Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

SC1231 Kildoon Hill, Ayrshire

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  The West of Scotland Archaeology Service 5407 (None)

NMR:  NS 20 NE 6 (40829)

SM:  2176

NGR:  NS 2986 0738

X:  229860  Y:  607380  (OSGB36)

Summary

This fort is situated on the E end of a prominent ridge that rises out of the undulating landscape S of Maybole. Oval on plan, it measures about 46m from E to W by 23m transversely (0.08ha) within what has evidently been a heavily vitrified wall or rampart, though it has been extensively robbed on the W and SE, and is partly overlain by the monument to Sir Charles Fergusson of Kilkerran. Additional defence on the W is provided by two outer ramparts with external ditches, which cut across the spine of the ridge. The entrance is probably on the WSW, where a terraced trackway passes along the slope below the terminals of the two outer ramparts to approach a gap in the inner wall.

Status

Citizen Science:  

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -521391  Y:  7426370  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -4.683730588278108  Latitude:  55.33098409981624  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Scotland

Current County or Unitary Authority:  South Ayrshire

Historic County:  Ayrshire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Maybole

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:  170.0m

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:   None

Evidence:No related records

Investigation History

First depicted in 1857 on the 1st edition OS 25-inch map (Ayrshire 1859, sheet 44.12), this fort was included unvisited in David Christison's survey of Ayrshire (1893, 396), but at about the same date noted in some detail by John Smith (1895, 178-9). It was then noted in 1942 for the RCAHMS Emergency Surveys by Angus Graham and Gordon Childe, who observed that the slightly odd configuration of the inner wall and the outer defences on the W might indicate that they belong to separate periods of construction (Childe and Graham 1943, 39-40). The fort was revisited by RCAHMS in 1953 during the Survey of Marginal Lands, and was resurveyed at 1:2500 by the OS in 1967, and again in 1977. RCAHMS revisited in 1982, and also took oblique aerial photographs in 1994. It was Scheduled in 1961.

Investigations:
1st Identified Map Depiction (1857):   Named in Gothic type on the 1st edition OS 25-inch map (Ayrshire 1859, sheet 44.12)
Other (1895):   Description, John Smith (1895, 178-9)
Other (1942):   Description by Angus Graham and Gordon Childe for RCAHMS wartime Emergency Surveys (Childe and Graham 1943, 39-40)
Other (1953):   Description during RCAHMS Survey of Marginal Lands
Other (1961):   Scheduled
Other (1967):   Resurveyed at 1:2500 by the OS
Other (1977):   Revised at 1:2500 by the OS
Other (1982):   Description by RCAHMS
Other (1983):   Visited by the Hill-Fort Study Group

Interior Features

Featureless

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

NO APPARENT FEATURES

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:   Heavy robbing in large sectors of the inner wall

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  

Chevaux de Frise:  

Entrances:
1. Simple Gap (South west):   None

Enclosing Works

One continuous wall and two outer ramparts and ditches on the most accessible side

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.07ha.
Total:   0.07ha.

Total Footprint Area:  0.2ha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   None

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✓   None

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   1
SE Quadrant:   1
SW Quadrant:   3
NW Quadrant:   1
Total:   3

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:
✓   On one side

Number of Ditches:  2

Annex:
✗   None

References

Childe and Graham, V G and A (1943) 'Some notable prehistoric and medieval monuments recently examined by The Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland', Proc Soc Antiq Scot 77 (1943), 31-49

Christison, D (1893) 'The Prehistoric Forts of Ayrshire'. Proc Soc Antiq Scot 27 (1892-93), 381-405.

Feachem, R (1963) A guide to prehistoric Scotland. Batsford: London (p 109-10)

Smith, J (1895) Prehistoric Man in Ayrshire. London.



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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