Castle Law, Abernethy

Castle Law rises above the village of Abernethy, in Perth and Kinross, an early hillfort holding a commanding position over the country around it. Archaeologists classify it as a contour fort, its defensive ramparts laid out to follow the natural line of the summit rather than cutting straight across it. The site has long been recognised for its importance: it was designated a scheduled monument in March 1964, and it appears in the principal records of Scotland’s early fortifications, including the national Atlas of Hillforts and Canmore. The hill looks down on a settlement that carried real weight in medieval Scotland. Abernethy grew into a seat of the Earls of Fife, whose line was bound to Clan MacDuff, and a branch of that family held the abbey there as hereditary abbots. Nearby stood the Cross of MacDuff, a recognised place of sanctuary where a kinsman of the earl guilty of a killing could seek remission by paying compensation to the victim’s family. Whether the fort itself served these later lords is not recorded, but its earthworks mark it as one of the older strongholds crowning this corner of Perthshire.