Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

SC2872 Craig Mony, Inverness-shire

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

HER:  Highland HER MHG2707 (None)

NMR:  NH 42 NE 2 (12312)

SM:  5808

NGR:  NH 4998 2945

X:  249980  Y:  829450  (OSGB36)

Summary

The defences of this fort bar access to the NE tip of a rocky spur that is a local viewpoint overlooking Lewiston. Essentially a small promontory fort, its defences comprise a wall reduced to a bank of rubble 5m in thickness by 1.4m in height across the spine of the promontory on the WSW, and though this may have turned along the edge of the cliffs at either end, the precipitous flanks appear largely undefended. Two natural hollows also cut across the ridge outside the wall, the inner of which may have been adapted as a ditch. It is unclear whether the interior was confined to the highest part of the spur, an area measuring no more than 26m by 23m, or whether it extended to the full length of the promontory, which is a much larger area measuring 45m from ENE to WSW by 30m transversely (0.11ha). The entrance may have lain on the N margin of the promontory, which is also the route taken by the modern path.

Status

Citizen Science:  

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -500230  Y:  7828055  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -4.49363889140449  Latitude:  57.33090278981497  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Scotland

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Highland

Historic County:  Inverness-shire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Urquhart And Glenmoriston

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:  145.0m

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:   Overlain by landscaping works

Evidence:No related records

Investigation History

None

Investigations:
1st Identified Written Reference (1881):   Noted in an Inverness Scientific Society and Field Club excursion guide (1888)
1st Identified Map Depiction (1901):   Annotated Fort on 2nd edition OS 25-inch map (Inverness-shire 1903, sheet 29.11)
Other (1943):   Description by Angus Graham and Gordon Childe for RCAHMS wartime Emergency Surveys
Other (1957):   Description for RCAHMS Survey of Marginal Lands
Other (1964):   Resurveyed at 1:2500 by the OS
Other (1979):   Visited by the OS
Other (1993):   Scheduled
Earthwork Survey (2014):   Sketch-plan and Citizen Science form by NOSAS

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

Obscured by trees

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 (West):   None

Enclosing Works

Single wall across a promontory, but a natural hollow outside it may have been adapted a s a ditch

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.11ha.
Total:   0.11ha.

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:   0
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:
✗   Possible ditches noted on Citizen Science form, but not recognised by other investigators

Number of Ditches:  None

Annex:
✗   None

References

Inverness Scientific Society and Field Club (1888) 'Excursion to Glen Urquhart, Saturday 3rd September 1881', Trans Inverness Sci Soc Fld Club 2 (1888), 146



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