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HER:  Falkirk Community Trust, Falkirk Sites and Monuments Record 389 (None)
NMR:  NS 77 NE 5 (45857)
SM:  2579
NGR:  NS 7702 7918
X:  277020  Y:  679180  (OSGB36)
This fort is situated on a ridge of high ground NW of Coneypark. The defences, however, are only visible where they cross the spine of the ridge on the E and W respectively, comprising two heavily ploughed-down ramparts, but cropmarks on aerial photographs reveal that these were accompanied by at least three ditches on both the E and the W, and that the inner pair swing round the S flank. The cropmarks on the N flank are more diffuse, but there can be little doubt that the innermost ditch is also continuous around this side, and it is likely that in its original form the fort defences comprised a continuous belt of twin ramparts and ditches, enhanced on the crest of the ridge by the addition of a third line. The oval interior, which measures about 80m from E to W by at least 34m transversely (0.2ha), is featureless. The position of the entrance is unknown and there is no causeway across the ditches at the gap in the rampart identified by the RCAHMS investigators on the E (RCAHMS 1963, 75-6, no.76, fig 15).
Citizen Science:  ✗
Reliability of Data:  Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed
X:  -442275  Y:  7556389  (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude:  -3.9730280901242154  Latitude:  55.989819280135684  (EPSG:4326)
Country:  Scotland
Current County or Unitary Authority:  Falkirk
Historic County:  Stirlingshire
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Kilsyth
None
| Extant   | ✓ |
| Cropmark   | ✓ |
| Likely Destroyed   | ✗ |
None
| Woodland   | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation   | ✗ |
| Parkland   | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing)   | ✓ |
| Arable   | ✓ |
| Scrub/Bracken   | ✗ |
| Bare Outcrop   | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland   | ✗ |
| Heath   | ✗ |
| Built-up   | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland   | ✗ |
| Other   | ✗ |
None
| Contour Fort   | ✓ |
| Partial Contour Fort   | ✗ |
| Promontory Fort   | ✗ |
| Hillslope Fort   | ✗ |
| Level Terrain Fort   | ✗ |
| Marsh Fort   | ✗ |
| Multiple Enclosure Fort   | ✗ |
| Hilltop   | ✓ |
| Coastal Promontory   | ✗ |
| Inland Promontory   | ✗ |
| Valley Bottom   | ✗ |
| Knoll/Hillock/Outcrop   | ✗ |
| Ridge   | ✗ |
| Cliff/Plateau-edge/Scarp   | ✗ |
| Hillslope   | ✗ |
| Lowland   | ✗ |
| Spur   | ✗ |
Dominant Topographic Feature:  None
| North   | ✗ |
| Northeast   | ✗ |
| East   | ✗ |
| Southeast   | ✗ |
| South   | ✗ |
| Southwest   | ✗ |
| West   | ✗ |
| Northwest   | ✗ |
| Level   | ✓ |
Altitude:  90.0m
N/A
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   | ✗ |
| 800BC - 400BC   | ✗ |
| 400BC - AD50   | ✗ |
| AD50 - AD400   | ✗ |
| AD400 - AD 800   | ✗ |
| Post AD800   | ✗ |
| Unknown   | ✓ |
| Pre Hillfort:   | None |
| Post Hillfort:   | Heavily ploughed down in the post-medieval period and also surface quarried |
First noted in the Statistical Account in 1796 (Stat Acct xviii, 1796, 292), its remains were not located until 1954 during the RCAHMS Survey of Marginal Lands, and the plan was subsequently included in the County Survey for Stirlingshire (RCAHMS 1963, 75-6, no.76, fig 15). The cropmarks were photographed in 1977 by RCAHMS. It was Scheduled in 1992.
