Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

SC1158: Cadzow  

(Hamilton High Parks; High Parks Farm)

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HER:  The West of Scotland Archaeology Service 9842

NMR:  NS 75 SW 10 (45727)

SM:  10727

NGR:  NS 7343 5347

X:  273430  Y:  653470  (EPSG:27700)

Boundary:  

Summary

This small fortification stands on a promontory formed between Avon Water gorge on the E and the gully of a minor tributary on the N. Roughly triangular on plan, it measures a maximum of 48m from E to W by 40m transversely (0.09ha) within a heavily reduced earthwork that comprised twin banks with a medial ditch up to 9m in breadth where it cuts across the neck of the promontory on the SW. Unusually for a promontory enclosure, the defences also turn back on the E along the escarpment above the Avon Water. The entrance was probably on the N margin of the promontory, where a modern track and a field-bank ride up into the interior, traversing round the lip of the promontory and departing on the S. The interior is otherwise featureless. A section cut in 1983 across the defences at the southern angle revealed a bank some 4.5m in thickness on the inner lip of the ditch, with probable packing for timberwork marking its rear edge; the ditch was about 1m deep, and the outer bank 5m in thickness (Wallace and Talbot 1983). Other cut features were noted in subsequent excavations in the interior in 1986-7 and 1989 (Archer 1986; 1987; Archer and Henderson 1989). A silver denarius of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius (AD 161-180) was found in 1989.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗  

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed:  A promontory fort, albeit that its interior falls well below the 0.2ha threshold

Location

X:  -447340  Y:  7510395  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -4.018522  Latitude:  55.758024  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Scotland

Current County or Unitary Authority:  South Lanarkshire

Historic County:   Lanarkshire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Hamilton

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:  65.0m

Boundary

Boundary Type:  

Second HER:  

Second Current County or Unitary Authority:  

Second Historic County:  

Second Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  

Dating Evidence

Roman coin from an unknown context.

Reliability:  C - Low

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

Pre Hillfort Activity:  ✗  

Post Hillfort Activity:  ✓  Cut through by modern track and overlain by field-bank

Artefactual:  Silver denarius of Marcus Aurelius

Investigations

First noted in 1939 by O G S Crawford, it was surveyed by RCAHMS during the survey of Marginal Lands in 1955 and the plan was subsequently reviewed in 1975 for publication in the County Inventory for Lanarkshire (RCAHMS 1978, 146, no.279, fig 89). A trial excavation by M Wallace and Eric Talbot in 1983, was followed by further excavation 1986-7 an 1989 by Ed Archer and B Henderson on behalf of the Lanark and District Archaeological Society (Archer 1986; 1987; Archer and Henderson 1989). It was Scheduled in 2003. Visited by SH in 2013.

Other (1939):  Discovered by O G S Crawford
Earthwork Survey (1955):  Plan and description during RCAHMS Survey of Marginal Lands (RCAHMS LAD 154/1)
Earthwork Survey (1975):  Earlier plan and description reviewed (RCAHMS 1978, 146, no.279, fig 89; RCAHMS LAD 154/2)
Excavation (1983):  Wallace and Talbot 1983
Excavation (1986):  Archer 1986
Excavation (1987):  Archer 1987
Excavation (1989):  Archer and Henderson 1989
Other (2003):  Scheduled
Other (2013):  Visited by S Halliday

Interior Features

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

Piece of iron and a silver denarius of Marcus Aurelius

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:  

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  1:  Gap on the NW is probably the entrance but has no distinguishing features

Guard Chambers:  

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗  

Entrance 1 (Northwest):  Simple Gap

Enclosing Works

Twin banks with a medial ditch cutting off a promontory

Enclosed Area 1:  0.09ha.
Enclosed Area 2:  
Enclosed Area 3:  
Enclosed Area 4:  
Total Enclosed Area:  0.1ha.

Total Footprint Area:  

Multi-period Enclosure System:  ✗  

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:  ✗  

Number of Ramparts:  2

Number of Ramparts NE Quadrant:  
Number of Ramparts SE Quadrant:  2
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:  1

Annex

Annex:  ✗  

References

Archer, E (1986) 'Cadzow, earthwork'. Disc Exc Scot 1986, 36

Archer, E (1987) 'Cadzow, earthwork'. Disc Exc Scot 1987, 51

Archer and Henderson, E and B (1989) 'Cadzow earthwork (Hamilton parish), coin, foundations, post hole'. Disc Exc Scot 1989, 59

RCAHMS (1978) The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Lanarkshire: an inventory of the prehistoric and Roman monuments. HMSO: Edinburgh

Wallace and Talbot, M and E (1983) 'Cadzow, earthwork'. Disc Exc Scot 1983, 31

Terms of Use

The online version of the Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland should be cited as:

Lock, G. and Ralston, I. 2017.  Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland. [ONLINE] Available at: https://hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk.

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