Inverness was one of the chief strongholds of the Picts, and in AD 565 was
visited by St Columba with the intention of converting the Pictish king Brude,
who is supposed to have resided in the vitrified fort on Craig Phadrig, on the
western edge of the city. A 93 oz (2.6 kg) silver chain dating to
500–800 was found just to the south of Torvean in 1983. A church or a monk's
cell is thought to have been established by early Celtic monks on St Michael's
Mount, a mound close to the river, now the site of the Old High Church and
graveyard. The castle is said to have been built by Máel Coluim III (Malcolm
