LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
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HER: Moray per Aberdeenshire Council NJ05NW0004 (None)
NMR: NJ 05 NW 4 (15818)
SM: None
NGR: NJ 0445 5902
X: 304450 Y: 859020 (OSGB36)
A large enclosure of more than 6 acres on the Cluny Hills was surveyed in 1798 by a local land surveyor, Robert Macwilliam, for George Chalmers (1887-94, i, 131), but though Chalmers considered it to be a fort, and it appears as such on the 1st edition OS 25-inch map (Elginshire 1874, sheet 11.5), subsequent investigators, which included O G S Crawford in 1943, have not been so convinced. Nevertheless, Crawford observed the scarp shown on the N flank of the hill on the OS map, while a subsequent OS surveyor in 1963 noted a possible rampart on the S flank of the hill. The scarp low down on the N is still visible in open woodland, and in this sector is a distinct feature from the track extending along the terrace to its rear, and it can also be traced round onto the E flank; if this is the remains of an enclosure, no further traces of it can be seen elsewhere, though the S flank is more heavily infested with rhododendrons and mutilated by terraced tracks. The only other feature visible is a slight bank and ditch cutting across the W spur of the hill, but this is evidently not defensive. There are no recorded observations of vitrifaction and no grounds for the site appearing in successive lists of vitrified forts (see Cotton 1954, 81). Invasive evaluation will be required to establish the true character and date of the scarp on the N and E.
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Unconfirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Unconfirmed
X: -400851 Y: 7886060 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -3.6009095500122585 Latitude: 57.61109335812084 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Scotland
Current County or Unitary Authority: Moray
Historic County: Morayshire
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Forres
None
| Extant | ✓ |
| Cropmark | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed | ✗ |
None
| Woodland | ✓ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation | ✗ |
| Parkland | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing) | ✗ |
| Arable | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken | ✓ |
| Bare Outcrop | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland | ✗ |
| Heath | ✗ |
| Built-up | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
None
| Contour Fort | ✓ |
| Partial Contour Fort | ✗ |
| Promontory Fort | ✗ |
| Hillslope Fort | ✗ |
| Level Terrain Fort | ✗ |
| Marsh Fort | ✗ |
| Multiple Enclosure Fort | ✗ |
| Hilltop | ✓ |
| Coastal Promontory | ✗ |
| Inland Promontory | ✗ |
| Valley Bottom | ✗ |
| Knoll/Hillock/Outcrop | ✗ |
| Ridge | ✗ |
| Cliff/Plateau-edge/Scarp | ✗ |
| Hillslope | ✗ |
| Lowland | ✗ |
| Spur | ✗ |
Dominant Topographic Feature: None
| North | ✗ |
| Northeast | ✗ |
| East | ✗ |
| Southeast | ✗ |
| South | ✗ |
| Southwest | ✗ |
| West | ✗ |
| Northwest | ✗ |
| Level | ✓ |
Altitude: 60.0m
N/A
Excavation is required to confirm the presence of a fort here and its date
Reliability: D - None
| Pre 1200BC | ✗ |
| 1200BC - 800BC | ✗ |
| 800BC - 400BC | ✗ |
| 400BC - AD50 | ✗ |
| AD50 - AD400 | ✗ |
| AD400 - AD 800 | ✗ |
| Post AD800 | ✗ |
| Unknown | ✓ |
| Pre Hillfort: | None |
| Post Hillfort: | Planted with trees and overlain by a monument to Nelson |
None
| Earthwork Survey (1798): | Robert Macwilliam, for George Chalmers (1887-94, i, 131) |
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1870): | Annotated British Camp on the 1st edition OS 25-inch map (Elginshire 1874, sheet 11.5) |
| Other (1943): | Visited by O G S Crawford |
| Other (1963): | Visited by the OS |
| Other (2015): | Visited by S Halliday |
| LiDAR Survey (2015): | Evaluation of sources and discussion by Lief Isaksen (2016) |
Planted with trees
None
| None | ✓ |
| Spring | ✗ |
| Stream | ✗ |
| Pool | ✗ |
| Flush | ✗ |
| Well | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
None
| No Known Features | ✓ |
| Round Stone Structures | ✗ |
| Rectangular Stone Structures | ✗ |
| Curvilinear Platforms | ✗ |
| Other Roundhouse Evidence | ✗ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
None
| No Known Excavation | ✓ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Postholes | ✗ |
| Roundhouses | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
| Nothing Found | ✗ |
None
| No Known Geophysics | ✓ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Roundhouses | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
| Nothing Found | ✗ |
None
| No Known Finds | ✓ |
| Pottery | ✗ |
| Metal | ✗ |
| Metalworking | ✗ |
| Human Bones | ✗ |
| Animal Bones | ✗ |
| Lithics | ✗ |
| Environmental | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
NO APPARENT FEATURES
| APs Not Checked | ✓ |
| None | ✗ |
| Roundhouses | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures | ✗ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Postholes | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
None known
| 0: | None |
| 2: | None known |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
Single rampart noted, supposedly accompanied by ditch. Requires invasive fieldwork
| Area 1: | Noneha. |
| Total: | Noneha. |
Total Footprint Area: Noneha.
None
| ✗ | Area unknown |
| ✗ | Unknown |
| NE Quadrant: | 0 |
| SE Quadrant: | 0 |
| SW Quadrant: | 0 |
| NW Quadrant: | 0 |
| Total: | 0 |
| Partial Univallate | ✗ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✗ |
| Bivallate | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
| Unknown | ✓ |
| Partial Univallate | ✗ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✗ |
| Bivallate | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
Antiquarian claims of virtifaction here are without support
| None | ✓ |
| Earthen Bank | ✗ |
| Stone Wall | ✗ |
| Rubble | ✗ |
| Wall-walk | ✗ |
| Evidence of Timber | ✗ |
| Vitrification | ✗ |
| Other Burning | ✗ |
| Palisade | ✗ |
| Counter Scarp Bank | ✗ |
| Berm | ✗ |
| Unfinished | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
None
| None | ✗ |
| Earthen Bank | ✗ |
| Stone Wall | ✗ |
| Murus Duplex | ✗ |
| Timber-framed | ✗ |
| Timber-laced | ✗ |
| Vitrification | ✗ |
| Other Burning | ✗ |
| Palisade | ✗ |
| Counter Scarp Bank | ✗ |
| Berm | ✗ |
| Unfinished | ✗ |
| No Known Excavation | ✓ |
| Other | ✗ |
| ✗ | None |
| ✗ | None |
Number of Ditches: None
| ✗ | None |
Chalmers, G (1887-94) Caledonia: or a historical and topographical account of North Britain, 7 vols + index. Paisley
Cotton, M A (1954) 'British camps with timber-laced ramparts'. Archaeol J 111 (1954), 26-105
Isaksen, L (2016) The Fortified Enclosure on Cluny Hill, Forres: description, destruction, disappearance. Unpublished report in draft
Atlas of Hillforts:
Wikidata:
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