This is a massive Norman castle earthwork, the 'capital messuage' of Strathdon, one of the feudal lordships of the province of Mar. Carved out of a glacial mound, the motte is oval in plan and measures an enormous 76m by 36.6m and 18.3m in height. It is surrounded by a ditch and bank. The oblong building whose foundations stretch right across the summit may have been a chapel, in view of the rare carved piscina or stoup fragment found close by; this building may have served as the parish church of Invernochty until later medieval times. The square foundations near the entrance on the sourh side of the summit may have been a tower. The motte is surrounded by a broad ditch which could be flooded from a lake immediately to the west, whose eastern retaining bank can still be seen running through the trees. This, and the sluices that controlled the water at the north-west and east of the counter-scarp, represent an important and rare example of early military engineering. Canmore ID 16762 Source: Objaverse 1.0 / Sketchfab