Caterthun, or the Caterthuns, is a ridge of hills near the city of Brechin in Angus, Scotland. The Caterthuns are notable for being the site of two Iron Age forts known as the White Caterthun and the Brown Caterthun which are designated as a scheduled monument.
The White Caterthun, on the west, is dominated by an oval fort consisting of a massive dry-stone wall, with a well or cistern in the middle. The light-coloured stone wall gives the White Caterthun its name. The photo shows part of the dry-stone wall on the summit of the White Caterthun:
The Brown Caterthun, on the east, consists of a series of earthen embankments (hence the name 'brown'). There is little evidence of settlement, agriculture or water supply here, so the purpose of the earthworks is uncertain. Brown may be from the British word for hill (bron / bryn).
Both Caterthuns show several entrances to the summit that radiate outwards, like the spokes on a wheel. The significance of these entrances, if any, is unknown, but they may have aligned with geographical features that no longer exist, such as other settlements. From radio-carbon dating, the Brown Caterthun appears to have been built and modified over several centuries in the latter half of the first millennium BC. Parts of the White Caterthun may have been contemporary with the Brown Caterthun, but it is believed that the main stone wall was built by the Picts or their progenitors in the first few centuries AD.
References:The historical centre of Briançon is a strongly fortified town, built by Vauban to defend the region from Austrians in the 17th century. Its streets are very steep and narrow, though picturesque. Briançon lies at the foot of the descent from the Col de Montgenèvre, giving access to Turin, so a great number of other fortifications have been constructed on the surrounding heights, especially towards the east.
The Savoyards made two raids into French territory in 1691 and 1692. As a result, Vauban was dispatched to inspect the frontier defences, which had been ill-equiped to deal with the attack from Savoy. He returned to the area in 1700 to check on the progress that had been made since his first visit. When Vauban visited Briançon, work on the defences had already started under a local engineer, Monsieur d"Angrogne in 1692.