Burghead / Am Broch / Burgheid / The Broch

A well, cistern or font of about 1.2 m in depth has been thought to be in some sources as a possible early baptistery associated with the cult of St. Aethan. The entry for this site in Undiscovered Scotland [https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/burghead/well/index.html] [accessed 8 March 2026] notes: "The theories explaining the origin of Burghead Well are many and various. For some it was built as a bath house by Romans, and it certainly looks rather like one. For others it was a place of Pagan worship of the Gods of the Earth, with the tank possibly being used for ritual sacrifices. Still others saw it as a Christian baptismal font [...] It could, of course, also have served as a source of water for baptisms after the Picts' conversion to Christianity. It is less clear that the well had any obvious Pagan purpose."