Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland
SC0852: Moss Castle   | |
Sources: Esri, DigitalGlobe, Earthstar Geographics, CNES/Airbus DS, GeoEye, USDA FSA, USGS, Getmapping, Aerogrid, IGN, IGP, and the GIS User Community
HER:  Dumfries & Galloway MDG12131
NMR:  NY 07 NE 9 (66133)
SM:  12114
NGR:  NY 0884 7603
X:  308840  Y:  576030  (EPSG:27700)
Boundary:  ✗
Summary
This fort occupies the northern summit of Almagill Hill. The defences are best formed on the S, facing into the saddle separating it from the southern summit, where two ramparts can be seen, the inner forming a scarp some 1.9m in external height. Elsewhere on the E and W, where the hill falls away more steeply, only the inner rampart can be traced, and there is no evidence that this completed its circuit on the N. The roughly oval interior measures about 150m from N to S by 100m transversely (1.3ha) and is featureless. There is an entrance on the S.
Status
Citizen Science:   | ✗   | |
Reliability of Data:   | Confirmed | |
Reliability of Interpretation:   | Confirmed | |
Location
X:  -381731  Y:  7375534  (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude:  -3.429145  Latitude:  55.070361  (EPSG:4326)
Country:  Scotland
Current County or Unitary Authority:  Dumfries & Galloway
Historic County:   Dumfriesshire
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Dalton
Condition
Extant:   | ✓ |
Cropmark:   | ✗ |
Likely Destroyed:   | ✗ |
Land Use
Woodland:   | ✗ |
Commercial Forestry Plantation:   | ✗ |
Parkland:   | ✗ |
Pasture (Grazing):   | ✓ |
Arable:   | ✗ |
Scrub/Bracken:   | ✗ |
Bare Outcrop:   | ✗ |
Heather/Moorland:   | ✓ |
Heath:   | ✗ |
Built-up:   | ✗ |
Coastal Grassland:   | ✗ |
Other:   | ✗ |
Landscape
Hillfort Type
Contour Fort:   | ✓ |
Partial Contour Fort:   | ✗ |
Promontory Fort:   | ✗ |
Hillslope Fort:   | ✗ |
Level Terrain Fort:   | ✗ |
Marsh Fort:   | ✗ |
Multiple Enclosure Fort:   | ✗ |
Topographic Position
Hilltop:   | ✓ |
Coastal Promontory:   | ✗ |
Inland Promontory:   | ✗ |
Valley Bottom:   | ✗ |
Knoll/Hillock/Outcrop:   | ✗ |
Ridge:   | ✗ |
Cliff/Plateau-edge/Scarp:   | ✗ |
Hillslope:   | ✗ |
Lowland:   | ✗ |
Spur:   | ✗ |
Dominant Topographic Feature:  ✗
Aspect
North:   | ✗ |
Northeast:   | ✗ |
East:   | ✗ |
Southeast:   | ✗ |
South:   | ✗ |
Southwest:   | ✗ |
West:   | ✗ |
Northwest:   | ✗ |
Level:   | ✓ |
Elevation
Altitude:  210.0m
Boundary
Boundary Type:   | ✗ | |
Second HER:  ✗
Second Current County or Unitary Authority:  ✗
Second Historic County:  ✗
Second Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  ✗
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
Pre 1200BC:   | ✗ |
1200BC - 800BC:   | ✗ |
1200BC - 800BC:   | ✗ |
400BC - AD50:   | ✗ |
AD50 - AD400:   | ✗ |
AD400 - AD 800:   | ✗ |
Post AD800:   | ✗ |
Unknown:   | ✓ |
Pre Hillfort Activity:   | ✗   | |
Post Hillfort Activity:   | ✗   | |
Investigations
Identified during the RCAHMS Survey of Marginal Lands (Feachem 1955, 59), the fort was surveyed at 1:2500 by the OS in 1966 and revisited in 1973. It was Scheduled in 2007.
