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This stout vault was the ground floor guardroom of the tower, and protected the approaches to the drawbridge. A secret dungeon is concealed in the thickness of the end wall.
The legendary tale goes that the Thane of Cawdor, who had a small castle about a mile away, decided to build a new, stronger tower. Following the instructions received in a dream, he loaded a coffer of gold on to the back of a donkey and let it roam about the district for a day: wherever the animal lay down to rest in the evening, there his castle should be sited and it would prosper for evermore. The donkey lay down under the tree.
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Whatever truth there may be in the story, modern scientific dating of the wood of the tree by radiocarbon measurement gives the approximate date of AD 1372. For centuries, the tree has been regarded as a hawthorn [ Crataegus monogyna], but in this respect the legend has gone adrift, because microscopic analysis of the wood identifies the tree as a holly [ llex aquifolium]. Perhaps the site of the 'thorn tree' was chosen for religious or superstitious reasons in symbolic connection with Christ's crown. In mythology the holly was one of the seven sacred trees of the Celtic grove.
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The date of the tree tends to support expert opinion that this part of the castle was built in the last quarter of the 14th century, some years before the first documented record of the tower which is a letter from King James II of Scotland to his 'beloved familiar squire' Thane William of Cawdor, granting permission to fortify and crenellate his castle. The licence, dated 6 August 1454 and sealed at Stirling Castle, was given on condition that the King and his heirs should always have free entry, and wisely, free departure.
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