Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

SC3019 Kemp's Hold, Perthshire (Craig of Stenton; King's Hole)

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust MPK2416 (None)

NMR:  NO 04 SE 11 (27118)

SM:  6122

NGR:  NO 0671 4066

X:  306710  Y:  740660  (OSGB36)

Summary

This small fortification is situated on a rocky spine rising abruptly above the N bank of the River Tay above Stenton. Precipitous on this side, and with a broad gully separating it from the ridge to the NE, the fort is irregular on plan, measuring internally 82m from ESE to WNW by a maximum of 27m transversely at the WNW end (0.12ha). A stony rampart can be traced round most of the summit area, in some places forming a mound spread 4m in thickness by 0.8m in height, but in others reduced to a scarp some 1.5m in external height. Three outer ramparts, each with an internal quarry ditch, cut across the NW end of the spine and the inner of these has also been drawn onto a rocky terrace that runs the length of the NNE flank below the main rampart. This terrace appears to be a cut feature, truncating the N end of a ditch at the SW tip of the fort. The ditch, which is some 4m in breadth by 0.7m in depth, is broken by a central causeway and is assumed to be an outwork to the fort at this end, rather than the perimeter of an earlier promontory enclosure cutting off the tip of the spine. Despite the identification of a 'hut-circle' by Gordon Childe in 1942, the interior is largely featureless and was probably originally entered from the SW.

Status

Citizen Science:  

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -391735  Y:  7668429  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -3.5190183606523373  Latitude:  56.54868872420606  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Scotland

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Perth & Kinross

Historic County:  Perthshire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Caputh

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:  125.0m

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 constructed pathways

Evidence:No related records

Investigation History

None

Investigations:
1st Identified Written Reference (1777):   'Weapons' dug up when the trees were first planted (Stat Acct ix, 1793, 504)
1st Identified Map Depiction (1783):   Annotated 'Old Fort' on James Stobies map of The counties of Perth and Clackmannan (1783)
Other (1864):   Named in Gothic type on the 1st edition OS 25-inch map (Perth and Clackmannan 1867, sheet 62.11)
Other (1942):   Description by Angus Graham and Gordon Childe for the RCAHMS wartime Emergency Surveys
Other (1974):   Surveyed at 1:2500 by the OS
Earthwork Survey (1989):   Plan and description (RCAHMS DC25085-7; RCAHMS 1994, 51, 53)
Other (1994):   Scheduled

Interior Features

Featurelss apart from constructed pathways

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:  
0:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   Not visible but probably from the SW

Guard Chambers:  

Chevaux de Frise:  

Entrances:No related records

Enclosing Works

Single rampart around the crest, and three others with internal ditches on the WNW, and a ditch on the ESE

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.12ha.
Total:   0.12ha.

Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.

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:   4
Total:   4

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

Grass-grown rubble

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:
✓   At one end

Number of Ditches:  3

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


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