Five miles north-west of Brechin, the by-road to Glen Lethnot crosses a ridge separating the Glen from Strathmore, and on either side of the road at the top of this ridge lie the Caterthuns, one Brown, the other White. Of the numerous Iron-Age hillforts in this part of Scotland, these are two of the largest.
The Brown Caterthun has no fewer than six lines of defence enclosing a wide area of the hill-top and for the most part these defensive rings are built of heather and turf......hence the description of "brown".
The Brown Caterthun was at some stage abandoned in favour of the White Caterthun, so-called because its ring of stones shows up white on the hill-top.
The White Caterthun is an oval enclosure about 170 yards long by 70 yards wide and when upright the surrounding wall may have been an amazing 40 feet thick. Outside it is another concentric wall which would have been about 20 feet thick and 10 feet high.
The tumbled stones of both now spread over an area of about 100 feet.
There is a water cistern inside the fort and a cup-marked boulder just outside.
Whatever guesses one may hazard about the size of the population and organisation involved in assembling this vast mass of stones, there is no doubt that the man who selected the hilltop had an eye for a view, if only for the practical purpose of observing the approach of an enemy.
Up here on a clear day, you can see east to Montrose, north into the Braes of Angus and south-west down the length of Strathmore to the Tay beyond, with a hint of Dundee over the Sidlaw Hills.
Both Forts are thought to date from about the time of Christ and provide impressive evidence of a pre-Pictish society capable of mobilising very impressive manpower.
For a map of the area, click here.
