• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / World / Were the Ancient Forts of Tap o’ Noth Built of Melted Rock?

Were the Ancient Forts of Tap o’ Noth Built of Melted Rock?

April 10, 2020 by Karen Hill

Tap o’ Noth is a 1,850-foot hill near the village of Rhvnie in Scotland. On the flat top of this hill there once stood a fort, built by the ancient inhabitants of the British Isles. Scientists have been puzzled by the construction of this fort and many similar forts found in Scotland. For the walls of the fort appear to have been built of melted rock!

The remains of the fort walls are vitrified, melted and fused together to form a glass-like substance. Very high temperatures are needed to vitrify rock. How could the prehistoric builders of the fort have achieved such intense heat?

One common explanation is that the walls were originally built of both rocks and pieces of timber. The ancient Romans reported finding such forts in western Europe. Tests have shown that such walls, when set afire, sometimes produce heat intense enough to vitrify rock.

Were the ancient forts in Scotland burned down by invaders and consumed by flames that melted the rock walls? Or were these forts built in such a way that their walls could be intentionally burned and vitrified? If so, then the prehistoric builders of the fort at Tap o’ Noth knew more about construction than anyone has suspected.

Related Facts

  • Are acid rock, country rock, and hard rock all geological terms before they were names for types of music genres?
  • Who were the Little Rock Nine and How was the Little Rock Crisis important in the African American Civil Rights Movement?
  • Why Did Early American Pioneers Live In Forts?
  • When Was the Ancient City of Alexandria Built and How Was the Largest Library In the Ancient World Destroyed?
  • What kind of rock is the Rock of Gibraltar in the Mediterranean Sea?
  • What is Chumash Rock Art and How did Chumash Rock Art originate?

Filed Under: World

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Are the Rollright Stones Ancient Healing Places?
Next Post: Who Fought the War of the Whiskers? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2021 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy