Satellite Imagery
Satellite Imagery
HER: Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust MPK3171 (None)
NMR: NO 11 NW 19 (28020)
SM: 9439
NGR: NO 1015 1695
X: 310150 Y: 716950 (OSGB36)
This fort is situated on a low hillock to the E of South Dumbuils, which falls away steeply along its S flank, but easily approached across gentle grassy slopes from the N. Oval on plan, it measures about 140m in length from E to W and expands to a maximum breadth of 70m towards the W end (0.65ha) within a rampart variously reduced to a stony scarp from the W round the S flank to the E, and a thick bank on the N; where best preserved on the NNW it is up to 9m in thickness by 0.8m in internal height. Additional protection around the more vulnerable N flank is provided by two outer ramparts, which can be traced from the NW round to the E; largely reduced to stony scarps, an evaluation trench excavated by Tessa Poller (2010) demonstrated that there was a medial ditch between them and that the inner of them, the middle rampart, may have mounted a timber palisade. The innermost rampart exhibited at least two periods of construction, the earlier comprising an earthen bank with a stone and timber revetment forming its leading face, and the later extensive reconstruction and thickening, incorporating stone work and possibly also timberwork. All three lines of defence are pierced by an entrance on the NW, from which a hollowed trackway can be traced to the rear of the inner wall, but there are at least three other gaps cut by later traffic into the interior, of which one mounting the slope obliquely on the E possible adapts an original entrance. Within the uneven interior there are traces of shallow quarrying, making it impossible to determine whether any of the visible features are of any antiquity, but one possible round-house platform can be seen on the SE, while a series of subrectangular features at the E end may be the result of later occupation.
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -384601 Y: 7625680 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -3.4549254974065997 Latitude: 56.33641302914594 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Scotland
Current County or Unitary Authority: Perth & Kinross
Historic County: Perthshire
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Forgandenny
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: 105.0m
N/A
Radiocarbon dates have yet to be published
Reliability: D - None
| Pre 1200BC | ✗ |
| 1200BC - 800BC | ✗ |
| 800BC - 400BC | ✗ |
| 400BC - AD50 | ✗ |
| AD50 - AD400 | ✗ |
| AD400 - AD 800 | ✗ |
| Post AD800 | ✗ |
| Unknown | ✓ |
| Pre Hillfort: | None |
| Post Hillfort: | Quarrying and possible occupation |
| C14: | Not yet published |
None
| 1st Identified Written Reference (1792): | Noted (Stat Acct iii, 1792, 309) |
| Other (1843): | Noted (NSA 10, Perthshire, 953) |
| Other (1875): | Christian Maclagan claims vitrifaction (1875, 132) |
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1965): | Surveyed at 1:2500 by the OS |
| Other (1996): | Description by RCAHMS |
| Other (2001): | Scheduled |
| Excavation (2010): | Evaluation directed by Tessa Poller for the Glasgow University SERF Project (Poller 2010 a & b) |
| Earthwork Survey (2014): | Plan and description (RCAHMS DC57641 & SC1430382; GV005445 & SC1462079) |
One possible house platform and several subrectangular features
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 | ✗ |
Paving located
| 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 | ✗ |
An iron axe and disc were found in the make up of the 2nd phase of the inner wall, and an assemblage of coarse stone tools were recovered from elsewhere.
| 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
| 4: | None |
| 2: | None |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
| 1. Simple Gap (East): | Cut by an oblique trackway and may be later |
| 1. Hollow Way (East): | Cuts the rampart and may be altogether later |
| 2. Simple Gap (North west): | with a hollow track leading into the interior |
Three ramparts along one flank and one to complete the circuit where the ground is steeper
| Area 1: | 0.65ha. |
| Total: | 0.65ha. |
Total Footprint Area: 1.4ha.
None
| ✓ | None |
| ✓ | None |
| NE Quadrant: | 3 |
| SE Quadrant: | 1 |
| SW Quadrant: | 1 |
| NW Quadrant: | 3 |
| Total: | 3 |
| 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 | ✗ |
Ditch; innermost rampart had 2 phases, earlier with a timber revetmen, secondary modification with stonework and possible timberwork
| 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: 1
| ✗ | None |
Maclagan, C (1875) The hill forts, stone circles and other structural remains of ancient Scotland. Edinburgh
NSA (1834-1845) The new statistical account of Scotland by the ministers of the respective parishes under the superintendence of a committee of the society for the benefit of the sons and daughters of the clergy, 15v Edinburgh
NSA (1834-1845) The new statistical account of Scotland by the ministers of the respective parishes under the superintendence of a committee of the society for the benefit of the sons and daughters of the clergy, 15v Edinburgh
Poller, T (2010a) 'Law of Dumbuils: SERF, Perth and Kinross (Forgandenny parish), excavation, survey and field school'. Discovery Excav Scot, New Ser, 11 (2010), 141
Poller, T (2010b) Law of Dumbuils Hillfort: Excavation 2010, Data Structure Report
Stat Acct (date) Statistical Account of Scotland: Drawn up from the Communications of the Ministers of the Different Parishes (Sinclair, J ed), 1791-99
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