Interior Features
Natural platforms but otherwise featureless
Water Source
None:   | ✓ |
Spring:   | ✗ |
Stream:   | ✗ |
Pool:   | ✗ |
Flush:   | ✗ |
Well:   | ✗ |
Other:   | ✗ |
Surface
No Known Features:   | ✓ |
Round Stone Structures:   | ✗ |
Rectangular Stone Structures:   | ✗ |
Curvilinear Platforms:   | ✗ |
Other Roundhouse Evidence:   | ✗ |
Pits:   | ✗ |
Quarry Hollows:   | ✗ |
Other:   | ✗ |
Excavation
No Known Excavation:   | ✓ |
Pits:   | ✗ |
Postholes:   | ✗ |
Roundhouses:   | ✗ |
Rectangular Structures:   | ✗ |
Roads/Tracks:   | ✗ |
Quarry Hollows:   | ✗ |
Other:   | ✗ |
Nothing Found:   | ✗ |
Geophysics
No Known Geophysics:   | ✓ |
Pits:   | ✗ |
Roundhouses:   | ✗ |
Rectangular Structures:   | ✗ |
Roads/Tracks:   | ✗ |
Quarry Hollows:   | ✗ |
Other:   | ✗ |
Nothing Found:   | ✗ |
Finds
No Known Finds:   | ✓ |
Pottery:   | ✗ |
Metal:   | ✗ |
Metalworking:   | ✗ |
Human Bones:   | ✗ |
Animal Bones:   | ✗ |
Lithics:   | ✗ |
Environmental:   | ✗ |
Other:   | ✗ |
Aerial
NO APPARENT FEATURES
APs Not Checked:   | ✗ |
None:   | ✓ |
Roundhouses:   | ✗ |
Rectangular Structures:   | ✗ |
Pits:   | ✗ |
Postholes:   | ✗ |
Roads/Tracks:   | ✗ |
Other:   | ✗ |
Entrances
See main summary
Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:   | 1:   | The circuit is not complete and only intermittently visible along its E and W sides, and absent on the N |
Number of Possible Original Entrances:   |   | |
Guard Chambers:  ✗
Chevaux de Frise:   | ✗   | |
Enclosing Works
Single rampart around most of the hilltop with an outer rampart on the S.
Enclosed Area 1:   | 1.3ha. |
Enclosed Area 2:   | ✗ |
Enclosed Area 3:   | ✗ |
Enclosed Area 4:   | ✗ |
Total Enclosed Area:   | 1.3ha. |
Total Footprint Area:  ✗
Multi-period Enclosure System:   | ✗   | |
Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:   | ✗   | |
Number of Ramparts:   | 2 | |
Number of Ramparts NE Quadrant:   | 1 |
Number of Ramparts SE Quadrant:   | 1 |
Number of Ramparts SW Quadrant:   | 2 |
Number of Ramparts NW Quadrant:   | ✗ |
Current Morphology
Partial Univallate:   | ✓ |
Univallate:   | ✗ |
Partial Bivallate:   | ✓ |
Bivallate: | ✗ |
Partial Multivallate:   | ✗ |
Multivallate:   | ✗ |
Unknown:   | ✗ |
Multi-period Morphology
Partial Univallate:   | ✗ |
Univallate:   | ✗ |
Partial Bivallate:   | ✗ |
Bivallate:   | ✗ |
Partial Multivallate:   | ✗ |
Multivallate:   | ✗ |
Surface Evidence
None:   | ✗ |
Earthen Bank:   | ✗ |
Stone Wall:   | ✗ |
Rubble:   | ✓ |
Wall-walk:   | ✗ |
Evidence of Timber:   | ✗ |
Vitrification:   | ✗ |
Other Burning:   | ✗ |
Palisade:   | ✗ |
Counter Scarp Bank:   | ✗ |
Berm:   | ✗ |
Unfinished:   | ✗ |
Other:   | ✗ |
Excavated Evidence
None:   | ✗ |
Earthen Bank:   | ✗ |
Stone Wall:   | ✗ |
Murus Duplex:   | ✗ |
Timber-framed:   | ✗ |
Timber-laced:   | ✗ |
Vitrification:   | ✗ |
Other Burning:   | ✗ |
Palisade:   | ✗ |
Counter Scarp Bank:   | ✗ |
Berm:   | ✗ |
Unfinished:   | ✗ |
No Known Excavation:   | ✓ |
Other:   | ✗ |
Gang Working
Gang Working:   | ✗  | |
Ditches
Ditches:  ✗
Number of Ditches:   | | |
Annex
Annex:   | ✗   | |
References
Feachem, R W (1955) 'Iron Age and early medieval monuments in Galloway and Dumfriesshire'. Trans Dumfriesshire Galloway Natur Hist Antiq Soc, 3 ser, 33 (1954-5), 58-65