Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland
SC4381: An Dun, Cornhill Wood   | |
Sources: Esri, DigitalGlobe, Earthstar Geographics, CNES/Airbus DS, GeoEye, USDA FSA, USGS, Getmapping, Aerogrid, IGN, IGP, and the GIS User Community
HER:  ✗
NMR:  NH 45 SE 57 (339438)
SM:  ✗
NGR:  NH 4584 5196
X:  245840  Y:  851960  (EPSG:27700)
Boundary:  ✗
Summary
This fort lies 80m E of the summit of An Dun, where cliffs on the N and S, and a steep slope falling away to the E form a promontory. Internally it measures about 52m from E to W by 29m transversely (0.15ha) and is defended by a band of three walls some 20m long by 21.5m deep barring access from the W. The innermost turns back briefly onto the N and S sides before disappearing, but the flanks are otherwise undefended. The walls are all reduced to mounds of rubble, but a line of outer facing-stones can be seen within the margin of the innermost, which rises 1.8m high and is spread 7m thick. The second wall lies 4m outside the first and is spread 5m in thickness by 1.2m in height, while the third, a further 3m to the exterior, about 2.5m in thickness by 1m in height. The two outer walls stop short of the cliff-edge on the S, possibly indicating the position of an entrance. The interior is featureless.
Status
Citizen Science:   | ✗   | |
Reliability of Data:   | Confirmed | |
Reliability of Interpretation:   | Confirmed | |
Location
X:  -509453  Y:  7869542  (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude:  -4.576495  Latitude:  57.531521  (EPSG:4326)
Country:  Scotland
Current County or Unitary Authority:  Highland
Historic County:   Ross-shire
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Urray
Condition
At the edge of a plantation and largely planted with conifers
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:  215.0m
Boundary
Boundary Type:   | ✗ | |
Second HER:  ✗
Second Current County or Unitary Authority:  ✗
Second Historic County:  ✗
Second Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  ✗
Dating Evidence
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:   | ✓   | Planted with conifers |
Investigations
First recorded by Angus Graham in 1943 as part of RCAHMS wartime emergency surveys, and re-visited by RCAHMS in 2014.
Interior Features
Featureless
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
Obscured by trees
APs Not Checked:   | ✗ |
None:   | ✓ |
Roundhouses:   | ✗ |
Rectangular Structures:   | ✗ |
Pits:   | ✗ |
Postholes:   | ✗ |
Roads/Tracks:   | ✗ |
Other:   | ✗ |
Entrances
See main summary
Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:   | 1:   | Defences only present on one side and possible access up the steep slope on the E |
Number of Possible Original Entrances:   | 1:   | Gap in outer walls on the W |
Guard Chambers:  ✗
Chevaux de Frise:   | ✗   | |
Enclosing Works
Three walls barring access to a promontory
Enclosed Area 1:   | 0.15ha. |
Enclosed Area 2:   | ✗ |
Enclosed Area 3:   | ✗ |
Enclosed Area 4:   | ✗ |
Total Enclosed Area:   | 0.2ha. |
Total Footprint Area:  ✗
Multi-period Enclosure System:   | ✗   | |
Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:   | ✗   | |
Number of Ramparts:   | 3 | |
Number of Ramparts NE Quadrant:   | ✗ |
Number of Ramparts SE Quadrant:   | ✗ |
Number of Ramparts SW Quadrant:   | 3 |
Number of Ramparts NW Quadrant:   | ✗ |
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