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)
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.
Citizen Science:  ✗
Reliability of Data:  Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed
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
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:  305.0m
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:   | Stone robbing |
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.
| 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) |
At least six timber round-houses defined by shallow grooves, ditches and platforms
None
| None   | ✓ |
| Spring   | ✗ |
| Stream   | ✗ |
| Pool   | ✗ |
| Flush   | ✗ |
| Well   | ✗ |
| Other   | ✗ |
Ring-grooves. Ring-ditch houses
| 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   | ✗ |
None
| APs Not Checked   | ✗ |
| None   | ✗ |
| Roundhouses   | ✓ |
| Rectangular Structures   | ✗ |
| Pits   | ✗ |
| Postholes   | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks   | ✗ |
| Other   | ✗ |
See main summary
| 2:   | None |
| 2:   | None |
Guard Chambers:  ✗
Chevaux de Frise:  ✗
| 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 |
Single continuous rampart with intermittent oute rampart
| Area 1:   | 0.24ha. |
| Total:   | 0.24ha. |
Total Footprint Area:  0.55ha.
None
| ✗   | None |
| ✓   | None |
| NE Quadrant:   | 1 |
| 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 |
Number of Ditches:  None
| ✗   | None |
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
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