LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
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HER: The West of Scotland Archaeology Service 6238 (None)
NMR: NS 31 SW 5 (41667)
SM: 2886
NGR: NS 3477 1248
X: 234770 Y: 612480 (OSGB36)
This small fort occupies the western end of the elongated summit area of Dowan's Hill, where a shallow saddle connects the hill to an undulating plateau to the S. Roughly circular on plan, it measures 35m in diameter within two concentric ramparts, the inner of which forms a thick stony bank some 5m in thickness, and the outer a scarp about 1.5m in height. Parchmarks on an aerial photograph taken in 1975 suggest there is also an outer ditch. A series of interlocking quarry scoops about 0.4m in depth can be seen immediately to the rear of the inner rampart, and traces of the stance of at least one timber round-house can be detected within the interior. The entrance is on the WNW.
Citizen Science: ✓
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -513119 Y: 7435663 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -4.609428387099702 Latitude: 55.378438870066695 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Scotland
Current County or Unitary Authority: South Ayrshire
Historic County: Ayrshire
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Kirkmichael
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: 135.0m
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: | None |
The placename of Dunree is applied to a nearby settlement on Roy's Map (1747-55) and the fort is first depicted in 1856 on the 1st edition OS 25-inch map (Ayrshire 1860, sheet 39.14). It was noted in the early 1890s by both David Christison (Christison 1893, 393) and John Smith (Smith 1895, 183). It was visited by RCAHMS in 1953 in the course of the Survey of Marginal Lands, and by the OS in 1955, resurveying at 1:2500 in 1968 and 1980. It was Scheduled in 1969 and revisited by RCAHMS in 1982. It has been phootgraphed from the air by RCAHMS on five occasions, in 1975, 1994, 1997 2003 and 2005.
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1856): | Annotated Camp on the 1st edition OS 25-inch map (Ayrshire 1860, sheet 39.14) |
| Earthwork Survey (1891): | Sketch-plan and description by David Christison (1893, 393) |
| Other (1895): | Noted John Smith (1895, 183) |
| Other (1953): | Description during RCAHMS Survey of Marginal Lands |
| Other (1955): | Visited by the OS |
| Other (1968): | Resurveyed at 1:2500 by the OS |
| Other (1969): | Scheduled |
| Other (1980): | Resurveyed at 1:2500 by the OS |
| Other (1982): | Description by RCAHMS |
At least one timber round-house stance visible
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
| 1: | None |
| 2: | None |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
| 1. Simple Gap (North west): | None |
Twin ramparts
| Area 1: | 0.11ha. |
| Total: | 0.11ha. |
Total Footprint Area: 0.34ha.
None
| ✗ | None |
| ✓ | None |
| NE Quadrant: | 2 |
| SE Quadrant: | 2 |
| SW Quadrant: | 2 |
| NW Quadrant: | 2 |
| Total: | 2 |
| 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 recorded |
Number of Ditches: 1
| ✗ | None |
Christison, D (1893) 'The Prehistoric Forts of Ayrshire'. Proc Soc Antiq Scot 27 (1892-93), 381-405
Feachem, R (1963) A guide to prehistoric Scotland. Batsford: London (p 110)
Smith, J (1895) Prehistoric man in Ayrshire. London
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