Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

SC2833 St John's Point, Caithness

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

HER:  Highland HER MHG1693 (None)

NMR:  ND 37 NW 1 & 2 (9369)

SM:  2689

NGR:  ND 3105 7515

X:  331050  Y:  975150  (OSGB36)

Summary

The large headland known as St John's Point is defended by a substantial rampart and ditch barring access from the S. The rampart is massive in Scottish terms, forming a bank some 12m in thickness at the base by 3m in height and is probably fronted by an equally broad ditch, though of the latter all that can be seen is a shallow hollow about 10m in breadth with a later turf field-bank extending along its counterscarp. The interior measures about 210m from N to S by up to 140m transversely (2.25ha), and is indented by deep geos along its seaward end to form three smaller promontories. Turf field-banks extend around the margin of the headland and much of its surface has been cultivated in rigs, but aerial photographs reveal traces of a ploughed-down arc of bank enclosing an area about 30m across in the angle between the cliffs on the E and the rampart on the S. This enclosure is the 'Grave Yard' annotated on the 1st edition OS 25-inch map (Caithness 1877, sheet 2.11), which places a cross marking the site of St John's Chapel at its centre. This attribution has been transposed to the remains of a building visible beneath the E end of a stone field-dyke that surmounts the rampart. In 1910 Alexander Curle noted that this was locally said to be a chapel, but he also observed that it was not correctly oriented and doubted the attribution (RCAHMS 1911, 20-1, no.56). Nevertheless, in 1919 John Nicolson uncovered the W gable end to reveal a central entrance and what he described as a slab-lined grave, with its head to the W and a reused cross-slab in one side (Nicolson 1922); the stratigraphic relationship between the chapel and the rampart was not recorded. Apart from a second compartment at the E end of this building, the only other feature visible within the interior of the fort are the remains of a rectangular building platform on the edge of the cliffs overlooking the N side of the small bay that cuts into the headland from the E (ND 31117 75151).

Status

Citizen Science:  

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -355121  Y:  8106999  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -3.190104098297375  Latitude:  58.65878250022297  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Scotland

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Highland

Historic County:  Caithness

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Canisbay

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 modern 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:   Chapel and burial-ground possible; Cultivated in the post-medieval period and the site of at least one other rectangular building

Evidence:No related records

Investigation History

None

Investigations:
1st Identified Map Depiction (1873):   Annotated 'Fosse' on 1st edition OS 25-inch map (Caithness 1877, sheet 2.11)
Other (1910):   Description (RCAHMS 1911, 17, no.40; 20-1, no.56)
Excavation (1919):   John Nicolson uncovers part of the supposed chapel (1922)
Other (1965):   Visited by the OS
Earthwork Survey (1967):   Description and sketch-plan of the chapel and burial-ground (Macdonald and Laing 1968, 124-5, fig3)
Other (1968):   Scheduled
Other (1971):   Description and photographs by Raymond Lamb (1980, 74)
Other (1972):   Surveyed at 1:10,000 by the OS
Other (1982):   Caithness Coastal Survey (Batey 1982; archive held in RCAHMS)
Other (1982):   Visited by the OS

Interior Features

Two rectangular buildings, one of which is possibly a chapel associated with a burial-ground

Water Source

None

Source:
None  
Spring  
Stream  
Pool  
Flush  
Well  
Other  

Surface

probably post-medieval buildings

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:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  

Chevaux de Frise:  

Entrances:
1. Simple Gap (South):   None

Enclosing Works

Single rampart and ditch

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   2.25ha.
Total:   2.25ha.

Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   None

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✗   None

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   0
SE Quadrant:   0
SW Quadrant:   1
NW Quadrant:   0
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

Batey, C E (1982) Caithness coastal survey 1982: interim reports 1980-2, typescript Durham University.

Feachem, R (1963) A guide to prehistoric Scotland. Batsford: London (p 180)

Lamb, R G (1980) Iron Age promontory forts in the Northern Isles. Brit Archaeol Rep, British Ser 79. BAR: Oxford

Macdonald and Laing, A D S and L R (1968) 'Early ecclesiastical sites in Scotland: a field survey, part 1'. Proc Soc Antiq Scot 100 (1967-8), 123-34

Nicolson, J (1922) 'A cross-slab found at St John's Chapel, Canisbay, Caithness'. Proc Soc Antiq Scot 56 (1921-2), 66-7

RCAHMS (1911) The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions of Scotland. Third report and inventory of monuments and constructions in the county of Caithness. HMSO, London



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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