Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

SC0215 Back Bay, Wigtownshire

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  Dumfries & Galloway MDG2339 (None)

NMR:  NX 33 NE 2 (62667)

SM:  1979

NGR:  NX 3696 3932

X:  236960  Y:  539320  (OSGB36)

Summary

This promontory work occupies a precipitous position on the cliffs along the SW coast of the Machars and is undercut by sea caves, the mouths of which have probably receded back into the top of the promontory since its construction. The defences, which cut off the approach from the N, comprise a stone wall some 2.4m thick where the faces survive, fronted with a ditch about 8.5m in breadth by up to 2.5m in depth externally. A causeway towards the E side of the promontory corresponds to an entrance 1.5m wide through the wall to provide access into the interior, which measures 56m from N to S by up to 23m transversely (0.1ha); the way the arc of defences meets the cliff-edge on the landward side a cleft above one of the sea caves suggests that the interior was once larger, but probably never more than about 0.13ha. The foundations of several structures can be seen in the immediate rear of the wall, and in 1955 RCAHMS speculated that these and the wall itself might be the result of a secondary occupation.

Status

Citizen Science:  

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -504620  Y:  7308173  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -4.533076396631272  Latitude:  54.72238955587687  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Scotland

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Dumfries & Galloway

Historic County:  Wigtownshire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Glasserton

Monument Condition

None

Condition:
Extant  
Cropmark  
Likely Destroyed  

Land Use

None

Current Use:
Woodland  
Commercial Forestry Plantation  
Parkland  
Pasture (Grazing)  
Arable  
Scrub/Bracken  
Bare Outcrop  
Heather/Moorland  
Heath  
Built-up  
Coastal Grassland  
Other  

Landscape

Hillfort Type

None

Type:
Contour Fort  
Partial Contour Fort  
Promontory Fort  
Hillslope Fort  
Level Terrain Fort  
Marsh Fort  
Multiple Enclosure Fort  

Topographic Position

Position:
Hilltop  
Coastal Promontory  
Inland Promontory  
Valley Bottom  
Knoll/Hillock/Outcrop  
Ridge  
Cliff/Plateau-edge/Scarp  
Hillslope  
Lowland  
Spur  

Dominant Topographic Feature:  None

Aspect:
North  
Northeast  
East  
Southeast  
South  
Southwest  
West  
Northwest  
Level  

Altitude:  30.0m

Boundary

N/A


Dating Evidence

In the absence of excavation, there are neither stratified artefacts nor radiocarbon dates to provide a chronology for the defences.

Reliability:  D - None

Principal Activity:
Pre 1200BC  
1200BC - 800BC  
800BC - 400BC  
400BC - AD50  
AD50 - AD400  
AD400 - AD 800  
Post AD800  
Unknown  

Other Activity:
Pre Hillfort:   None
Post Hillfort:   Angular foundations in the interior may relate to a medieval occupationn

Evidence:No related records

Investigation History

First surveyed in 1849 by the OS on the 1st edition of the 6-inch map (Wigtownshire 1850, sheet 33), in 1894 a more detailed depiction was prepared for the 25-inch map (Wigtownshire 1895, sheet 34.4), and this was later refined in 1906 (Wigtownshire 1908, sheet 34.4). A description was prepared for the RCAHMS county Inventory for Wigtownshire (1912, 10, No.6). The site was planned by RCAHMS in 1955, and visited by the OS in 1973. A coastal erosion evaluation and plan was prepared in 1997 (Toolis 2003, 44-5).

Investigations:
1st Identified Map Depiction (1849):   Annotated Fort on the 1st edition OS 6-inch map (Wigtownshire 1850, sheet 33)
Other (1906):   OS 25-inch map (Wigtownshire 1908, sheet 34.04)
Other (1911):   Description (RCAHMS 1912, 10, No.6)
Other (1953):   Scheduled
Earthwork Survey (1955):   Plan and description during RCAHMS Survey of Marginal Lands (RCAHMS WGD 2/1-2; DP 151577)
Other (1973):   Revised at 1:2500 by the OS
Earthwork Survey (1997):   Toolis 2003, 44-5, fig 4

Interior Features

Angular foundations possibly belonging to a secondary occupation

Water Source

None

Source:
None  
Spring  
Stream  
Pool  
Flush  
Well  
Other  

Surface

None

Interior Features (Surface):
No Known Features  
Round Stone Structures  
Rectangular Stone Structures  
Curvilinear Platforms  
Other Roundhouse Evidence  
Pits  
Quarry Hollows  
Other  

Excavation

None

Interior Features (Excavation):
No Known Excavation  
Pits  
Postholes  
Roundhouses  
Rectangular Structures  
Roads/Tracks  
Quarry Hollows  
Other  
Nothing Found  

Geophysics

None

Interior Features (Geophysics):
No Known Geophysics  
Pits  
Roundhouses  
Rectangular Structures  
Roads/Tracks  
Quarry Hollows  
Other  
Nothing Found  

Finds

None

Interior (Finds):
No Known Finds  
Pottery  
Metal  
Metalworking  
Human Bones  
Animal Bones  
Lithics  
Environmental  
Other  

Aerial

None

Interior Features (Aerial):
APs Not Checked  
None  
Roundhouses  
Rectangular Structures  
Pits  
Postholes  
Roads/Tracks  
Other  

Entrances

See main summary

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  
1:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  

Chevaux de Frise:  

Entrances:
1. Simple Gap (North):   None

Enclosing Works

Thick wall fronted by a broad ditch cutting off the promontory.

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.1ha.
Total:   0.1ha.

Total Footprint Area:  0.18ha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   None

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✗   None

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   1
SE Quadrant:   0
SW Quadrant:   0
NW Quadrant:   1
Total:   1

Morphology

Current Morphology:
Partial Univallate  
Univallate  
Partial Bivallate  
Bivallate  
Partial Multivallate  
Multivallate  
Unknown  

Detailed Morphology:
Partial Univallate  
Univallate  
Partial Bivallate  
Bivallate  
Partial Multivallate  
Multivallate  

Surface Evidence

None

Enclosing Works (Surface):
None  
Earthen Bank  
Stone Wall  
Rubble  
Wall-walk  
Evidence of Timber  
Vitrification  
Other Burning  
Palisade  
Counter Scarp Bank  
Berm  
Unfinished  
Other  

Excavated Evidence

None

Enclosing Works (Excavation):
None  
Earthen Bank  
Stone Wall  
Murus Duplex  
Timber-framed  
Timber-laced  
Vitrification  
Other Burning  
Palisade  
Counter Scarp Bank  
Berm  
Unfinished  
No Known Excavation  
Other  

Other

Gang Working:
✗   None

Ditches:
✓   None

Number of Ditches:  1

Annex:
✗   None

References

RCAHMS (1912) The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions of Scotland. Fourth report and inventory of monuments and constructions in Galloway, 1, county of Wigtown, Edinburgh.

Toolis, R (2003) 'A study of the promontory forts of the north Solway coast'. Trans Dumfriesshire Galloway natur Hist Antiq Soc 3 Ser, 77, 37-78.



Terms of Use

This work is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 and should be cited as:

Lock, Gary and Ralston, Ian. 2024. Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland. Available at: https://hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk


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