Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

SC4099 East Reston Mill, Berwickshire (East Reston)

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  Scottish Borders 59901 (None)

NMR:  NT 86 SE 6 (59901)

SM:  12491

NGR:  NT 8992 6154

X:  389920  Y:  661546  (OSGB36)

Summary

This fort or fortified settlement is situated on the summit of a low rounded hill in the angle of the track leading from East Reston down to East Reston Mill. Oval on plan, it measures about 70m from ESE to WNW by 50m transversely (0.27ha) within two roughly concentric ditches set between 7m and 10m apart. The ditches range from 3m to 5m in breadth and a large macula at the ESE end of the interior, almost certainly representing the eastern side of the shallow depression in the surface of the field observed by OS surveyors in 1966, has preserved the scar of a rampart some 4m in thickness on the ENE; allowing for its presence around the rest of the circuit, the interior enclosed about 0.2ha. In addition to the evidence of scooping at the ESE end of the interior, there are several other irregular maculae within the interior, though whether they indicate the stances of structures or simply other fragments of a scooped yard cannot be determined without excavation. The entrance is not visible but probably lies in the southern sector where it is hidden by the edge of the field and the adjacent track. There is no stratigraphic evidence to demonstrate whether the two ditches are elements of a single scheme, but if the were successive and the outer was once free-standing, it would have enclosed about 0.45ha within its rampart.

Status

Citizen Science:  

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -240734  Y:  7528029  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -2.1625473165975473  Latitude:  55.847056648230804  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Scotland

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Scottish Borders

Historic County:  Berwickshire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Coldingham

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:  78.0m

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:   Ploughed flat

Evidence:No related records

Investigation History

Photographed by CUCAP in 1948, 1959, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1975 and 1979, by John Dewar in 1976 (held by RCAHMS), by Dennis Harding in 1979, and by RCAHMS Aerial Survey Programme in 1976, 1977, 1979, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1998, 1999 and 2015

Investigations:
1st Identified Written Reference (1948):   First photographed by CUCAP
1st Identified Map Depiction (1966):   Site shown on 1:10,000 map (1973)
Other (1979):   Visited by RCAHMS
Other (2009):   Scheduled

Interior Features

Area of scooping and several other irregular maculae

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

Area of scooping and several other irregular maculae

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:  
0:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   Not known but probably in the southern sector

Guard Chambers:  

Chevaux de Frise:  

Entrances:No related records

Enclosing Works

Twin ditches, presumably with upcast ramparts.

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.2ha.
Total:   0.2ha.

Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   No evidence to suggest that the two ditches are not elements of a single scheme, but if the outer was once free-standing, it would have enclosed about 0.45ha within its rampart

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✓   None

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

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:  2

Annex:
✗   None

References

No related records



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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