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Peel Ring of Lumphanan is a motte-and-bailey castle situated in Peel Bog, near the village of Lumphanan in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The monument consists of a substantial earthen mound surrounded by a ditch and outer banks, characteristic of twelfth-century Norman fortification techniques introduced to Scotland in the medieval period. The site is traditionally associated with Macbeth, the eleventh-century King of Scotland, though this attribution remains legendary rather than archaeologically verified. The castle represents an important example of early medieval military architecture in north-east Scotland, reflecting the period of feudal settlement and the establishment of motte-and-bailey strongholds by Anglo-Norman lords in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
Peel Ring of Lumphanan, castle, Peel Bog of Lumphanan is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM90238. View the official record →
Peel Ring of Lumphanan is a motte-and-bailey castle situated in Peel Bog, near the village of Lumphanan in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM90238.
Peel Ring of Lumphanan, castle, Peel Bog of Lumphanan dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a castle, peel bog of lumphanan. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Peel Ring of Lumphanan, castle, Peel Bog of Lumphanan 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 SM90238.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Macbeth's Cairn, cairn 360m ENE of Ferneybrae (1.7 km), Kincardine o'Neil, old church and hospital (4.4 km), Corse Castle (4.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Peel Ring of Lumphanan, castle, Peel Bog of Lumphanan's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Peel Ring of Lumphanan, castle, Peel Bog of Lumphanan stands on Argyll Group, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is psammite, semipelite and pelite.