Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

SC2950: Hill of Newleslie  

(Hill of New Leslie; Cotetown)

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HER:  Aberdeenshire Historic Environment Record NJ52NE0038

NMR:  NJ 52 NE 31 (17638)

SM:  11510

NGR:  NJ 5824 2546

X:  358243  Y:  825469  (EPSG:27700)

Boundary:  

Summary

This large hilltop enclosure is situated on the Hill of Newleslie, a long ridge that rises up behind the farm of New Leslie. The enclosure takes in the crest of the ridge extending W from the summit and measures about 355m from E to W by a maximum of 160m transversely within a low bank with an external ditch and occasional traces of a counterscarp bank. Some sectors have been virtually levelled by ploughing, but where best preserved the bank is up to 4m in thickness by a maximum of 0.5m in height and the ditch 4m in breadth by 0.4m in depth. The greater part of the interior has been cultivated with varying degrees of intensity, but even where least disturbed in the overgrown NE sector it is featureless. No clear evidence of an entrance has been observed either.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗  

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -299998  Y:  7825381  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -2.69493  Latitude:  57.317931  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Scotland

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Aberdeenshire

Historic County:   Aberdeenshire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Leslie

Condition

Extant:  
Cropmark:  
Likely Destroyed:  

Land Use

Woodland:  
Commercial Forestry Plantation:  
Parkland:  
Pasture (Grazing):  
Arable:  
Scrub/Bracken:  
Bare Outcrop:  
Heather/Moorland:  
Heath:  
Built-up:  
Coastal Grassland:  
Other:  

Landscape

Hillfort Type

Contour Fort:  
Partial Contour Fort:  
Promontory Fort:  
Hillslope Fort:  
Level Terrain Fort:  
Marsh Fort:  
Multiple Enclosure Fort:  

Topographic Position

Hilltop:  
Coastal Promontory:  
Inland Promontory:  
Valley Bottom:  
Knoll/Hillock/Outcrop:  
Ridge:  
Cliff/Plateau-edge/Scarp:  
Hillslope:  
Lowland:  
Spur:  

Dominant Topographic Feature:  

Aspect

North:  
Northeast:  
East:  
Southeast:  
South:  
Southwest:  
West:  
Northwest:  
Level:  

Elevation

Altitude:  285.0m

Boundary

Boundary Type:  

Second HER:  

Second Current County or Unitary Authority:  

Second Historic County:  

Second Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  

Dating Evidence

Excavation failed to recover either stratified artefacts no radiocarbon dates to provide a chronology for the defences.

Reliability:  D - None

Pre 1200BC:  
1200BC - 800BC:  
1200BC - 800BC:  
400BC - AD50:  
AD50 - AD400:  
AD400 - AD 800:  
Post AD800:  
Unknown:  

Pre Hillfort Activity:  ✗  

Post Hillfort Activity:  ✓  Cultivated over

None:  No details.

Investigations

RCAHMS and Aberdeenshire Council hold a range of oblique aerial photographs.

1st Identified Written Reference (1982):  First identified by Aberdeen Archaeological Services aerial reconnaissance
Other (1983):  Description (Watt 1983)
Earthwork Survey (2003):  Plan and description (RCAHMS DC44604-5; Halliday 2007, 98 fig 6.25, 103)
Other (2006):  Scheduled
Excavation (2009):  Evaluation trench (Cook et al 2009)

Interior Features

Featureless

Water Source

None:  
Spring:  
Stream:  
Pool:  
Flush:  
Well:  
Other:  

Surface

No Known Features:  
Round Stone Structures:  
Rectangular Stone Structures:  
Curvilinear Platforms:  
Other Roundhouse Evidence:  
Pits:  
Quarry Hollows:  
Other:  

Excavation

No Known Excavation:  
Pits:  
Postholes:  
Roundhouses:  
Rectangular Structures:  
Roads/Tracks:  
Quarry Hollows:  
Other:  
Nothing Found:  

Geophysics

No Known Geophysics:  
Pits:  
Roundhouses:  
Rectangular Structures:  
Roads/Tracks:  
Quarry Hollows:  
Other:  
Nothing Found:  

Finds

No Known Finds:  
Pottery:  
Metal:  
Metalworking:  
Human Bones:  
Animal Bones:  
Lithics:  
Environmental:  
Other:  

Aerial

NO APPARENT FEATURES

APs Not Checked:  
None:  
Roundhouses:  
Rectangular Structures:  
Pits:  
Postholes:  
Roads/Tracks:  
Other:  

Entrances

None known

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  0:  Some sectors heavily degraded

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  0:  None known

Guard Chambers:  

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗  

Enclosing Works

Single bank and ditch with occasional traces of a counterscarp bank

Enclosed Area 1:  4.7ha.
Enclosed Area 2:  
Enclosed Area 3:  
Enclosed Area 4:  
Total Enclosed Area:  4.7ha.

Total Footprint Area:  

Multi-period Enclosure System:  ✗  

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:  ✓  

Number of Ramparts:  1

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

Current Morphology

Partial Univallate:  
Univallate:  
Partial Bivallate:  
Bivallate:
Partial Multivallate:  
Multivallate:  
Unknown:  

Multi-period Morphology

Partial Univallate:  
Univallate:  
Partial Bivallate:  
Bivallate:  
Partial Multivallate:  
Multivallate:  

Surface Evidence

None:  
Earthen Bank:  
Stone Wall:  
Rubble:  
Wall-walk:  
Evidence of Timber:  
Vitrification:  
Other Burning:  
Palisade:  
Counter Scarp Bank:  
Berm:  
Unfinished:  
Other:  

Excavated Evidence

None:  
Earthen Bank:  
Stone Wall:  
Murus Duplex:  
Timber-framed:  
Timber-laced:  
Vitrification:  
Other Burning:  
Palisade:  
Counter Scarp Bank:  
Berm:  
Unfinished:  
No Known Excavation:  
Other:  

Gang Working

Gang Working:  ✗ 

Ditches

Ditches:  

Number of Ditches:  1

Annex

Annex:  ✗  

References

Cook, Engl, Dunbar, Kdolska and Sagrott, M,R,L,H and S (2009) 'Hillforts of Strathdon: Phase 3 - Hill of Barra and Hill of Newleslie, Aberdeenshire (Bourtie and Leslie parish), evaluation'. Disc Exc Scot, New Ser, 10 (2009), 19

Halliday, S P (2007) The later prehistoric landscape. In RCAHMS (2007) In the Shadow of Bennachie: A Field Archaeology of Donside, Aberdeenshire. RCAHMS & Society of Antiquaries of Scotland: Edinburgh

Watt, W (1983) 'Hill of New Leslie (Leslie p): hill fort'. Disc Exc Scot (1983), 10-11

Terms of Use

The online version of the Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland should be cited as:

Lock, G. and Ralston, I. 2017.  Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland. [ONLINE] Available at: https://hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk.

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