Law, Dundee
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Law, Dundee is an area located in the centre of Dundee, Scotland. Its predominant feature is a large hill which gives it is name.
The Law area and former council ward, however, takes in a significant area of the city which surrounds the Law itself.
[edit] Geology
The Law, which takes its name from the Gaelic word for hill or more likely, from Anglo-Saxon hlāw (modern Scots law) meaning a (grave-)mound or hill, is the basalt plug of an extinct volcano. Actions by subsequent ice movements further eroded the hill and 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 174 metres above sea level.[1]
[edit] 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.
A war memorial to the fallen in both world wars was constructed atop the summit. In the years 1992 to 1994 the facilities on the summit of the law were upgraded by Dundee city 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: the 25th September (in memory of the Battle of Loos - in which many members of the local Black Watch regiment lost their lives), 24th October (United Nations Day), 11th November (Armistice Day) and Remembrance Sunday.
[edit] References
- ^ Ordnance Survey, Explorer 380 map Dundee and Sidlaw Hills
- On site tourist information boards
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