HER:  The West of Scotland Archaeology Service 2361 (None)
NMR:  NR 92 SE 3 (39658)
SM:  5691
NGR:  NR 9975 2082
X:  199750  Y:  620820  (OSGB36)
Although this has been previously classified as a fort, and indeed Scheduled as such, the morphology of the earthworks suggest that it is more likely to be the remains of an earth and timber castle. The motte at its core has been tailored partly from a natural knoll backing on to the spectacular cliffs that form the coastal escarpment running down to Bennan Head, and has been scarped around its N and W flanks. This has been enhanced by the addition of twin banks with a medial ditch, which are best preserved on the most easily accessible N side and turn inwards to flank an entrance in the middle of the W side. The level summit of the motte measures some 35m from NE to SW by 20m transversely.
Citizen Science:  ✗
Reliability of Data:  Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation:  Irreconciled issues
X:  -575220  Y:  7447779  (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude:  -5.167287021355644  Latitude:  55.44023108300381  (EPSG:4326)
Country:  Scotland
Current County or Unitary Authority:  North Ayrshire
Historic County:  Buteshire
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Kilmory
None
Extant   | ✓ |
Cropmark   | ✗ |
Likely Destroyed   | ✗ |
None
Woodland   | ✗ |
Commercial Forestry Plantation   | ✗ |
Parkland   | ✗ |
Pasture (Grazing)   | ✓ |
Arable   | ✗ |
Scrub/Bracken   | ✗ |
Bare Outcrop   | ✗ |
Heather/Moorland   | ✗ |
Heath   | ✗ |
Built-up   | ✗ |
Coastal Grassland   | ✗ |
Other   | ✗ |
Probably a motte
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:  120.0m
N/A
In the absence of excavation, there are neither stratified artefacts nor radiocarbon dates to provide a chronology for the defences, nevertheless, the form of the earthworks suggests that this may be a medieval earth and timber castle.
Reliability:  D - None
Pre 1200BC   | ✗ |
1200BC - 800BC   | ✗ |
800BC - 400BC   | ✗ |
400BC - AD50   | ✗ |
AD50 - AD400   | ✗ |
AD400 - AD 800   | ✗ |
Post AD800   | ✓ |
Unknown   | ✗ |
Pre Hillfort:   | None |
Post Hillfort:   | None |
Morphology/Earthwork/Typology:   | Motte |
Photographed from the air by RCAHMS in 2005
1st Identified Written Reference (1837):   | Noted (Patersom 1837, 132) |
1st Identified Map Depiction (1864):   | Annotated Fort on 1st edition OS 25-inch map (Argyll and Bute 1869, sheet 259.4) |
Other (1910):   | Noted (Balfour 1910, 187) |
Other (1977):   | Survey and description by the OS at 1:10,000 |
Other (1993):   | Scheduled |
Featureless
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   | ✗ |
None
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
1:   | None |
2:   | None |
Guard Chambers:  ✗
Chevaux de Frise:  ✗
1. In-turned (West):   | None |
Scarped knoll with twin outer ramparts with a medial ditch
Area 1:   | 0.05ha. |
Total:   | 0.05ha. |
Total Footprint Area:  0.14ha.
None
✗   | None |
✗   | None |
NE Quadrant:   | 2 |
SE Quadrant:   | 0 |
SW Quadrant:   | 0 |
NW Quadrant:   | 2 |
Total:   | 2 |
Partial Univallate   | ✗ |
Univallate   | ✗ |
Partial Bivallate   | ✓ |
Bivallate   | ✗ |
Partial Multivallate   | ✗ |
Multivallate   | ✗ |
Unknown   | ✗ |
Partial Univallate   | ✗ |
Univallate   | ✗ |
Partial Bivallate   | ✗ |
Bivallate   | ✗ |
Partial Multivallate   | ✗ |
Multivallate   | ✗ |
None
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:  1
✗   | None |
Balfour, J A ed (1910) The book of Arran, Archaeology. Hugh Hopkins: Glasgow
McLellan, R (1970) Isle of Arran (p 81)
Paterson, J (1837) 'Prize essays'. Trans Highland Agr Soc Scot 9, 132
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