The Well of the Heads

In 1812, a chief of the Clan MacDonnell of Keppoch had a memorial built by the side of Loch Oich (one of the series of lochs which make up the Caledonian Canal). This memorial commemorates a not so very unusual event in the Highlands, involving blood and bits of bodies....

This memorial is built over a spring which flows into the loch. Above the spring is a tall, slim obelisk. On top of this obelisk is a sculpture of a hand holding a large dagger and seven severed heads (this is known as a clue).

The event which it commemorates arose from the murder of Alexander, 13^th chief of Keppoch and his brother on 25^th September 1663. These murders may have been due to the fact that they were in dispute with Alexander MacDougall MacDonald of Inverlair with regard to the ownership of a parcel of land......

Anyways, there is a double murder, for which no one is arrested. Arresting one person would not have been appropriate, as there were seven in the group which did the killing (this is known as a clue).

Two years later (1665, in case you've lost count) the Privy Council in Edinburgh issues “Letters of Fire and Sword” against the murderers to Ian Lom MacDonnell (a relative of the corpses). This basically gives him carte blanche to take them any way he can. A side effect of these “Letters of Fire and Sword” is that if the person or persons named therein turns up dead, well, that's OK, it saves the cost of a trial.

Ian Lom and a few dozen other MacDonnells, aided by some MacDonalds of Sleat, who had their own grievances with the killers, captured and decapitated them. While taking this booty to Invergarry Castle for delivery to the newest chief (before delivery to the Privy Council), John of the not very much hair (Ian Lom) stopped at this spring to wash of the more unpleasant bits of blood, gore and whatever else before the presentation.

Later, the heads were sent to Edinburgh and ordered to be "affixit to the gallowes standing on the Gallowlie between Edinburgh and Leith". The bodies were said to be buried in a nearby mound and have since been exhumed, thus providing evidence for the truth of the story.

The name of this memorial? Need you ask? How many clues do you need?

OK, I'll tell you:- Tobar nan Ceann.

The Highlands were undoubtedly a violent, lawless place at that time due to their remoteness from government authority. How common were killings of this type?

Originally posted by Chookie Actually they weren't. Such killings were the exception rather than the rule. No government had any effective authority over the clans, many claimed they did but that was mostly wishful thinking.

Ah, Chookie, you got in before me, though I should add that in Scotland for a good part of its history there were separated areas of jurisdiction in regards to laws and there application, making it difficult at times for the crown to force those in other areas in remote areas to comply with their will.  

Chookie, do you know anything about Ian Lom's role in the Jacobite Wars?