LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
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HER: The West of Scotland Archaeology Service 5778 (None)
NMR: NS 25 SE 6 (41203)
SM: None
NGR: NS 2871 5286
X: 228710 Y: 652860 (OSGB36)
This fort was situated on Carwinning Hill, a steep-side spur above Swinlees which has been progressively eaten away by quarrying operations, so much so, that no trace of the fort now remains. In all three lines of defence have been recorded, but these were severely reduced by stone robbing in the early 19th century. By the time the OS surveyors drew up the 1st edition 25-inch map (Ayrshire 1858, sheet 7.11) the ramparts were mainly visible on the NW, though later surveyors in 1983 traced the remains of two ramparts set about 20m apart extending around the W and S and enclosing an area some 70m in diameter (0.38ha). Excavations in 1977-78 (Cowie 1977; 1978) showed that an outer enclosure line was no more than an old field-dyke. Within the interior of the fort there was also a smaller enclosure measuring about 32m by 27m (0.07ha) within a stony bank. On excavation the latter proved to be the remains of a wall, which on the summit overlay a Bronze Age burial cairn with a kerb; a collared urn, a bronze chisel and half a stone battle-axe re-used as a hammer were found in the cairn. An entrance lined with posts was associated with this enclosure, and within the interior, though not necessarily contemporary with it, there were stone-packed post-holes belonging to at least one round-house. Evidence of a palisade was also recovered.
Citizen Science: ✓
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -526540 Y: 7506591 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -4.729988192075131 Latitude: 55.738788229964356 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Scotland
Current County or Unitary Authority: North Ayrshire
Historic County: Ayrshire
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Dalry
Destroyed by quarrying
| Extant | ✗ |
| Cropmark | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed | ✓ |
Active quarry
| Woodland | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation | ✗ |
| Parkland | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing) | ✗ |
| Arable | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken | ✗ |
| Bare Outcrop | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland | ✗ |
| Heath | ✗ |
| Built-up | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland | ✗ |
| Other | ✓ |
None
| Contour Fort | ✓ |
| Partial Contour Fort | ✗ |
| Promontory Fort | ✗ |
| Hillslope Fort | ✗ |
| Level Terrain Fort | ✗ |
| Marsh Fort | ✗ |
| Multiple Enclosure Fort | ✗ |
| Hilltop | ✓ |
| Coastal Promontory | ✗ |
| Inland Promontory | ✗ |
| Valley Bottom | ✗ |
| Knoll/Hillock/Outcrop | ✗ |
| Ridge | ✗ |
| Cliff/Plateau-edge/Scarp | ✗ |
| Hillslope | ✗ |
| Lowland | ✗ |
| Spur | ✓ |
Dominant Topographic Feature: None
| North | ✗ |
| Northeast | ✗ |
| East | ✗ |
| Southeast | ✗ |
| South | ✗ |
| Southwest | ✗ |
| West | ✗ |
| Northwest | ✗ |
| Level | ✓ |
Altitude: 182.0m
N/A
No dating evidence was recovered for the defences
Reliability: D - None
| Pre 1200BC | ✗ |
| 1200BC - 800BC | ✗ |
| 800BC - 400BC | ✗ |
| 400BC - AD50 | ✗ |
| AD50 - AD400 | ✗ |
| AD400 - AD 800 | ✗ |
| Post AD800 | ✗ |
| Unknown | ✓ |
| Pre Hillfort: | A single radiocarbon date of 1880-1620 cal BC (GrA-19421) was obtained for the urn burial. |
| Post Hillfort: | Quarried and evidence of post-medieval occupation |
Noted in 1836 (NSA, 5, Ayrshire, 219), it was depicted in 1856 on the 1st edition OS 25-inch map (Ayrshire 1858, sheet 7.11), and in the early 1890s described by both David Christison (1893, 389-90, pl 5, fig 4) and John Smith (1895, 68), the former identifying the enclosure within the interior of the fort. Subsequent visits were carried out by RCAHMS for the Emergency Surveys in 1942, and the Marginal Lands Survey in 1952. The OS visited the fort in 1956 and resurveyed it in 1964 and 1983. Excavations were carried out in 1977-8 by Trevor Cowie prior to its destruction by quarrying (Cowie 1977; 1978).
