Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

SC3327: Eildon Hill North  

Sources: Esri, DigitalGlobe, Earthstar Geographics, CNES/Airbus DS, GeoEye, USDA FSA, USGS, Getmapping, Aerogrid, IGN, IGP, and the GIS User Community

HER:  Scottish Borders 55668

NMR:  NT 53 SE 57 (55668)

SM:  2107

NGR:  NT 5545 3280

X:  355450  Y:  632800  (EPSG:27700)

Boundary:  

Summary

Eildon Hill North, the easternmost of the three summits of the Eildon Hills has long been known as the site of one of the largest fortifications in Scotland. At least two circuits of defences can be distinguished, the inner enclosing the plateau that slopes down E from the summit of the hill, and the outer contouring along a shoulder lower down the slope, but climbing up on the E to ride over the E end of the plateau. The outer, comprising three ramparts for much of the circuit, though in places they are reduced to little more than terraces and only two can be detected, encloses 15.5ha, while the inner enclosing the plateau, its perimeter little more than an intermittent terrace about 2.4m wide, takes in 3.2ha. No trace of a possible third circuit identified by RCAHMS investigators beneath the house platforms that pack the upper plateau was located when two evaluation trenches were excavated across its line in 1986 (Owen 1992). Five gaps can be seen in the outer belt, of which those on the E, ESE, SW, and WSW are probably original entrances, whereas that on the NNE is pierced obliquely by an engineered trackway and may be relatively recent. The chronology and sequence between the two schemes , however, is uncertain. An evaluation of the inner rampart of the outer belt in 1986 (Owen 1992) at the entrance on the SW uncovered a Late Bronze Age hearth beneath it, but was unable to date the rampart itself. Furthermore the ramparts below it were not excavated and their relationship to the inner rests on the assumption that the concentric belt recorded by survey is a single contemporary entity. Doubts about the wisdom of this assumption arise on the E, where the belt of ramparts climbs up to the E end of the upper plateau. Aerial photographs of this intersection taken under snow in 2010 suggest that whereas the inner rampart climbs straight over the top of the plateau perimeter, the outer ones divert around its foot. The relationship is on the one hand clear-cut, and on the other ambiguous, but at the very least implies that the inner rampart in its present form post-dates the plateau fortification, blocking an earlier entrance in the latter's E end; more tentatively, it might be contended that the outer belt of defences incorporates two separate elements with a much wider chronology. If this is the case it might go some way to explaining the very wide range of dates recovered from the excavation on the SW in 1986 of three of the numerous platforms that are visible along the lower slopes below the plateau. Two returned Late Bronze Age radiocarbon dates, while a second occupation on one of them, and on a third adjacent, were firmly dated to the Roman Iron Age. The artefact assemblages recovered in 1986 broadly reflect this same pattern, earlier items including a bronze chisel or punch and evidence of bronze metallurgy, the later two fibula, a glass bead, glass armlets iron metallurgy and Roman pottery.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗  

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -301491  Y:  7476601  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -2.708341  Latitude:  55.586827  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Scotland

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Scottish Borders

Historic County:   Roxburghshire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Melrose

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:  The three Eildon Hills are a distinctive landmark visible from all over the lower Tweed basin.

Aspect

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

Elevation

Altitude:  404.0m

Boundary

Boundary Type:  

Second HER:  

Second Current County or Unitary Authority:  

Second Historic County:  

Second Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  

Dating Evidence

While dating evidence has been retrieved by excavations in 1986, it is not entirely clear how these relate to the hillfort. Thus while a late Bronze Age hearth was located beneath the main belt of ramparts, and at least two of the house-platforms date from this period, it is not known whether the main rampart system is Late Bronze Age. Likewise two of the house platforms were occupied in the Roman Iron Age, but it is not known whether any of the defences are of this date. Horn (Forthcoming) nonetheless suggests on the basis of these dates First hillfort use starting 1010-740 cal BC, LBA end 825-720, RIA start AD60-225, RIA end AD200-385.

