Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

SC3122 Glenduckie Hill, Fife

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  Fife Council None (None)

NMR:  NO 21 NE 5 (30060)

SM:  None

NGR:  NO 2813 1931

X:  328130  Y:  719310  (OSGB36)

Summary

This fort occupies the summit of the SW spur of Glenduckie Hill, comprising an irregular enclosure backing onto a cliff-edge along its NW flank and elsewhere defended by a single rampart reduced to a stony scarp and probably accompanied by an external ditch, though the latter is visible only on the NE. The interior measures 128m from NE to SW by a maximum of 47m transversely (0.46ha), but appears to have been reduced in size at a later date by the insertion of a wall 3m in thickness with an external ditch some 25m short of the NE end. One entrance is marked by a causeway across the ditch on the NE, and a possible second by a gap in the rampart on the SW, which had been used for timber extraction when RCAHMS investigators drew up a plan in 1952. Apart from what is probably a later stone-walled settlement enclosing a single large hut-circle towards the SW end, the interior is featureless. This settlement measures about 30m in diameter within a wall faced externally with large boulders and spread about 2.7m in thickness; its entrance is on the S. Its roughly central hut-circle measures about 15m in diameter within a wall 1.8m in thickness and also has an entrance on the S.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -352306  Y:  7630555  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -3.1648172947022504  Latitude:  56.36068449306758  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Scotland

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Fife

Historic County:  Fife

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Flisk

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:  195.0m

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:   Overlain by a LIA homestead and subsequently planted with trees

Evidence:No related records

Investigation History

None

Investigations:
Earthwork Survey (1952):   Plan and description for RCAHMS Survey of Marginal Lands (RCAHMS FID 4/1-3 & 5, & DP158207, DP053137, DP158210)
1st Identified Map Depiction (1970):   Surveyed at 1:2500 by the OS

Interior Features

Apart from what is probably a later homestead enclosing a single large hut-circle, the interior is featureless

Water Source

None

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

Surface

Later homestead enclosing a single hut-circle

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:  
3:   Heavily reduced all round the circuit

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  ✗

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗

Entrances:
1. Simple Gap (North east):   None
2. Simple Gap (South west):   None

Enclosing Works

Single wall around three sides, and a later wall reducing its length.

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.46ha.
Total:   0.46ha.

Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✓   Wall inserted across the interior at the NE end

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✗   This excludes the smaller settlement situated within the interior

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   2
SE Quadrant:   1
SW Quadrant:   1
NW Quadrant:   0
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:  1

Annex:
✗   None

References

No related records



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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