Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

SC2914 Tom a' Chaisteil, Morayshire

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

HER:  Highland HER MHG6772 (None)

NMR:  NH 92 NE 2 (15419)

SM:  None

NGR:  NH 9961 2871

X:  299615  Y:  828712  (OSGB36)

Summary

This small fortification is situated on a rocky boss that rises out of the NE flank of Beinn Mhor to dominate the upper end of Glenbeg. Linked to the flank of the hill by a col some 7m below the summit, elsewhere the ground falls away steeply, on the ENE quickly terminating in a cliff some 10m high. Sub-circular on plan, it measures about 30m in diameter (0.08ha) within a wall reduced to a mound of rubble spread some 6m in thickness where best preserved on the NW. A few outer facing-stones are visible and the entrance is probably on the W, where there is a gap blocked by a modern length of wall. A ditch some 2m broad and 0.6m deep can be seen swinging round the N quarter some 8m outside the wall, though whether it is an unfinished defence as suggested by the OS is unknown. The uneven interior, which drops quite steeply towards the ENE, is featureless, though the RCAHMS investigators who visited in 1943 suggested that the face of a ridge of outcrop that extends across the S part may have been quarried, possibly to provide stone for the wall; they also suggested an external rock-face on the WSW had also been quarried but did not note a modern shelter that the OS identified at its foot.

Status

Citizen Science:  

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -408469  Y:  7829501  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -3.669337908296308  Latitude:  57.337910920054526  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Scotland

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Highland

Historic County:  Morayshire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Cromdale, Inverallan And Advie

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:  381.0m

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:   None

Evidence:No related records

Investigation History

Highland HER also hold several photographs taken in 2004

Investigations:
1st Identified Map Depiction (1905):   Named in Gothic type on the 2nd edition OS 6-inch map (Elginshire 1905, 32.NE)
1st Identified Written Reference (1943):   Description by Angus Graham and Gordon Childe for the RCAHMS wartime Emergency Surveys
Earthwork Survey (1969):   Sketch-plan and description by the OS
Other (2006):   Visited and photographed by RCAHMS

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:  
1:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  

Chevaux de Frise:  

Entrances:
1. Simple Gap (West):   None

Enclosing Works

Single wall with possible outer ditch on the N

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.08ha.
Total:   0.08ha.

Total Footprint Area:  0.16ha.

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:   2
Total:   2

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

OS suggest the ditch is unfinished

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

No related records



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