Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

SC3240 Watch Knowe, Caerlanrig, Roxburghshire

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  Scottish Borders 53011 (None)

NMR:  NT 30 SE 2 (53011)

SM:  None

NGR:  NT 3987 0490

X:  339870  Y:  604900  (OSGB36)

Summary

The remains of what may have been a fort or a fortified settlement are situated immediately N of Caerlanrig, which stands on the NE end of a long ridge in the headwaters of the River Teviot. The defences have been heavily degraded, apparently comprising a single rampart and ditch, though little of the rampart is visible. The ditch can be traced for a distance of some 65m along the crest of the slope dropping steeply down to the River Teviot on the NW, set at the foot of a largely natural scarp some 3m high. At the NE end the ditch and traces of the inner rampart turn in an arc through almost 90 degrees before petering out on the NE side, while at the SW end a later ditch appears to cut sharply back at right-angles towards the farm. In 1858 the first OS surveyors to depict the earthworks completed the circuit of the ditch on the NE and SE with a dashed line to create a rectilinear enclosure measuring internally about 75m from NE to SW by 50m transversely (0.38ha). Apart from the NW flank, however, there are no compelling topographical features to limit the size of the enclosure. While described by RCAHMS as a ridge fort, a type where the topography has created a roughly rectilinear plan (RCAHMS 1956, 18), it might equally be described as a strongly enclosed rectilinear settlement. If extending beyond the area shown by the first OS surveyors, it would probably embrace the cottage gardens in which an aureus of Vespasian was discovered in 1856 (RCAHMS 1956, 441, no.992; Canmore 53015); the Wilton Lodge Museum, Hawick also holds a perforated stone disc (HAKMG 4247; Canmore 53017) from Caerlanrig.

Status

Citizen Science:  

Reliability of Data:  Unconfirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Unconfirmed

Location

X:  -328331  Y:  7427055  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -2.949443799646268  Latitude:  55.33448521474892  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Scotland

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Scottish Borders

Historic County:  Roxburghshire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Teviothead

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:  228.0m

Boundary

N/A


Dating Evidence

Roman aureus of Vespasian found in the vicinity, but its relationship to the fort is unknown. In the absence of excavation, neither the existence nor the date of this possible fort can be established.

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:   Ramparts and ditches obliterated

Evidence:
Artefactual:   Casual discovery of a Roman coin

Investigation History

Photographed by RCAHMS Aerial Survey Programme in 1997

Investigations:
Other (1856):   Casual discovery of a Roman Coin Kelso Mail, 4th Aug 1856, (RCAHMS 1956, 441, no.992)
1st Identified Map Depiction (1858):   Annotated Camp in Roman type on the 1st edition OS 25-inch map (Roxburgh 1863, sheet 31.15)
Other (1948):   Description
Other (1962):   Revised at 1:10,560 by the OS
Other (2015):   RCAHMS investigators considered that little of what has been attributed to the rampart and ditch on the NW is artificial

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

None known

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 rampart and ditch with possible counterscarp bank

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.38ha.
Total:   0.38ha.

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:   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

RCAHMS (1956) The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. An inventory of the ancient and historical monuments of Roxburghshire: with the fourteenth report of the Commission, 2v. HMSO: 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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