Satellite Imagery
Satellite Imagery
HER: Aberdeenshire Historic Environment Record NJ62SE0002 (None)
NMR: NJ 62 SE 2 (18182)
SM: 12012
NGR: NJ 6942 2435
X: 369420 Y: 824350 (OSGB36)
This small fortification is situated on a low hillock that projects from the slope NE of Pittodrie Home Farm to capitalise on the steep slopes falling away on the N and more particularly the E, where there is also evidence of minor quarrying. On the surface the fortifications comprise a single rampart and ditch overlain by a heavily-robbed, circular, stone-walled building measuring about 20m in diameter within a wall 2.5m in thickness. Excavations by Murray Cook (et al 2007; 2008), however, have revealed that the traces of what appears to be an internal quarry scoop to the rear of the rampart on the W is the remains of an inner ditch with an internal rampart enclosing an oval area measuring about 35m from E to W by 29m transversely (0.08ha). Adjacent to the entrance on the S, the outer ditch is up to 5m in breadth by 0.5m in depth, reducing to slighter proportions around the steeper N flank, and the rampart forms a bank 3.5m in thickness by 0.5m in height, but on excavation these proved to be 3m wide by 0.75m deep and 4m thick by 1.6m high respectively, while the inner ditch measured 2.2m in breadth by 1.1m in depth and the inner rampart 2m in thickness by 1.5m in height. Apart from evidence of non-ferrous metalworking, a piece of early medieval decorated glass and a glass bead, there are three radiocarbon dates from contexts below and above the inner rampart, and beneath the wall of the circular internal building, all of them falling in the range of AD 410-640. Secondary rectilinear structures were identified in the trenches in the interior.
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -279326 Y: 7823492 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -2.5092251348752717 Latitude: 57.308767904075104 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Scotland
Current County or Unitary Authority: Aberdeenshire
Historic County: Aberdeenshire
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Oyne
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: 205.0m
N/A
Three radiocarbon dates from below the inner rampart, above the inner rampart and under the internal wall produced dates of AD 530-640, 500-650 and 420-610 respectively. Early medieval decorated glass, a glass bead and evidence of non-ferrous metalworking was also recovered.
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 |
| Artefactual: | Crucibles and metalworking, decorated glass and a glass bead |
| C14: | Three radiocarbon dates |
None
| 1st Identified Written Reference (1726): | Noted by Alexander Gordon (1726, 162) |
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1867): | Named in Gothic type on 1st edition OS 25-inch map (Aberdeenshire 1870, sheet 45.13) |
| Earthwork Survey (1956): | Plan and description for RCAHMS Survey of Marginal Lands (RCAHMS ABD 4/1-3 & DP 147298-9; Feachem 1963, 105) |
| Other (1973): | Surveyed at 1:2500 by the OS |
| Other (1976): | Resurveyed at 1:2500 by the OS |
| Other (1978): | Visited by Regional Archaeologist |
| Other (1981): | Visited by the Hill-Fort Study Group |
| Earthwork Survey (1997): | Plan and description by RCAHMS (Halliday 2007, 98, fig 6.25) |
| Excavation (2007): | Evaluation by Murray Cook (Cook et al 2007; Cook 2011) |
| Excavation (2008): | Evaluation by Murray Cook (Cook et al 2008; Cook 2011) |
| Other (2008): | Scheduled |
Largely occupied by a large circular stone-walled building. Excavation also revealed traces of rectilinear structures. Excavation identified traces of rectilinear structures.
None
| None | ✓ |
| Spring | ✗ |
| Stream | ✗ |
| Pool | ✗ |
| Flush | ✗ |
| Well | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Large circular stone-walled building
| 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 | ✗ |
Early medieval decorated glass, a glass bead and evidence of non-ferrous metalworking was also recovered.
| No Known Finds | ✗ |
| Pottery | ✗ |
| Metal | ✗ |
| Metalworking | ✓ |
| Human Bones | ✗ |
| Animal Bones | ✗ |
| Lithics | ✗ |
| Environmental | ✗ |
| Other | ✓ |
Obscured by trees
| 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 (South): | None |
A small bivallate enclosure with twin ramparts and ditches overlain by a thick-walled circular building
| Area 1: | 0.08ha. |
| Total: | 0.08ha. |
Total Footprint Area: Noneha.
None
| ✓ | Overlain by the internal ring-fort |
| ✗ | Discounts the overlying circular building |
| NE Quadrant: | 0 |
| 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 | ✗ |
Ditches
| 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: 2
| ✗ | None |
Cook. M (2011) 'New evidence for the activities of Pictish potentates in Aberdeenshire: the hillforts of Strathdon'. Proc Soc Antiq Scot 141 (2011), 207-29
Cook, Dunbar and Engl, M, L and R (2008) 'Hillforts of Strathdon: Phase 2 - Maiden Castle and Dunnideer, Aberdeenshire (Insch / Oyne parishes), evaluation'. Disc Exc Scot, New Ser, 9 (2008), 23
Cook, Dunbar and Engl, M, L and R (2007) 'Hillforts of Strathdon: Phase 1 Maiden Castle, Aberdeenshire (Oyne parish), evaluation'. Disc Exc Scot New Ser, 8 (2007), 27-28
Feachem, R (1963) A guide to prehistoric Scotland. Batsford: London
Gordon, A (1726) Itinerarium Septentrionale: or A Journey Thro' most of the Counties of Scotland And Those in the North of England. London
Halliday, S P (2007) The later prehistoric landscape. In RCAHMS (2007) In the Shadow of Bennachie: A Field Archaeology of Donside, Aberdeenshire. RCAHMS & Society of Antiquaries of Scotland: 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