Dundee Law facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dundee Law |
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Dundee Law as seen from The Old Steeple
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 174 m (571 ft) |
| Listing | Tump |
| Geography | |
 Dundee Law
Location in Scotland
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| Geology | |
| Age of rock | ~400-415 million years |
| Mountain type | Crag and tail, Volcanic sill |
Dundee Law is a hill in the centre of Dundee, Scotland, and is the highest point in the city. The Law is what remains of a volcanic sill, which is the result of volcanic activity around 400 million years ago. With a large war memorial at its summit, it is the most prominent feature on the local skyline.
Geology
Dundee Law, which takes its name from a Scots word for a prominent hill, is the remains of a volcanic plug. Lava was forced through fissures in old red sandstone from a volcanic area miles to the west. Actions by subsequent rain, wind and ice movements eroded the sandstone. The glaciers of the ice ages deposited more debris around the base creating a crag and tail. The shallow gradient of the slopes on the north and eastern sides of the law suggest a north easterly movement of ice flows. The hill's summit is over 500 feet above sea level. Despite the derivation of "law" suggesting it would be tautological to do so, the Law is commonly referred to as the "Law Hill".
History
Archaeological evidence of burials suggest that the Law may have been used by human settlers 3500 years ago. During the Iron Age it was the site of a Pictish settlement. Roman pottery has been found on the law, suggesting that the Romans may have used it as a lookout post in the first century. The Law played host to an important event on 13 April 1689: Viscount Dundee raised the Stuart Royal Standard on the Law, which marked the beginning of the first Jacobite rising.
The Law has a tunnel which runs through it. Closed in the 1980s, it used to be used for the railway to Newtyle. In 2014 a campaign was started to reopen it as a tourist attraction.
A war memorial to the fallen of both world wars, first unveiled on 16 May 1925, stands atop the Law's summit. In the years 1992 to 1994 the facilities on the summit of the Law were upgraded by Dundee District Council and Scottish Enterprise Tayside with additional funding from the European Commission's regional development fund. The memorial is lit with a large flame at its top on a number of significant days, viz: 25 September (in memory of the Battle of Loos, in which many members of the local Black Watch regiment lost their lives), 24 October (United Nations Day), 11 November (Armistice Day) and Remembrance Sunday.
Images for kids
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South Dundee from the Law in late 1998
