Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

SC2616 Tamnafalloch, Perthshire

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

HER:  Stirling 307.01 (None)

NMR:  NN 60 SW 3 (24404)

SM:  None

NGR:  NN 6291 0084

X:  262910  Y:  700840  (OSGB36)

Summary

This fort is situated within an old plantation on a low hillock in an arable landscape. Oval on plan, it measures about 70m from E to W by 45m transversely (0.24ha) within a single rampart accompanied by an external ditch, the latter visible only on the W. The entrance is on the E where the rampart still stands 1.7m in height externally, and 0.7m internally. Mutilated by an old road on the S and elsewhere by field-banks, the interior is featureless. In the 19th century 'gravestones' were said to have been found here, and earlier a sword and a coat of mail. More recently Rampart Scotland excavated a trench across the rampart and recovered charcoal dating to the Late Bronze Age from its core; this work is not yet published (Murray Cook pers comm).

Status

Citizen Science:  

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -468672  Y:  7594424  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -4.210154368836896  Latitude:  56.18045943615521  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Scotland

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Stirling

Historic County:  Perthshire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Port Of Menteith

Monument Condition

None

Condition:
Extant  
Cropmark  
Likely Destroyed  

Land Use

Old plantation

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:  55.0m

Boundary

N/A


Dating Evidence

LBA c14 date from material in the core of the rampart; context unknown

Reliability:  C - Low

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:   Cultivated over and planted with trees

Evidence:
C14:   None

Investigation History

Photographed from the air by RCAHMS Aerial Survey Programme in 1999

Investigations:
1st Identified Written Reference (1863):   OS Name Book records discovery of gravestones, a coat of mail and a sword (Perthshire No.68, p77)
1st Identified Map Depiction (1968):   Surveyed at 1:2500 by the OS
Other (1977):   Visited during RCAHMS fieldwork
Excavation (2011):   Directed by Murray Cook (No references)
Excavation (2013):   Directed by Murray Cook (No references)

Interior Features

Featureless apart from old field banks

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:  
1:   Mutilated and ploughed down

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  

Chevaux de Frise:  

Entrances:
1. Simple Gap (East):   None

Enclosing Works

Single rampart and ditch

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.24ha.
Total:   0.24ha.

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:  1

Annex:
✗   None

References

Name Book, Ordnance Survey Object Name Books (6 inch and 1/2500 scale); available https://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/



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


Document Version 1.1