Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

SC4031 Hareheugh Craigs, Berwickshire (Stenmuir)

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  Scottish Borders 57351 (None)

NMR:  NT 64 SE 5 (57351)

SM:  4783

NGR:  NT 6877 4005

X:  368770  Y:  640050  (OSGB36)

Summary

This fort is situated on the crest of the rocky crag and tail formation known as Hareheugh Craigs, which forms the NW shoulder of the higher ground to the W of Sweethope Hill. Roughly oval on plan, the stony rampart follows the contours of the outcrops and encloses an area measuring about 105m from ENE to WSW by 34m transversely (0.29ha). The rampart has been severely reduced, but several outer facing stones are visible on its SE flank. Robert Kinghorn, who discovered the fort about 1934, noted four circular platforms along the S side, two of which are visible on satellite imagery, and a survey carried out in 1999 as part of a wider evaluation identified others (Ellis 1999), though the hard rocky spine of the hillock occupies most of the interior. Kinghorn identified three entrances, on the NE, ENE and WSW respectively, but RCAHMS investigators who visited in 1979 noted only the gap in the rampart on the ENE, which opens onto the gently sloping tail rising up to the crest of the crags.

Status

Citizen Science:  

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -278060  Y:  7489647  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -2.4978536787989247  Latitude:  55.65300774587705  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Scotland

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Scottish Borders

Historic County:  Berwickshire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Hume

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:  216.0m

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:   None

Evidence:No related records

Investigation History

Photographed from the air by John Dent in 1992

Investigations:
Earthwork Survey (1934):   Plan and description by Robert Kinghorn (1935, 161-3, fig 4)
1st Identified Map Depiction (1955):   Visited by the OS in 1955
Other (1963):   Surveyed at 1:2500 by the OS
Other (1979):   Description by RCAHMS
Other (1987):   Scheduled
Earthwork Survey (1999):   Part of the evaluation by AOC Archaeology (Ellis 1999)
Other (2001):   Re-Scheduled

Interior Features

At least four circular platforms identified

Water Source

None

Source:
None  
Spring  
Stream  
Pool  
Flush  
Well  
Other  

Surface

At least four and possibly others

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

Two visible in the middle of the SE side

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:   Two others claimed previously but not accepted by RCAHMS investigators in 1979

Guard Chambers:  

Chevaux de Frise:  

Entrances:
1. Simple Gap (North east):   A gap in the ENE end

Enclosing Works

Single rampart

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.29ha.
Total:   0.29ha.

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:   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:  None

Annex:
✗   None

References

Ellis, C (1999) 'Hareheugh Craigs (Hume parish), evaluation'. Disc Exc Scot (1999), 76

Kinghorn, R (1935) 'Unrecorded Berwickshire antiquities, being the Chalmers-Jervise Prize essay for 1933'. Proc Soc Antiq Scot 69 (1934-5), 157-67



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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