The moat at the entrance is now dry and filled up, and the Gateway there is modern. The Argyle Tower (sometimes called the St. David's Tower) is a portion of the old castle, as are also the ruins of the Wellhouse Tower, while St. Margaret's Chapel is the oldest building and also the oldest church in Scotland, containing Early Norman work and probably also Saxon. The general aspect of the Castle suffers much from a picturesque point of view by the addition of the great demi-lune battery and ranges of modern buildings. _Stirling Castle (3rd Period)_ The commanding rock upon which Stirling Castle is placed was originally an old hill fort, but in the twelfth century was one of the four chief castles. Thus in 1304 it held out for three months against Edward I. and a powerful army. So important was it considered that Edward II. attempted to relieve it, and thus led to Bannockburn. Baliol occupied it, and King David only captured it after a long and obstinate siege. At the Stuart period it became a Royal Castle and the favourite residence of the Scottish kings. The present walls are undoubtedly raised upon the old foundations, but, so far as antiquity is concerned, the oldest part of the Castle remaining is the Parliament Hall opening from the Inner Ward which is of late Perpendicular architecture. The Palace is of the Renaissance, and dates from 1594. [Illustration: EDINBURGH CASTLE, FROM THE TERRACE OF HERIOT'S HOSPITAL.] _Dunnottar Castle, Kincardineshire (3rd Period)_ One mile south of Stonehaven stands Dunnottar Castle, upon a flat platform of rock with the North Sea washing three of the precipitous sides. A small isthmus, not much above the level of the sea, connects it to the mainland. The oldest parts of the Castle date from c. 1382. The entrance is at the base of the rock upon the land side, where an outwork of remarkable strength is placed. After ascending a steep incline a tunnel 26 feet long is reached, also defended, and a second similar defence occurs beyond, thus the approach was of an extremely formidable character. The Keep stands at the south-west corner, and is of the =L= shape four stories in height, and built early in the fifteenth century. The stables and domestic buildings are of a later date, and arranged round part of an irregular courtyard. The Castle, although credited with being one of the most impregnable in Scotland, and to which the Scottish regalia was entrusted for safe keeping during the Commonwealth, was captured by Sir William Wallace in 1297, whose troops scaled the precipices and put the English garrison of 4000 men to the sword. In 1336 Edward III. refortified it, but the Scots took it as soon as he had left the kingdom. General Lambert blockaded the Castle in 1652, and eventually captured it. _Tantallon Castle (3rd Period)_