| 1st Identified Written Reference (1796):   | Noted (Stat Acct xviii, 1796, 292) |
| Earthwork Survey (1954):   | Plan and description (RCAHMS STD 15/1-2) |
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1959):   | Visited by the OS |
| Other (1974):   | Surveyed at 1:2500 by the OS |
| Other (1977):   | Vsited by the OS |
| Other (1977):   | Cropmarks photographed by RCAHMS Aerial Survey Programme |
| Other (1992):   | Scheduled |
Featureless
None
| None   | ✓ |
| Spring   | ✗ |
| Stream   | ✗ |
| Pool   | ✗ |
| Flush   | ✗ |
| Well   | ✗ |
| Other   | ✗ |
None
| No Known Features   | ✓ |
| Round Stone Structures   | ✗ |
| Rectangular Stone Structures   | ✗ |
| Curvilinear Platforms   | ✗ |
| Other Roundhouse Evidence   | ✗ |
| Pits   | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows   | ✗ |
| Other   | ✗ |
None
| No Known Excavation   | ✓ |
| Pits   | ✗ |
| Postholes   | ✗ |
| Roundhouses   | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures   | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks   | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows   | ✗ |
| Other   | ✗ |
| Nothing Found   | ✗ |
None
| No Known Geophysics   | ✓ |
| Pits   | ✗ |
| Roundhouses   | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures   | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks   | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows   | ✗ |
| Other   | ✗ |
| Nothing Found   | ✗ |
None
| No Known Finds   | ✓ |
| Pottery   | ✗ |
| Metal   | ✗ |
| Metalworking   | ✗ |
| Human Bones   | ✗ |
| Animal Bones   | ✗ |
| Lithics   | ✗ |
| Environmental   | ✗ |
| Other   | ✗ |
NO APPARENT FEATURES
| APs Not Checked   | ✗ |
| None   | ✓ |
| Roundhouses   | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures   | ✗ |
| Pits   | ✗ |
| Postholes   | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks   | ✗ |
| Other   | ✗ |
See main summary
| 0:   | Heavily ploughed down all round |
| 2:   | Gap on E suggested as entrance by RCAHMS in 1954 is not reflected in the cropmarks photographed in 1984 |
Guard Chambers:  ✗
Chevaux de Frise:  ✗
two to three ditches, presumably each accompanied by upcast ramparts.
| Area 1:   | 0.2ha. |
| Total:   | 0.2ha. |
Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.
None
| ✗   | None |
| ✗   | None |
| NE Quadrant:   | 0 |
| SE Quadrant:   | 3 |
| SW Quadrant:   | 2 |
| NW Quadrant:   | 3 |
| Total:   | 3 |
| Partial Univallate   | ✗ |
| Univallate   | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate   | ✓ |
| Bivallate   | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate   | ✓ |
| Multivallate   | ✗ |
| Unknown   | ✗ |
| Partial Univallate   | ✗ |
| Univallate   | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate   | ✗ |
| Bivallate   | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate   | ✗ |
| Multivallate   | ✗ |
None
| None   | ✗ |
| Earthen Bank   | ✓ |
| Stone Wall   | ✗ |
| Rubble   | ✗ |
| Wall-walk   | ✗ |
| Evidence of Timber   | ✗ |
| Vitrification   | ✗ |
| Other Burning   | ✗ |
| Palisade   | ✗ |
| Counter Scarp Bank   | ✗ |
| Berm   | ✗ |
| Unfinished   | ✗ |
| Other   | ✗ |
None
| None   | ✗ |
| Earthen Bank   | ✗ |
| Stone Wall   | ✗ |
| Murus Duplex   | ✗ |
| Timber-framed   | ✗ |
| Timber-laced   | ✗ |
| Vitrification   | ✗ |
| Other Burning   | ✗ |
| Palisade   | ✗ |
| Counter Scarp Bank   | ✗ |
| Berm   | ✗ |
| Unfinished   | ✗ |
| No Known Excavation   | ✓ |
| Other   | ✗ |
| ✗   | None |
| ✓   | None |
Number of Ditches:  3
| ✗   | None |
RCAHMS (1963) The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Stirlingshire: an inventory of the ancient monuments, 2v. HMSO: Edinburgh
Atlas of Hillforts:
Wikidata:
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
Document Version 1.1