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Burghead (Scottish Gaelic: Tòrr an Dùin or Ceann Bhuirgh) is a burgh in Moray, Scotland. The present town was begun in 1805 on the site of an important Pictish hill fort, which in fact was probably the largest of its period in the whole of northern Great Britain, and hence the most likely "capital" of the Kingdom of Fortriu, and hence all Pictland. A well in the burgh dates from this period, as do the Burghead Bull carvings. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (553x933, 180 KB) Made by Billreid 16:46, 28 September 2006 (UTC) from two wikipedia images I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free...
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For local government purposes, Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as Council Areas which are all governed by unitary authorities designated as Councils. They have been in use since April 1, 1996, under the provisions of the Local Government etc. ...
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Moray (Moireibh in Gaelic), one of the 32 unitary council regions (or areas) of Scotland, lies in the north-east of the country and borders on the regions of Aberdeenshire and Highland. ...
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Moray, or Morayshire or Elginshire (Moireibh in Gaelic) is one of the Registration counties of Scotland, bordering Nairnshire to the west, Inverness-shire to the south, and Banffshire to the east. ...
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Moray (Moireibh in Gaelic), one of the 32 unitary council regions (or areas) of Scotland, lies in the north-east of the country and borders on the regions of Aberdeenshire and Highland. ...
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A hill fort is a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for military advantage. ...
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Clavie
Opinions differ as to the roots of the ancient festival of the Burning of the Clavie, condemned in the eighteenth century as "an abominable heathenish practice". But even in the third millennium it still goes on. Burning the clavie is an ancient Scottish custom still observed at Burghead, Scotland, a fishing village on the Moray Firth, near Forres. ...
Pictish, Celtic, Viking or Roman in origin, the Burning of the Clavie, which takes place at Burghead, in Moray, is without a doubt one of the most bizarre of Scotland's Hogmanay festivals.
The Ritual
The event takes place on the night of January 11 (the original Hogmanay before the calendar changed in 1660). The "Clavie" is a half barrel filled with wood shavings and tar. In the past, it would have been a herring barrel. Today, iron-hooped whisky barrels daubed with creosote are used.
The barrel is nailed onto a carrying post - the same nail is ritually used every year - which is hoisted onto the shoulders of a local villager.
The clavie is then lit, traditionally by a peat from the hearth of an old Burghead Provost and from there carried by the elected Clavie King.
Each of the ten or so men (traditionally fishermen) take it in turn to carry the burning clavie clockwise around the streets of Burghead, occasionally stopping at the houses of former eminent citizens to present a smouldering faggot of the clavie in the doorway to bring the household good luck for the year ahead.
The men proceed to the stone altar of an old fort on the ancient Doorie Hill, the clavie is set down here and more fuel is added until the hillside is ablaze with a beacon of fire.
The flaming embers are snatched up by onlookers and used to kindle a special New Year fire at home, kept for luck or are even sent to relations or friends who have moved away from Burghead.
Origins?
As well as drawing comparisons with the Celtic festival of Samhain, various theories link its origins to the Picts (there was once a Pictish fort at Burghead) and the Romans. The word Clavie may have originated from the Latin Clavus meaning "nail" and it is speculated that the fort at Doorie Hill may have been an ancient Roman altar. However, contrary views suggest that there is not enough evidence to prove that the Romans came this far North. The festival also has many similarities with ancient Norse culture.
Whatever the origins, the practice of Clavie burning probably took place at many villages in the North East centuries ago, but was not always tolerated by the powers-that-be. It was condemned by the strict presbyterian establishment as "superstitious, idolatrous and sinfule, an abominable heathenish practice". In 1704 a law was passed against Clavies. But the ritual practice of Clavie burning still continues each January 11th...
For more information contact Elgin Tourist Information Centre, 01343 542666
Well The Burghead Well has presented an unresolved archaeological problem since it was cleared out in 1809. It is not known by whom, when or why this remarkable monument was cut out of the living rock. The ancient work of the Well is all rock-hewn. It consists of a flight of steps leading down to a chamber, within which is sunk a tank fed by springs. The work is unique in Scotland. It may be described as a well, though the monumental character of the work shows that it was not made for the simple purpose of drawing water. Some ceremonial significance, religious or secular, is suggested and it is almost certainly of Dark Age date.
Twenty rock-cut steps lead down to a small chamber with rounded corners, measuring 5m by 5m and 4m high. In its centre is a pool surrounded on all sides by a narrow ledge 0.9m wide. The pool is fed by an underground spring and once when emptied took 6 days to refill. Wells and springs were often places for worship and historical sources record that a traditional method of execution among the picts was by drowning. Christians were repelled by such pagan acts, but often traditional holy places were rededicated for new purposes and Columba himself is reported to have sanctified such a well for Christian use. Perhaps the Burghead well later served for baptisms
Near Burghead there is a large radio transmitter owned by National Grid Wireless used for Long Wave and Medium Wave broadcasting, the Burghead transmitting station. National Grid Wireless (formerly Crown Castle UK) is a company which provides telecommunications infrastructure and broadcast transmission facilities in the UK. Its main customers are broadcasters and mobile phone network operators, and its main asset is a network of over 1,000 radio masts and towers. ...
The Longwave radio broadcasting band is the range of frequencies between 148. ...
Mediumwave radio transmissions (sometimes called Medium frequency or MF) are those between the frequencies of 300 kHz and 3000 kHz. ...
The Burghead transmitting station is a broadcasting facility near Burghead (grid reference NJ125685) in Scotland for long- and medium-wave radio transmission that started service on 12th October 1936. ...
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