Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

SC1635 Devonshaw Hill, Lanarkshire

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

HER:  The West of Scotland Archaeology Service 10428 (None)

NMR:  NS 92 NE 1 (47343)

SM:  2502

NGR:  NS 9537 2835

X:  295370  Y:  628350  (OSGB36)

Summary

This fort occupies a rocky hillock that forms a local summit on the SW spur of Devonshaw Hill. Oval on plan, it measures 64m from N to S by 45m transversely (0.24ha) within a robbed rampart that has been largely reduced to an external scarp and rises no more than 0.3m above the interior. In addition there are intermittent lengths of an outer rampart on the slopes below, though whether this accounts for the banks on the SE is unclear, and RCAHMS investigators thought these may relate to more recent disturbance. Well-defined entrances through the inner rampart are visible on the NE and S, and in both cases traffic has created well-worn hollows leading into the interior. The remains of at least six timber round-houses defined by shallow grooves, ditches and platforms can also be seen within the interior.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -407375  Y:  7466920  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -3.6595085873732343  Latitude:  55.53765014721194  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Scotland

Current County or Unitary Authority:  South Lanarkshire

Historic County:  Lanarkshire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Lamington And Wandel

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:  305.0m

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:   Stone robbing

Evidence:No related records

Investigation History

First depicted in 1816 on William Forrest's map of The county of Lanark from Actual Survey (1816), it is also shown on the 1st edition of the OS 25-inch map (Lanarkshire 1864, sheet 43.2), and was sketch-planned and described by David Christison in 1889 (Christison 1890, 306-8, fig 9). The OS resurveyed at 1:2500 in 1959, the same year in which it was planned by RCAHMS for the County Inventory of Lanarkshire (RCAHMS 1978, 100-1, no.229, fig 57). It was Scheduled in 1967 and revisited by RCAHMS in 1975. It has been photographed by CUCAP on at least one occasion in 1974, and by RCAHMS Aerial Survey Programme in 1980, 1981 and 1991.

Investigations:
1st Identified Map Depiction (1816):   Annotated Camp on William Forrest's map of The county of Lanark from actual survey (1816)
Other (1859):   Annotated Camp on the 1st edition OS 25-inch map (Lanarkshire 1864, sheet 43.2)
Earthwork Survey (1889):   Sketch-plan and description by David Christison (1890, 306-8, fig 9)
Earthwork Survey (1959):   Plan and description during RCAHMS Survey of Marginal Lands (RCAHMS LAD 137/1-2)
Other (1959):   Resurveyed at 1:2500 by the OS
Other (1967):   Scheduled
Earthwork Survey (1975):   Earlier plan and description reviewed (RCAHMS 1978, 100-1, no.229, fig 57)

Interior Features

At least six timber round-houses defined by shallow grooves, ditches and platforms

Water Source

None

Source:
None   ✓
Spring   ✗
Stream   ✗
Pool   ✗
Flush   ✗
Well   ✗
Other   ✗

Surface

Ring-grooves. Ring-ditch houses

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

None

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:  
2:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  ✗

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗

Entrances:
1. Simple Gap (North east):   None
2. Simple Gap (South):   The hollow leading into the interior gives the impression of inturns to the rampart terminals

Enclosing Works

Single continuous rampart with intermittent oute rampart

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.24ha.
Total:   0.24ha.

Total Footprint Area:  0.55ha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   None

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✓   None

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   1
SE Quadrant:   2
SW Quadrant:   2
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:  None

Annex:
✗   None

References

Feachem, R (1963) A guide to prehistoric Scotland. Batsford: London (p 133-1)

RCAHMS (1978) The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Lanarkshire: an inventory of the prehistoric and Roman monuments. HMSO: Edinburgh



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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