Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

SC1845: Cockleroy  

Sources: Esri, DigitalGlobe, Earthstar Geographics, CNES/Airbus DS, GeoEye, USDA FSA, USGS, Getmapping, Aerogrid, IGN, IGP, and the GIS User Community

HER:  The West of Scotland Archaeology Service 17919

NMR:  NS 97 SE 9 (48000)

SM:  2378

NGR:  NS 9894 7438

X:  298940  Y:  674380  (EPSG:27700)

Boundary:  

Summary

This fort is situated on the top of Cocleroy, which is girt with rocky scarps along its W flank, and elsewhere with steep slopes. Oval on plan, the fort measures 125m from NW to SE by 60m transversely (0.54ha) within a wall about 2.1m in thickness, and there is a second concentric wall protecting the NW end; numerous facing-stones can be seen along the lines of both. The entrance is on the ESE and at least four ring-ditch houses can be seen within the interior, three at the rear of the rampart on the NE and the fourth on the S.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗  

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -402977  Y:  7548832  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -3.620007  Latitude:  55.95183  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Scotland

Current County or Unitary Authority:  West Lothian

Historic County:   West Lothian

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Linlithgow

Condition

Extant:  
Cropmark:  
Likely Destroyed:  

Land Use

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:  275.0m

Boundary

Boundary Type:  

Second HER:  

Second Current County or Unitary Authority:  

Second Historic County:  

Second Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  

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

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

Pre Hillfort Activity:  ✗  

Post Hillfort Activity:  ✗  

None:  No details.

Investigations

First depicted in 1854 on the 1st edition OS 25-inch map (Linlithgow 1856, sheets 5.7 & 11), it was surveyed by RCAHMS in 1926 during the preparation of the County Inventory for West Lothian (RCAHMS 1929, 232, no.358, fig 294). It was resurveyed at 1:2500 by the OS in 1952 (Feachem 1963, 159) and 1974, and in the same years revisited by RCAHMS. It was Scheduled in 1963. RCAHMS Aerial Survey Programme has photographed the fort in 1982, 1991 and 2009, and the West Lothian Archaeological Group has carried out kite photography in 2010 and prepared a 3d visualisation in 2014.

1st Identified Map Depiction (1854):  Annotated Fort on the 1st edition OS 25-inch map (Linlithgow 1856, sheets 5.7 & 11)
Earthwork Survey (1926):  Plan and description (RCAHMS 1929, 232, no.358, fig 294; RCAHMS WLD 10/1-2)
Other (1952):  Resurveyed at 1:2500 by the OS
Other (1952):  Description during RCAHMS Survey of Marginal Lands
Other (1963):  Scheduled
Other (1974):  Resurveyed at 1:2500 by the OS
Other (1974):  Visited by RCAHMS
Other (2014):  3d visualisation by the West Lothian Archaeological Group

Interior Features

Four ring-ditch houses identified by RCAHMS in 1974

Water Source

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

Surface

Ring-ditch houses

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

Excavation

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

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:  

Number of Possible Original Entrances:   

Guard Chambers:  

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗  

Entrance 1 (Southeast):  Simple Gap

Enclosing Works

Single rampart with a second at one end

Enclosed Area 1:  0.54ha.
Enclosed Area 2:  
Enclosed Area 3:  
Enclosed Area 4:  
Total Enclosed Area:  0.5ha.

Total Footprint Area:  0.8ha.

Multi-period Enclosure System:  ✗  

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:  ✓  

Number of Ramparts:  2

Number of Ramparts NE Quadrant:  2
Number of Ramparts SE Quadrant:  1
Number of Ramparts SW Quadrant:  1
Number of Ramparts NW Quadrant:  2

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

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

Feachem, R (1963) A guide to prehistoric Scotland. Batsford: London

RCAHMS (1929) The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions of Scotland. Tenth report with inventory of monuments and constructions in the counties of Midlothian and West Lothian. 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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