Reliability:  A - High

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

Pre Hillfort Activity:  ✗  

Post Hillfort Activity:  ✓  Overlain by a Roman signal station and much later in the post-medieval period an area on the S of the interior was cultivated and then planted with trees

Artefactual:  Roman pottery, fibula, glass bead and glass armlets relate to an Roman Iron Age occupation
C14:  Thirteen radiocarbon dates split between the Late Bronze Age and the Roman Iron Age

Investigations

RCAHMS not only holds the archive for the excavations in 1986, but an extensive collection of aerial photographs taken by M Brooks of Historic Scotland in 1980, Dennis Harding in 1978, John Dent in 1990 and 1991, CUCAP in 1945, 1948, 1955, 1969 and 1972, and the RCAHMS Aerial Survey Programme in 1976, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1987 1992, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2013

1st Identified Written Reference (1743):  Description by Adam Milne (1743)
1st Identified Map Depiction (1770):  Annotated Camp on Matthew Stobie's A Map of Roxburghshire or Tiviotdale (1770)
Other (1858):  Annotated Camp on the 1st edition OS 25-inch map (Roxburgh 1863, sheet 8.5)
Earthwork Survey (1893):  Plan based on 25-inch map and description by David Christison (1894, 111-19)
Excavation (1894):  Excavations on three house platforms by James Curle (Christison 1894, 119)
Earthwork Survey (1950):  Plan and description (RCAHMS 1956, 306-10, no.597, fig 417; RCAHMS RXD 148/1-8)
Excavation (1953):  Trial excavation 1952-3 of the Roman signal station on the summit (Steer and Feachem 1952)
Other (1961):  Scheduled
Other (1961):  Visited by the OS
Other (1976):  Visited by the Hill-fort Study Group
Excavation (1986):  Directed by Olwyn Owen (1992)

Interior Features

The whole of the interior of the upper plateau is packed with house platforms, while numerous others can be seen along the lower slopes above the main belt of defences. Including some allowance for those ploughe out on the S side of the entrance they are numbered in hundreds.

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

Assemblage from the 1986 excavations includes coarse stone tools (hammerstones, whetstones and quern fragments), flint and chert tools (including arrowheads), three fragments of jet armlet, a glass bead and three fragments of armlets, a bronze chisel or punch, two Roman brooches, sherds of coarse pottery, metalworking debris and several iron nails (Owen 1992, 40-49). Previous stray finds include a denarius of Hadrian, a whetstone, fragments of pottery (including a possible Roman sherd), while coarse pottery and a dupondius of Trajan were recovered from the Roman signal station.

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

Aerial

Dimpled with house-platforms

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

Entrances

See main summary

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  5:  Fifth gap on the NNE was discounted by RCAHMS investigators in 1950

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  4:  A fifth blocked entrance belongs to the earlier inner enclosure

Guard Chambers:  

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗  

Entrance 1 (East):  Oblique:  Outer belt; modern path approaches obliquely through the defences exposing the visitor's right side
Entrance 2 (Southeast):  Simple Gap:  Outer belt
Entrance 3 (Southwest):  Oblique:  Outer belt, forming a shallow re-entrant; modern track climbe obliquely into the gap exposing the visitor's left side
Entrance 4 (West):  Simple Gap:  Outer belt, forming a shallow re-entrant
Entrance 5 (East):  Blocked:  Immediately N of 1, traces of an earlier entrance can be seen in the E end of the earlier enclosure, but blocked by the ramparts of the outer enclosure

Enclosing Works

Two or three concentric ramparts encircle the whole hill, while the upper plateau is separately enclosed by a single rampart. The existence of a third inner enclosure is uncertain, appearing fleetingly on aerial photograps but not located in trial excavation trenches dug in 1986 (Owen 1992, 32-3)

Enclosed Area 1:  3.2ha.
Enclosed Area 2:  15.5ha.
Enclosed Area 3:  
Enclosed Area 4:  
Total Enclosed Area:  15.5ha.

Total Footprint Area:  18.6ha.

Multi-period Enclosure System:  ✓  Clear sequence between the plateau enclosure and the outer defences

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:  ✓  

Number of Ramparts:  4

Number of Ramparts NE Quadrant:  4
Number of Ramparts SE Quadrant:  3
Number of Ramparts SW Quadrant:  4
Number of Ramparts NW Quadrant:  4

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:  2:  In the creation of the ramparts there appears to be a certain amount of shallow linear quarrying

Annex

Annex:  ✗  

References

Christison, D (1894) 'The prehistoric fortresses of Treceiri, and Eildon, Roxburgh. Proc Soc Antiq Scot 28 (1893-4), 101-19

Horn, J. Forthcoming. The dating of hillforts in Britain and Ireland. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Edinburgh.

Milne, A (1743) Description of the parish of Melrose; in answer to Mr. Maitland's queries, sent to each parish of the Kingdom

Owen, O A 1992 'Eildon Hill North'. 21-72 in Rideout, J S, Owen, O A and Halpin, E (1992) Hillforts of southern Scotland. AOC (Scotland) Ltd and Historic Scotland: Edinburgh

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

Steer, K A S and Feachem, R W (1952) 'A Roman signal-station on Eildon Hill North, Roxburghshire'. Proc Soc Antiq Scot 86 (1951-2), 202-5

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.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.