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Secret Bone-Filled Room Found in Mysterious Scottish Castle
Secret Bone-Filled Room Opened for First Time in 500 Years in Mysterious Castle
Mingary Castle off the coast of Scotland had lain abandoned for 200 years but when work started on restoring it to its former glory, historians made a startingly discovery
Daily Mirror UK, 19 MAY 2020
Mingary Castle has stood abandoned for 200 years (Image: SWNS)
For more than 200 years Mingary Castle off the coast of Scotland lay ruined and abandoned.
The impressive fortress is nestled on the top of a rocky cliff, where its windows gaze out to sea.
Dating back as far as the 13th century, the castle was clearly once important due to its impressive vantage point - but was abandoned two centuries ago.
Since 2013, the site and castle have been designated as historically important and work is now ongoing to preserve and restore the impressive building.
But hidden within its walls is a bizarre room, closed to the outside world more than 500 years ago.
The room had not been opened for more than 500 years (Image: SWNS)
And when it was finally opened six years ago, historians made a disturbing discovery - bones.
Those renovating the castle came across the tiny room, which measures just 6 feet across and is only 6 feet high, entirely by accident.
Builders had discovered a passageway in the north wall of the imposing building, which is close to the village of Kilchoan on Scotland's Ardnamurchan peninsula.
It was as they started excavating that they came across the chamber - and historians are at a loss as to what it was used for.
The room contained fragments of bone (Image: SWNS)
But the room, which is not believed to have been touched since the 16th century, did contain fragments of bone.
Jon Haylett, a local historian with the Mingary Castle Trust, believes the room will have been sealed off when the walls had to be filled in to strengthen them against cannon fire.
He explained: "When cannons started being fired at the castle, they would have soon realised they had a huge weakness in their walls because of these windows."
The castle is now owned by Donald Houston, of the Ardnamurchan Estate, who hopes to restore the some of the castle's former splendour in a £2million project.
The castle held a strategically important place on the coast (Image: SWNS)
The castle's walls are an impressive 9 feet thick and the building is protected.
Its position on the seafront meant it held key naval and military significance and King James IV was said to have used it as a stronghold for fighting off Clan Donald in the late 15th century.
The 13th century castle is roughly hexagonal in shape with 9ft-thick walls.
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