Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

SC1228 Bute, Kerrytonlia, Buteshire

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

HER:  The West of Scotland Archaeology Service 5221 (None)

NMR:  NS 15 NW 7 (40643)

SM:  None

NGR:  NS 1151 5687

X:  211517  Y:  656878  (OSGB36)

Summary

This fort, which occupies a promontory on the cliffs of an old shoreline, has been ploughed flat, The defences comprise two concentric ditches drawn across the neck of the promontory on the N to cut off an area measuring about 43m from NW to SE by a maximum of 43m transversely immediately to the rear of the inner ditch. This gives the interior an area of no more than 0.12ha, though considerably less if allowance is made for the presence of an inner rampart. On the E, however, both ditches extend beyond the top of the gully that forms E flank of the promontory, a configuration that possibly indicates that the interior has been reduced by erosion. The two ditches are set about 8m apart and are both about 4m in breadth. Immediately to the rear of the inner ditch there are traces of a possible palisade trench. The position of the entrance is unknown and within the interior there are traces of two short lengths of ditch, one of which opens into the gully on the E side of the promontory and perhaps belongs to a separate phase of enclosure.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -557290  Y:  7512459  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -5.006221262141032  Latitude:  55.76845593507266  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Scotland

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Argyll & Bute

Historic County:  Buteshire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Kingarth

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:  15.0m

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

First discovered by the RCAHMS Aerial Survey Programme in 1977, it was re-photographed in 1997.

Investigations:
1st Identified Written Reference (1977):   First photographed by the RCAHMS Aerial Survey Programme
Other (1997):   Re-photographed by RCAHMS Aerial Survey Programme

Interior Features

Featureless apart from two narrow ditches

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

None known

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  
0:   Ploughed flat

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None recorded

Guard Chambers:  ✗

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗

Entrances:No related records

Enclosing Works

Twin concentric ditches, presumably with upcast ramparts, cutting across the neck of a promontory

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.12ha.
Total:   0.12ha.

Total Footprint Area:  0.24ha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   None

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✗   None

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   2
SE Quadrant:   0
SW Quadrant:   0
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

Not visible on the surface; palisade trench revealed by cropmarks

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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