Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

SC3076 Dumbarrow Hill, Angus

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

HER:  Angus SMR per Aberdeenshire Council NO54NE0005 (None)

NMR:  NO 54 NE 5 (34656)

SM:  3076

NGR:  NO 5515 4791

X:  355150  Y:  747910  (OSGB36)

Summary

This small fortification is situated on W end of a low ridge on the NE flank of Dumbarrow Hill. The ground falls away quite steeply on the N, but is more easily accessible elsewhere, particularly across the level ground to the E. Oval on plan, it measures about 31m from E to W by 23m transversely (0.06ha) within a heavily robbed wall in the order of 3.5m in thickness, its best preserved portion on the W retaing four large outer facing stones. The entrance is probably on the E and apart from a shallow hollow in the E half, the interior is featureless.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -304178  Y:  7683035  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -2.732477953612599  Latitude:  56.62094763821765  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Scotland

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Angus

Historic County:  Angus

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Kirkden

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:  160.0m

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:   Heavily robbed and planted with trees in the 19th century

Evidence:No related records

Investigation History

None

Investigations:
1st Identified Written Reference (1833):   Noted (NSA 11, Forfar, 142
1st Identified Map Depiction (1859):   Annotated Fort on the 1st edition OS 25-inch map (Forfar 1865, sheet 39.11; Name Book, Forfarshire, No.38, p 65)
Other (1885):   Noted (Warden 1880-85)
Other (1956):   Description for RCAHMS Survey of Marginal Lands
Other (1966):   resurveyed at 1:2500 by the OS
Other (1971):   Scheduled
Other (1978):   Description by RCAHMS
Other (2014):   Re-Scheduled

Interior Features

Featureless

Water Source

None

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

Surface

None

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

NO APPARENT FEATURES

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:  
0:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   Probably on the E

Guard Chambers:  ✗

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗

Entrances:No related records

Enclosing Works

Single wall

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.06ha.
Total:   0.06ha.

Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   None

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✓   None

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   1
SE Quadrant:   1
SW Quadrant:   1
NW Quadrant:   1
Total:   1

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

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. Edinburgh.

Name Book, Ordnance Survey Object Name Books (6 inch and 1/2500 scale); available https://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/

Warden, A J. (1880-5) Angus or Forfarshire: the land and people, descriptive and historical (5v). Dundee.



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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