The Angus scene of an epic struggle in Pictish history has been left out of a second tranche of entries to Historic Scotland’s list of important Scots battle sites.
Dunnichen Hill near Letham was the setting for the 685AD Battle of Nechtansmere, at which Northumbrians were defeated by the Picts.
Dunnichen has been described as a place of national importance, and campaigners who once staged a fight against quarry plans for the area have crossed swords with Historic Scotland over its omission from a list of important Scots battle sites.
Following the decision to omit Nechtansmere from the original inventory in March, Historic Scotland indicated it would consider adding the location as part of a second tranche.
Historian and Dunnichen expert Graeme Cruickshank alerted residents to the Nechtansmere threat after studying Historic Scotland’s consultation brief on the proposal to create a battlefields inventory.
Consultation on the second tranche will be open until September 30. Historic Scotland say that for a battlefield to be included in the Inventory, it must be considered to be of national importance and it must be possible to define the site on a modern map.
They say the Inventory will also help local planning authorities and other public bodies who will have to take the battlefields into account.