Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

SC2521 Rubha Aird An Iasgaich, Ardnamurchan, Argyll

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

HER:  Highland HER MHG73 (None)

NMR:  NM 46 SE 5 (22132)

SM:  6175

NGR:  NM 4925 6289

X:  149250  Y:  762890  (OSGB36)

Summary

The remains of a small oval fortification are situated on a hillock adjacent to the car park on the road down to Mingary Pier. It measures about 30m from NNE to SSW by 18m transversely (0.04ha) within a wall reduced to little more than a scatter of stones. The entrance was probably on the NNE, where a shallow gully crosses the line of the wall. The footings of a small rectangular enclosure of more recent date can be seen in this gully, but the interior is otherwise featureless.

Status

Citizen Science:  

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -678683  Y:  7697081  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -6.096717051646887  Latitude:  56.69030454677892  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Scotland

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Highland

Historic County:  Argyll

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Ardnamurchan

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:  15.0m

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:   Heavy stone robbing and quarrying, and also overlain by a small rectangular enclosure

Evidence:No related records

Investigation History

None

Investigations:
Earthwork Survey (1972):   Plan and description (RCAHMS 1980, 85-6, no.154, fig 78; RCAHMS AGD 639/1-2)
Other (1995):   Scheduled
Other (2004):   Visited J Robertson for Field Verification Project (Lochaber) (Highland HER MHG73)

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

NO APPARENT FEATURES

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:  
0:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   Almost certainly uses a natural gully on the NNE, but otherwise nothing is visible of it

Guard Chambers:  

Chevaux de Frise:  

Entrances:No related records

Enclosing Works

Single wall

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.04ha.
Total:   0.04ha.

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

RCAHMS (1980) The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Argyll: an inventory of the monuments volume 3: Mull, Tiree, Coll and Northern Argyll (excluding the early medieval and later monuments of Iona). HMSO: Edinburgh



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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