| 1st Identified Written Reference (1836): | Noted (NSA, 5, Ayrshire, 219) |
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1856): | Annotated Fort on the 1st edition OS 25-inch map (Ayrshire 1858, sheet 7.11) |
| Earthwork Survey (1891): | Sketch-plan and description (Christison 1893, 389-90, pl 5, fig 4) |
| Other (1895): | Description (Smith 1895, 68) |
| Other (1942): | Description by Angus Graham and Gordon Childe for the RCAHMS wartime Emergency Surveys |
| Other (1952): | Description during RCAHMS Survey of Marginal Lands |
| Other (1956): | Visited by the OS |
| Other (1964): | Surveyed at 1:2500 by the OS |
| Excavation (1977): | Cowie 1977 |
| Excavation (1978): | Cowie 1978 |
| Other (1983): | Revised at 1:2500 by the OS |
Destroyed
None
| None | ✓ |
| Spring | ✗ |
| Stream | ✗ |
| Pool | ✗ |
| Flush | ✗ |
| Well | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
None
| No Known Features | ✓ |
| Round Stone Structures | ✗ |
| Rectangular Stone Structures | ✗ |
| Curvilinear Platforms | ✗ |
| Other Roundhouse Evidence | ✗ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Post-ring
| No Known Excavation | ✗ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Postholes | ✗ |
| Roundhouses | ✓ |
| Rectangular Structures | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
| Nothing Found | ✗ |
None
| No Known Geophysics | ✓ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Roundhouses | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
| Nothing Found | ✗ |
None
| No Known Finds | ✓ |
| Pottery | ✗ |
| Metal | ✗ |
| Metalworking | ✗ |
| Human Bones | ✗ |
| Animal Bones | ✗ |
| Lithics | ✗ |
| Environmental | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
NO APPARENT FEATURES
| APs Not Checked | ✓ |
| None | ✗ |
| Roundhouses | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures | ✗ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Postholes | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
See main summary
| 2: | Now destroyed |
| 2: | Position of entrance located by excavation not recorded |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
| 1. Simple Gap (West): | Identified by David Christison (1893, 389-90, pl 5, fig 4) |
| 2. Simple Gap (None): | Post lined, in inner enclosure |
Two ramparts with evidence of a smaller inner enclosure
| Area 1: | 0.38ha. |
| Total: | 0.38ha. |
Total Footprint Area: Noneha.
None
| ✗ | None |
| ✗ | Already robbed and destroyed in some sectors prior to quarrying |
| NE Quadrant: | 2 |
| SE Quadrant: | 0 |
| SW Quadrant: | 2 |
| NW Quadrant: | 2 |
| Total: | 2 |
| Partial Univallate | ✗ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✓ |
| Bivallate | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
| Unknown | ✗ |
| Partial Univallate | ✗ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✗ |
| Bivallate | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
When still visible but now destroyed
| None | ✗ |
| Earthen Bank | ✗ |
| Stone Wall | ✗ |
| Rubble | ✓ |
| Wall-walk | ✗ |
| Evidence of Timber | ✗ |
| Vitrification | ✗ |
| Other Burning | ✗ |
| Palisade | ✗ |
| Counter Scarp Bank | ✗ |
| Berm | ✗ |
| Unfinished | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
None
| None | ✗ |
| Earthen Bank | ✗ |
| Stone Wall | ✓ |
| Murus Duplex | ✗ |
| Timber-framed | ✗ |
| Timber-laced | ✗ |
| Vitrification | ✗ |
| Other Burning | ✗ |
| Palisade | ✓ |
| Counter Scarp Bank | ✗ |
| Berm | ✗ |
| Unfinished | ✗ |
| No Known Excavation | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
| ✗ | None |
| ✗ | None |
Number of Ditches: None
| ✗ | None |
Christison, D (1893) 'The Prehistoric Forts of Ayrshire'. Proc Soc Antiq Scot 27 (1892-93), 381-405.
Cowie, T (1977) 'Dalry, Carwinning Hill', Disc Exc Scot 1977, 8
Cowie, T (1978) 'Carwinning Hill, hillfort, cairn, structural remains', Disc Exc Scot 1978, 28
Feachem, R (1963) A guide to prehistoric Scotland. Batsford; London (p 110)
NSA (1834-1845) The new statistical account of Scotland by the ministers of the respective parishes under the superintendence of a committee of the society for the benefit of the sons and daughters of the clergy, 15v Edinburgh
Smith, J (1895) Prehistoric man in Ayrshire. London
Atlas of Hillforts:
Wikidata:
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
Document Version 1.1