Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

SC3848 Garvald Mains, East Lothian (Papana Water)

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  East Lothian Council MEL696 (None)

NMR:  NT 56 NE 4 (56095)

SM:  6037

NGR:  NT 5834 6979

X:  358340  Y:  669790  (OSGB36)

Summary

This fort is situated on a spur that projects SW above the Papana Water immediately SW of Garvald Mains. Slightly circular on plan, it measures 85m in maximum diameter (0.53ha) within a single rampart with an external ditch. The rampart, which in the opinion of the RCAHMS investigators who revisited in 1954 comprised the remains of a wall on a possibly earlier bank, is up to 4.5m in thickness, and stands 1.2m high above the interior and 4m above the almost ploughed-out external ditch. The interior, which has been cultivated, is featureless and the entrance is probably on the SE.

Status

Citizen Science:  

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -297017  Y:  7542392  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -2.668151141219074  Latitude:  55.919424665251334  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Scotland

Current County or Unitary Authority:  East Lothian

Historic County:  East Lothian

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Garvald And Bara

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:  185.0m

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:   Interior ploughed in the post-medieval period

Evidence:No related records

Investigation History

Photographed by John Dewar (held by RCAHMS) in 1971

Investigations:
1st Identified Map Depiction (1773):   Concentric ring on a hill symbol on Andrew and Mostyn Armstrong's Map of the three Lothians (1773)
1st Identified Written Reference (1794):   Noted (Stat Acct, xiii, 1794. 361)
Other (1853):   Annotated Fort on the 1st edition OS 6-inch map (Haddingtonshire 1855, sheet 15
Other (1892):   Depicted on the OS 25-inch map (Haddingtonshire 1894, sheet 11.13)
Earthwork Survey (1913):   Plan and description (RCAHMS 1924, 35, no.51, fig 70; RCAHMS ELD 11/1-2)
Other (1954):   Description during RCAHMS Survey of Marginal Lands (Feachem 1963, 123)
Other (1965):   Resurveyed at 1:2500 by the OS
Other (1994):   Scheduled

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

See main summary

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  
1:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  

Chevaux de Frise:  

Entrances:
1. Simple Gap (South east):   None

Enclosing Works

Single rampart and ditch

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.53ha.
Total:   0.53ha.

Total Footprint Area:  0.91ha.

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:   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

Feachem, R W (1963) A guide to prehistoric Scotland. Batsford: London

RCAHMS (1924) The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions of Scotland. Eighth report with Inventory of Monuments and Constructions in the County of East Lothian. 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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