Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

SC3577: Dreva Craig  

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HER:  Scottish Borders 49881

NMR:  NT 13 NW 8 (49881)

SM:  2895

NGR:  NT 1267 3533

X:  312670  Y:  635330  (EPSG:27700)

Boundary:  

Summary

This fort crowns the rocky summit of Dreva Craig, which forms the SW spur of Dreva Hill. The defences comprise two walls, which follow eccentric courses, the inner crowning the summit area, and the outer extending round a lower terrace, and there are have also been belts of chevaux de frise set out across the easiest lines of approach on the NE and SW. The inner enclosure, which has the appearance of a citadel, is oval on plan and measures about 56m from E to W by 43m transversely (0.18ha) within a massive wall between 3.6m and 4.3m in thickness; on the WNW the wall has completely collapsed down the slope, but elsewhere portions of the faces are visible, particularly on the SW, which has suffered from misguided attempts at rebuilding. At least three stone-founded round-houses are visible within the interior, though these need not be contemporary with the defences. The entrance is on the E, adapting a cleft in the rocks from below which a natural ramp descends towards the NE, presumably making for a gap in the outer wall, though little trace of it survives in this sector. The outer enclosure is roughly rhomboidal on plan, measuring a maximum of 115m from NE to SW by 85m transversely (0.64ha), and in addition to the entrance described above, which lies at its NE apex, there is also a second on the NNW where the terminals of the wall overlap to expose the visitor's left side. Unlike the other entrance, which gives access to the inner enclosure, this entrance only serves the outer and is possibly evidence that it was originally conceived as a separate defensive scheme. The belts of chevaux de frise are set across the approaches to this lower wall. That on the SW is the better preserved, the stones having been partly cleared on the NE to make way for a later settlement of stone-walled round-houses and enclosed yards. Evidently later than the fort defences, this is just one of a number of other settlements on the hill, including an extensive cluster of scooped courts and yards associated with a field-system extending along the NW flank of the hill.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗  

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -377115  Y:  7479936  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -3.387682  Latitude:  55.603756  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Scotland

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Scottish Borders

Historic County:   Peeblesshire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Stobo

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:  276.0m

Boundary

Boundary Type:  

Second HER:  

Second Current County or Unitary Authority:  

Second Historic County:  

Second Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  

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

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

Pre Hillfort Activity:  ✗  

Post Hillfort Activity:  ✓  The outer rampart is overlain by what is probably a later fold at the SW end

None:  No details.

Investigations

Photographed by CUCAP in 1964 and 1971, and RCAHMS Aerial Survey Programme in 1981, 1984, 2001, 2002 and 2010

1st Identified Map Depiction (1856):  Annotated Fort on the 1st edition OS 25-inch map (Peebles16.1)
Other (1864):  Listed by William Chambers (1864, 30)
Earthwork Survey (1886):  Sketch-plan and description by David Christison (1887, 22-5, fig 6)
Earthwork Survey (1958):  Plan and description (RCAHMS 1967, 111-14, no.275, fig 91; RCAHMS PBD 101/1-12)
Other (1964):  Visited by the OS
Other (1969):  Scheduled
Other (1974):  Revised at 1:2500 by the OS
Other (1976):  Visited by the Hill-fort Study Group

Interior Features

Six stone-founded round-houses identified by RCAHMS investigators in 1958, but only three or four are well-defined structures

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

See main summary

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  

Number of Possible Original Entrances:   

Guard Chambers:  

Chevaux de Frise:  ✓  

Entrance 1 (East):  Simple Gap:  Into the inner enclosure and presumably approached along the margin of the spur from the NE
Entrance 2 (North):  Over-lapping:  Through outer wall. Oblique approach exposing left side
Entrance 2 (North):  Oblique

Enclosing Works

Two stone walls

Enclosed Area 1:  0.18ha.
Enclosed Area 2:  0.64ha.
Enclosed Area 3:  
Enclosed Area 4:  
Total Enclosed Area:  0.6ha.

Total Footprint Area:  0.8ha.

Multi-period Enclosure System:  ✗  

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:  ✓  

Number of Ramparts:  2

Number of Ramparts NE Quadrant:  2
Number of Ramparts SE Quadrant:  1
Number of Ramparts SW Quadrant:  2
Number of Ramparts NW Quadrant:  2

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:  

Annex

Annex:  ✗  

References

Chambers, W (1864) A History of Peeblessire. William and Robert Chambers: Edinburgh and London

Christison, D (1887) 'The prehistoric forts of Peeblesshire'. Proc Soc Antiq Scot 21 (1886-7), 13-82

RCAHMS (1967) The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Peeblesshire: an inventory of the ancient monuments, 2v. HMSO: Edinburgh

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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