Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

SC1559: The Tappoch, Torwood  

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HER:  Falkirk Community Trust, Falkirk Sites and Monuments Record 768

NMR:  NS 88 SW 1 (47004)

SM:  1738

NGR:  NS 8333 8498

X:  283335  Y:  684986  (EPSG:27700)

Boundary:  

Summary

The well-known broch known as The Tappoch stands within a larger enclosure, whose two ramparts are commonly regarded as outworks to the broch. More recently, however, it has been suggested that the broch may have been erected within the interior of an earlier enclosure on the craggy hilltop, and a trial excavation carried out by Murray Cook on what has the appearance of a rib of outcrop about 20m outside the defences on the S suggests that this may also mark the line of an outer rampart, though its precise course and the extent of any enclosure it might form are uncertain. The projected circuit of the inner of the known outworks encloses an area measuring about 45m from N to S by 32m transversely (0.11ha) within a wall about 4.5m thick and 1.4m in external height on the SE, though it peters out to the NE of the broch and cannot be traced to the edge of the escarpment forming the W side of the summit. The outer, displays runs of outer face on the SE, is of lesser stature and also peters out northwards; nonetheless, its projected line takes in the whole of the natural terrace to the N of the broch, enclosing an area measuring about 63m from N to S by 38m transversely (0.18ha). The existence of a third line on the S would enclose an area in excess of 0.2ha. The entrance is on the ESE, on the same axis as that of the broch. Excavations in 1948-49 focused on the outworks, but were unable to elucidate either their date or purpose (Hunter 1949a & b).

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗  

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Unconfirmed:  While there is a possibility that the supposed outworks of the broch include elements of an earlier enclosure on the hilltop, it is unclear what its precise extent may be

Location

X:  -431294  Y:  7567087  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -3.874381  Latitude:  56.043535  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Scotland

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Falkirk

Historic County:   Stirlingshire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Dunipace

Condition

Extant:  
Cropmark:  
Likely Destroyed:  

Land Use

Clearing in coniferous plantation

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:  105.0m

Boundary

Boundary Type:  

Second HER:  

Second Current County or Unitary Authority:  

Second Historic County:  

Second Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  

Dating Evidence

The broch may reasonably be dated to the early centuries AD

Reliability:  D - None

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

Pre Hillfort Activity:  ✗  

Post Hillfort Activity:  ✓  Construction of the broch

Morphology/Earthwork/Typology:  No details.

Investigations

A feature shown on Roy's Maps (1747-55) in Tor Wood is possibly a depiction of the interior of the broch, much as it was when it was depicted on the 1st edition OS 25-inch map as a Tumulus (Stirlingshire 1861, Sheet 24.5), three years before it was investigated by Col Joseph Dundas, who emptied out the interior (Dundas 1866). On the subsequent editions of the OS map the lines of the walls-faces are shown, but there is no gothic script to indicate its antiquity. Christian Maclagan prepared several drawings, probably about 1880, and the RCAHMS collection also holds plans and sections by 'Carey', which are included in the Society of Antiquaries manuscripts (RCAHMS STD 42/6, SAS 261). It was surveyed by RCAHMS in 1953 for inclusion in the County Inventory for Stirlingshire (RCAHMS 1963, 85-7, no.100, fig 24). Euan Mackie conducted a minor investigation of a chamber exposed on the wall head in 1964. The OS revised the 1:2500 depiction in 1974, and in 1979 N Aitchison noted a small lump of vitrified stone from the inner outwork on the northern side of the broch. Most recently the site has been surveyed using a ground-based scanner by G Cavers and J Hudson of AOC Archaeology (2014).

1st Identified Map Depiction (1755):  General William Roy's Military Map of Scotland (1747-55)
Other (1861):  Annotated Tumulus on the 1st edition OS 25-inch map as a Tumulus (Stirlingshire 1865, Sheet 24.5)
Excavation (1864):  Col Joseph Dundas (Dundas 1866)
Earthwork Survey (1880):  About 1880; Christian Maclagan (RCAHMS DC53001; 53008; 53010)
Excavation (1948):  On outworks (Hunter 1949a & b)
Other (1949):  Scheduled
Excavation (1949):  On outworks (Hunter 1949a & b)
Earthwork Survey (1953):  RCAHMS STD 42/1-5 & DP17039-3
Excavation (1964):  Euan Mackie 1964
Other (1974):  Revised at 1:2500 by the OS
Excavation (2014):  On an outwork by Murray Cook
Earthwork Survey (2014):  Including scan data (Cavers and Hudson 2014)

Interior Features

Featureless apart from the broch

Water Source

None:  
Spring:  
Stream:  
Pool:  
Flush:  
Well:  
Other:  

Surface

Broch

No Known Features:  
Round Stone Structures:  
Rectangular Stone Structures:  
Curvilinear Platforms:  
Other Roundhouse Evidence:  
Pits:  
Quarry Hollows:  
Other:  

Excavation

hearths

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

These include '3 boulders carved with cup and ring marks, saddle and rotary querns, 3 hollowed pebbles, one of which resembles 1 crude version of a stone "lamp" of the type found at the nearby West Plean homestead [4, 88, no. 104], stone balls, whorls, sherds of coarse pottery (with two sherds of finer ware which may be medieval), and 2 sherds of Early Iron Age native ware' (MacKie 2007, 1318-19).

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:  1:  Outworks peter out towards the N

Number of Possible Original Entrances:   

Guard Chambers:  

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗  

Entrance 1 (Southeast):  Simple Gap

Enclosing Works

Either or both the supposed outworks may relate to an earlier fortification on the hilltop

Enclosed Area 1:  0.11ha.
Enclosed Area 2:  
Enclosed Area 3:  
Enclosed Area 4:  
Total Enclosed Area:  0.1ha.

Total Footprint Area:  0.2ha.

Multi-period Enclosure System:  ✗  

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:  ✗  

Number of Ramparts:  2

Number of Ramparts NE Quadrant:  2
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

Piece of vitrified stone noted by Nick Aitchison (1979) in the outwork

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:  

Annex

Annex:  ✗  

References

Aitchison, N (1979) 'Tappoch broch (Dunipace p), vitrified stone; daub', Disc Exc Scot 1979, 3

24th February 2014. AOC Archaeology for Archaeology Scotland

Cavers, G and Hudson G 2014 Torwood and Coldoch Brochs, Stirlingshire Archaeological Survey Report, 22600,

Dundas, J (1866) 'Note on the excavation of an ancient building at Tapock in the Torwood, Parish of Dunipace, County of Stirling'. Proc Soc Antiq Scot 6 (1964-6), 259-65

Feachem, R W (1963) Guide to prehistoric Scotland. Batsford: London (p 172)

Hunter, D M (1949a) Proc Falkirk Archaeol Natur Hist Soc 4 (1946-9), 89ff

Hunter, D M (1949b) 'Excavations at Broch of Tappoch, Tor Wood, Stirlingshire'. Proc Soc Antiq Scot 83 (1948-9), 233-5

MacKie, E W (1964) 'Torwood, the Tappoch broch', Disc Exc Scot 1964, 50

MacKie, E W (2007) The Roundhouses, Brochs and Wheelhouses of Atlantic Scotland c.700 BC-AD 500: architecture and material culture, the Northern and Southern Mainland and the Western Islands. BAR British series 444(II), 444(1). Archaeopress: Oxford

RCAHMS (1963) The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Stirlingshire: an inventory of the ancient monuments, 2v. HMSO: Edinburgh

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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