Scheduled Monuments›Scotland›Daviot Castle

Daviot Castle

Scotland
HES SM5486
Nation
Scotland
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic Environment Scotland

Overview

History & significance

Daviot Castle is a motte-and-bailey fortification located in Inverness-shire, Scotland, dating to the medieval period. The castle comprises an earthwork mound with an associated bailey, typical of Norman or early medieval defensive architecture in the Scottish Highlands. Like many such structures in the region, Daviot Castle represents an important phase of territorial control and settlement during the medieval centuries, though detailed records of its specific occupation history and lords remain limited in the scholarly record. The monument survives today as an archaeological earthwork that contributes to understanding medieval fortification patterns across northern Scotland.

Daviot Castle is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5486. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Daviot Castle?

Daviot Castle is a motte-and-bailey fortification located in Inverness-shire, Scotland, dating to the medieval period. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5486.

Who is responsible for protecting Daviot Castle?

Daviot Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM5486.

What other scheduled monuments are near Daviot Castle?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Craggie Cottage, settlement cairns and field system 600m SW of (2.4 km), Mid Lairgs, bridge and military road 200m SSE of (4.8 km), Mains of Gask,ring cairn and standing stones 130m SSW of (6.9 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Daviot Castle

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Daviot Castle's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Stat Accounts
The parish Statistical Accounts of the 1790s and 1830s, describing life, work and population here.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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Nearby

Other scheduled monuments within 10 km

Craggie Cottage, settlement cairns and field system 600m SW of
Post-Medieval · Settlement cairns and field system2.4 km
Mid Lairgs, bridge and military road 200m SSE of
Bridge and military road4.8 km
Mains of Gask,ring cairn and standing stones 130m SSW of
Bronze Age · Ring cairn and standing stones6.9 km
Balnafoich, cupmarks 320m SSW of
Cupmarks7.2 km
Isle of Moy, fortified island and laird's house
Iron Age · Fortified island and laird's house7.9 km
Eilean nan Clach, crannog
Iron Age–Medieval · Crannog8.2 km
Tordarroch, cupmarks 220m NE of
Cupmarks8.6 km
Tordarroch, ring cairn 250m E of
Bronze Age · Ring cairn8.7 km
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Daviot Castle

Daviot Castle stands on Moine Supergroup, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is gneissose psammite and gneissose semipelite.

The wider landscape

Around Daviot Castle

Battle of CullodenBattle (1746) · ~2.8 milesBattle of AuldearnBattle (1645) · ~14.8 miles
All Scheduled Monuments