The Battle of Raith Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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Screwtop, suitable for small swaps and coins. Adjacent to a tee upon an active golf course, can be busy.
The ancient battle that took place nearto this cache - close to the Teil Burn and Starks Park - predates by a substantial margin the famous Sam Leitch classic phrase "There will be dancing on the streets of Raith tonight" following a (relatively) recent Raith Rovers football victory.
Since prehistoric times this part of the coast has been settled and excavations have confirmed this in the eastern outskirts of the town of Kirkcaldy around Bogleys standing stone. Nonetheless, the origin of the settlement which developed into Kirkcaldy is most probably a medieval fort. The town’s name is derived from caer caled din meaning ‘fort on the hard hill'. The elevated site where Ravenscraig Castle now sits, on the coast to the north east, is the most obvious site of the fort.
The Celtic-Brythonic language which names the town suggests that it was a seat of the Britons, who dominated this area in the middle of first millennium AD. As the Angles of Northumbria pushed north the Britons were led into alliances with the Picts and Scots who by the 550s had united under King Aiden (c.535-606) to repel the invaders. These two armies traded blows for much of the following centuries.
One significant battle was the Battle of The Raith, which was fought immediately to the west of Kirkcaldy in the year 596. The defeat of Aiden and his supporters may have allowed Saxons to settle on the southern coast of Fife. The defenders and invaders faced each other for nearly a week. One night Kind Aidans royal escort consisting of 303 (some say 363) ‘richly caparisoned’ British horsemen indulged in a drinking fest all night in a hall at Raith Hill, and then at dawn, without troubling about supporters from the main army, they charged down among the hoardes of the invaders. They were simply swallowed up, and only three escaped alive. The story bears the name catraeth but there is no such name on the map. The word ‘cat’ is the ancient Irish and Gaelic word for ‘battle’ and the whole word appears to therefore mean ‘Battle of the Raith’.
Bet theres many a battle on the nearby 18 hole field that covers the area now, though!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
vil xvatcbfg
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