Dunsinane Hill
| Dunsinane Hill | |
|---|---|
 Dunsinane Hill from Black Hill. | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 310 m (1,020 ft) |
| Prominence | c. 53 m |
| Listing | none |
| Geography | |
| Location | Perth & Kinross, Scotland |
| Parent range | Sidlaws |
| OS grid | NO213316 |
| Topo map | OS Landranger 53 |
Dunsinane Hill (/dʌnˈsɪnən/ dun-SIN-ən) is near the village of Collace in Perthshire, Scotland. It is mentioned in Shakespeare's play Macbeth. "Macbeth shall never vanquished be, until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill Shall come against him."
It has the remains of two early forts. This is believed to be the site of a battle where Malcolm Canmore defeated Macbeth in 1054. In reality this was only a limited defeat for Macbeth. He was finally beaten and killed by Malcolm Canmore in 1057, at Lumphannan near Aberdeen.
The pronunciation called for in Shakespeare's play has the accent on the first or third syllable, with a long 'a' (i.e. /ˈdʌnsɪneɪn/ or /ˌdʌnsɪˈneɪn/). However the correct pronunciation has the accent on the second syllable, with a short 'a'. The correct spelling of the name is Dunsinnan, Gaelic meaning "The hill of ants."; possibly a reference to the large number of people it took to build the fortress.[1]
The best access to Dunsinane Hill is from the rear of the Perthshire village of Collace on the Northern side of Dunsinane Hill, between the village and the quarry. There is a small parking area there suitable for 4 or 5 cars from which a clearly defined path leads directly to the summit.
The impressive ramparts are still very obvious, though the interior was much disturbed in the 19th century by antiquarians attracted to the site by its Shakespearean connection. Little of value was learned about the history of the monument from these unscientific excavations.
References
- ↑ Sinclair, Bart., Sir John (1831). The Correspondence of The Right Honourable Sir John Sinclair, Bart. Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, London, England. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
Volume I
- Aitchison, Nick (1999). Macbeth: Man and Myth. Stroud: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7509-1891-6.
External links
- "Joe Dorward's website with a panoramic view from Black Hill showing Dunsinane Hill". Archived from the original on Jan 4, 2007.
Coordinates: 56°28′12″N 3°16′44″W / 56.46993°N 3.27902°W