans in this area seemed to struggle to win large-scale battles, but guerrilla warfare and smash-and-grab tactics disrupted Roman supply lines, preventing them from maintaining control. The Tappoch Broch may have been a very important location at this time.

The Great Barbarian Conspiracy is an interesting event to speculate about, too. I will probably make a post on that in the future.

- Elliot

Image 1: An early Greek Map of Britain and Ireland, using descriptions given by Ptolemy - this is probably similar to what the Romans believed Britain looked like also.

Image 2: The Bridgeness Slab, seemingly a piece of Roman propaganda showing the prowess of their cavalry as it cuts through conquered Picts. This is in the National Museum of Scotland in in Edinburgh.