Burghead (Scots: Burgheid[3] or The Broch,[4] 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, meaning that most of the town has sea on 3 sides. The present town was built between 1805 and 1809, destroying in the process more than half of the site of an important Pictish hill fort. General Roy’s map shows the defences as they existed in the 18th century but he wrongly attributed them to the Romans. The fort was probably a major Pictish centre and was where carved slabs depicting bulls were found; they are known as the “Burghead Bulls”. 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 as The Broch by locals; confusingly, Fraserburgh is also known by this name. A recent dig just beyond the boundary of Burghead at Clarkly Hill has uncovered Iron Age circular stone houses, Pictish building foundations as well as silver and bronze Roman coins. A gold finger ring possibly from the Baltic region was also found. 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 have carried out significant exploration which leads them to believe this is a significant site of interest.
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Burghead (schottisch-gälisch: Am Broch) ist eine kleine Stadt in Moray, im Nordosten von Grampian in Schottland. Sie liegt ungefähr 12 Kilometer nordwestlich der Stadt Elgin und hat eine Einwohnerzahl von 1680 (Schätzung 2004).
Burghead liegt auf einer kleinen Halbinsel, die sich nordwestlich in den Moray Firth erstreckt. Der heutige Ort wurde zwischen 1805 und 1809 errichtet, dabei wurde über die Hälfte einer piktischen Festung überbaut. Die sehenswerte Anlage wird Burghead Fort genannt.
Bei Ausgrabungen wurden Felsplatten gefunden, in die Abbildungen von Bullen gemeißelt waren. Diese Darstellungen sind unter dem Namen „Burghead Bulls“ bekannt und Wahrzeichen der erst sehr viel später entstandenen benachbarten Stadt.
Scottish Dreams 