Well of the Heads, Invergarry, Scotland, UK: monument erected 1816 to decapitated heads of 7 murderers washed in the well beside N shore of Loch Oich.
Well of the Heads, Invergarry, Scotland, UK: monument erected 1816 to the decapitated heads of 7 murderers which were washed in the well beside Loch Oich. On 25 September 1663 young chief of Keppoch, Alexander MacDonald & his younger brother Ranald were stabbed to death by rival within the clan. Two years later the criminals were hunted down at Inverlair, killed & decapitated. The heads were taken in a basket to Invergarry Castle for display before being set up on the gallows in Edinburgh 7 December 1665. Legend says that on the way to Invergarry the heads grew restless & were washed in the spring to quieten them. The monument, erected by Colonel McDonell of Glengarry, is topped by 'portraits' of the 7 heads surmounted by a hand holding a knife. A version of the story is given in Gaelic, English, French & Latin. The seven headless skeletons were uncovered in the late 1800s.
Size: 3731px × 4961px
Location: Well of the Heads, Loch Oich, Invergarry, Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, UK
Photo credit: © Mick Sharp / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 17th, 19th, alexander, britain, british, ceann, celtic, century, chief, colonel, decapitated, feudal, glengarry, great, heads, highland, highlands, inscriptions, invergarry, islands, isles, justice, keppoch, killers, kingdom, legend, loch, lochaber, macdonald, mcdonell, memorial, monument, murder, murderers, nan, obelisk, oich, portraits, ranald, restless, roadside, scotland, scots, scottish, severed, shore, spring, stone, summary, tobar, tobar-nan-ceann, uk, united, washed
