Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

SC1480 Kippenross, Perthshire (Mill of Keir Bank)

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

HER:  Stirling 760 (None)

NMR:  NS 79 NE 17 (45994)

SM:  None

NGR:  NS 7812 9985

X:  278120  Y:  699850  (OSGB36)

Summary

This probable fort is situated at the N end of a low ridge at the top of the escarpment forming the W bank of the Allan Water opposite Kippenross House. All investigators of the defences, which lie in deciduous woodland, agree that the fort is D-shaped on plan, backing onto the escarpment above the Allan Water on the E and with an arc of two ramparts on the W, but whereas RCAHMS in 1957 measured the domed interior at about 90m from N to S by 55m transversely (0.35ha), measurements subsequently accepted by later RCAHMS investigators in 1978, the OS record it at 65m and 30m respectively (0.16ha), though they also noted that the southern end had been obliterated by the construction of turf dykes and paths. No evidence of an entrance has been recorded.

Status

Citizen Science:  

Reliability of Data:  Unconfirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -441363  Y:  7593474  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -3.964833032875037  Latitude:  56.17570597505356  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Scotland

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Stirling

Historic County:  Perthshire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Dunblane And Lecropt

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:  70.0m

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:   Incorporated into a plantation and overlain by turf banks and paths

Evidence:No related records

Investigation History

First depicted on James Stobie's map of The Counties of Perth and Clackmannan (1783) and annotated 'Camp', this fort escapes further notice until visited by RCAHMS as part of the Survey of Marginal Lands in 1957, while a subsequent visit and survey in 1959, attributed to the adjacent 6-figure National Grid Reference to the S recorded a system of narrow ditches that has not been located since. The fort was surveyed at 1:2500 by the OS in 1969, but they considered it to be considerably smaller than postulated by the RCAHMS investigators, and a subsequent visit by RCAHMS in 1978 seems to have accepted the earlier RCAHMS measurements rather than those of the OS.

Investigations:
1st Identified Map Depiction (1783):   James Stobie's map of The Counties of Perth and Clackmannan (1783)
Other (1957):   Description by RCAHMS Survey of Marginal Lands
Earthwork Survey (1959):   Unlocated plan and description during RCAHMS Survey of Marginal Lands
Other (1969):   Surveyed at 1:2500 by the OS
Other (1978):   Visited by RCAHMS

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

Obscured by trees

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

Entrances

None known

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  
0:   Heavily degraded all round the circuit

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None recorded

Guard Chambers:  

Chevaux de Frise:  

Entrances:No related records

Enclosing Works

An arc of twin ramparts against a scarp edge

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.35ha.
Total:   0.35ha.

Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   Despite the discrepancy between OS and RCAHMS measurements, those supplied by the latter are accepted here.

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✗   None

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   0
SE Quadrant:   0
SW Quadrant:   2
NW Quadrant:   2
Total:   2

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:  None

Annex:
✗   None

References

No related records



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


Document Version 1.1