Battle of Dunbar 1296
Outline: officially registered battlefield boundary.
Key facts
| Date (year) | 1296 | Wikidata P585 point in time |
|---|---|---|
| Century | 13th century | derived |
| Period | Norman & medieval | derived |
| Country | Scotland | derived |
| War / conflict | First War of Scottish Independence | Wikidata |
| Participants | Kingdom of England, Kingdom of Scotland | Wikidata |
| Local authority | East Lothian | HES |
| Registered area | 1108.3 ha | HES |
| HES inventory reference | BTL31 | HES |
| Designated | 2012-12-14 | HES |
About the battle
The Battle of Dunbar was the only significant field action of the campaign of 1296 during the beginning of the First War of Scottish Independence.
Visiting the battlefield
The battlefield was considered for protection by Historic Scotland under the Scottish Historical Environment Policy 2009.
In 2012 the site was added to the Inventory of Historic Battlefields in Scotland (BTL31). Historic Environment Scotland reports that no archaeological discoveries have been reported from the battle site, and that a 2007 dig failed to yield any battle-related finds. However, it considers that weaponry and other metal objects from the battle may lie undiscovered in the topsoil.
Location
- Local authority: East Lothian
- Approximate centre of registered area: 55.9796, -2.5186
- Registered area: 1108.3 hectares
Battlefields are often on private farmland: please keep to public rights of way and respect landowners.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Dunbar (1296) (revision 1370109932), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Battlefield site”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations removed. No text added.
Contains Historic Environment Scotland and OS data © Historic Environment Scotland and Crown Copyright and database right 2026, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Nearby battlefields
- Battle of Dunbar 1650 · 2 km
- Battle of Piperdean 1436 · 15 km
- Battle of Duns 1372 · 25 km
- Battle of Prestonpans 1745 · 27 km
- Battle of Nesbit Moor 1402 · 28 km
- Battle of Pinkie 1547 · 32 km
Other battles of the First War of Scottish Independence
- Capture of Berwick 1296
- Action at Lanark 1297
- Battle of Glen Trool 1307
- Battle of Loudoun Hill 1307
- Battle of Turnberry 1307
- Battle of Skaithmuir 1316
- Capture of Berwick 1318
- Battle of Myton 1319
- Battle of Old Byland 1322
- Battle of Stanhope Park 1327
All battles of the First War of Scottish Independence →
Browse more: battles in Scotland · Norman & medieval · 13th century battles