Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

SC3080 Elliot Water, Angus ('Dunhead')

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

HER:  Angus SMR per Aberdeenshire Council NO54SE0007 (None)

NMR:  NO 54 SE 7 (34709)

SM:  None

NGR:  NO 5775 4171

X:  357750  Y:  741710  (OSGB36)

Summary

What may be a fortification is situated on a steepsided promntory at the confluence of the Black Burn with the Elliot Water. First identified as part of a Roman Camp in the 19th century (NSA, xi, Forfar, 358), and depicted on the 1st edition OS 25-inch map (Forfar1865, sheet 45.12), subsequent visits by O G S Crawford (1949, 138) and RCAHMS in 1956, concluded that most of the visible remains were field boundaries, but on the SE a bank up to 5.8m in thickness by 1.5m in height was observed cutting across the neck of the promontory. The bank, however, was accompanied on its E side by a ditch 3m broad and 0.3m deep, thus lying on its inner side, and though one OS surveyor in 1958 thought he could detect a kerb and a scatter of stones belonging to an inner rampart, a second surveyor in 1966 could see no trace of these. No fieldwork has been conducted since, but if indeed a promontory enclosure, measurements taken from the 1st edition OS 25-inch map indicate that the bank and ditch bar the W approaches to an area measuring about 120m from E to W by 30m transversely (0.28ha). No features have been noted within the interior, which is back under dense deciduous woodland.

Status

Citizen Science:  

Reliability of Data:  Unconfirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Unconfirmed

Location

X:  -299349  Y:  7671823  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -2.6890970751555856  Latitude:  56.56549303318321  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Scotland

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Angus

Historic County:  Angus

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Carmyllie

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:  90.0m

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:   Planted with trees

Evidence:No related records

Investigation History

None

Investigations:
1st Identified Written Reference (1754):   Sketched by Robert Melville (Crawford 1949, 138)
Other (1833):   Noted (NSA, xi, Forfar, 358)
1st Identified Map Depiction (1859):   Annotated Roman Camp in Roman type on the 1st edition OS 25-inch map (Forfar1865, sheet 45.12)
Other (1943):   Description by OGS Crawford (1949, 138)
Other (1956):   Description for RCAHMS Survey of Marginal Lands
Other (1958):   Visited by the OS
Other (1966):   Resurveyed at 1:2500

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:  
0:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None known

Guard Chambers:  

Chevaux de Frise:  

Entrances:No related records

Enclosing Works

Single bank and ditch

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.28ha.
Total:   0.28ha.

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:
✓   None

Number of Ditches:  1

Annex:
✗   None

References

Crawford, O G S (1949) Topography of Roman Scotland north of the Antonine Wall. Cambridge

NSA (1834-1845) The new statistical account of Scotland by the ministers of the respective parishes under the superintendence of a committee of the society for the benefit of the sons and daughters of the clergy. Edinburgh.



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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