Burghead
| |
|---|---|
 Burghead seafront | |
  Burghead Location within Moray | |
| Population | 1,840 (2022)[1] |
| Language | English Scots (Doric) |
| OS grid reference | NJ116688 |
| • Edinburgh | 168 miles (262 km) |
| • London | 555 miles (894 km) |
| Civil parish |
|
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area |
|
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ELGIN |
| Postcode district | IV30 |
| Dialling code | 01343 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
| Website | burghead.com |
Burghead (Scots: Burgheid[2] or The Broch,[3] Scottish Gaelic: Am Broch) is a small town in Moray, Scotland, about 8 miles (13 km) north-west of Elgin. The town is mainly built on a peninsula that projects north-westward into the Moray Firth, surrounding it by water on three sides. People from Burghead are called Brochers.[4]
The present town was built between 1805 and 1809, destroying in the process more than half of the site of an important Pictish fort. General Roy's map shows the defences as they existed in the 18th century although he wrongly attributed them to the Romans. The fort was probably a major Pictish centre and was where carved slabs depicting bulls, known as the Burghead Bulls, were found. A chambered well of some considerable antiquity was discovered in 1809 and walls and a roof were later added to help preserve it. Each year on 11 January a fire festival known as the Burning of the Clavie takes place; it is thought that the festival dates back to the 17th century, although it could easily predate this by several centuries. Burghead is often known by locals as The Broch, a nickname also applied to Fraserburgh in nearby Aberdeenshire.
A recent dig just beyond the boundary of Burghead at Clarkly Hill has uncovered Iron Age circular stone houses and Pictish building foundations, as well as silver and bronze Roman coins and a gold finger ring possibly from the Baltic region. Significant evidence of large scale Iron smelting has also been found, providing evidence that iron was probably being traded from this site. The National Museum of Scotland has carried out significant exploration which leads it to believe this is a significant site of interest. [1]
- ^ "Mid-2020 Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland". National Records of Scotland. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ Scots Language Centre: Scottish Place Names in Scots
- ^ "The Online Scots Dictionary". Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
- ^ Hidden Lives: 1/6 Burghead, BBC Scotland, 27 November 2019