Keep
Site 2001
No
archaeological work was done on the MacThoy Keep until
Ebbie
MacThoy in 1934. He and his wife and partner,
Lona Campbell
spent twelve years studying
the site before the Loch Thoy Dam
immersed the
site.
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Following the flooding,
the Site was undisturbed--except for the
occasional snorkeling tourist, until 1998 when the
Clan MacThoy Society arrived to begin work
rediscovering their family's past.
Researchers are still unsure as to why the Clan chose the location
they did to build the Keep. From a tactical point of view it
is not defensible. The Village of
Dunn Burrow was constructed on the high ground whereas the Keep
sat at the bank of the Thoy River. |
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|
Thorgrim MacThoy
investigating the Keep Site, circa 1998 on the
preliminary site review. |
There are stories of a great
chain the Clan used to block passage of vessels upstream and it is
currently the only possible explanation for its unusual position.
Work at the Caer Site has yet to produce any
evidence to collaborate this theory.
The Keep has never been in
the Clan's possession consistently over the centuries.
The limited records available indicate
that the MacThoys stayed there for a time and then abandon it as it
suited their purposes.
Another Clan would assume
ownership of it. If the MacThois decided to reclaim it, they would
marry the owners, and seize it during the Year and a day marriage
ceremony.
Naturally this makes it
difficult to determine how much influence the MacThoi had over the
shape and design of the Keep. It is also difficult to trace
the other owners of the keep as most records were
lost sometime after the 1600s during the Puritan Purges.
More on the history of the Keep.
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