Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

SC1496 Gallow Hill, Bridge of Allan, Perthshire (Knock Hill)

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

HER:  Stirling 751 (None)

NMR:  NS 79 NE 10 (45987)

SM:  6478

NGR:  NS 7825 9845

X:  278250  Y:  698450  (OSGB36)

Summary

This small fortification is situated on a rocky hillock that rises out of the saddle between Knock Hill on the SW and Gallow Hill on the N. Oval on plan, it measures 48m from N to S by 40m transversely (0.15ha) within a single rampart 4.5m in thickness by 1m in height. The entrance is on the SE, where the OS noted a hollowed track dropping down the slope. The interior is featureless. An imported Roman rotary qeurnstone was found in the enclosing plantation wall about 1958 (Stirling 1958).

Status

Citizen Science:  

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -441059  Y:  7590967  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -3.9620990183926468  Latitude:  56.16316814598416  (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:  80.0m

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 plantation

Evidence:No related records

Investigation History

First depicted on James Stobie's map of The Counties of Perth and Clackmannan (1783), and annotated 'Camp round table', it is shown in more detail in 1863 on the 1st edition OS 25-inch map (Perth and Clackmannan 1866, 132.8), where it is annotated 'Supposed Roman Camp' in Roman type. It was visited by O G S Crawford in 1937, and subsequent OS visits to revise the 1:2500 depiction were carried out in 1953 and 1964. It was visited by RCAHMS in 1957, though they failed to identify any features on account of the dense undergrowth of nettles, and revisited in 1978. It was Scheduled in 1996.

Investigations:
1st Identified Map Depiction (1783):   James Stobie's map of The Counties of Perth and Clackmannan (1783)
Other (1863):   Annotated Roman Camp in Roman type on the 1st edition OS 25-inch map (Perth and Clackmannan 1866, 132.8)
Other (1937):   Visited by O G S Crawford
Other (1953):   Revised at 1:2500 by the OS
Other (1957):   Visited during RCAHMS Survey of Marginal Lands
Other (1964):   Revised at 1:2500 by the OS
Other (1978):   Description by RCAHMS
Other (1996):   Scheduled

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

Stray find of an Imported Roman quernstone

Interior (Finds):
No Known Finds  
Pottery  
Metal  
Metalworking  
Human Bones  
Animal Bones  
Lithics  
Environmental  
Other  

Aerial

Obscured partly by trees

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:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  

Chevaux de Frise:  

Entrances:
1. Simple Gap (South east):   Hollowed track drops down the slope

Enclosing Works

Single rampart

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.15ha.
Total:   0.15ha.

Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   None

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✓   None

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

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

Stirling, M (1958) 'An upper quernstone from Perthshire, near Bridge of Allan', Proc Soc Antiq Scot 91 (1957-8), 187-8



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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