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HER:  Scottish Borders 58330 (None)
NMR:  NT 73 NE 24 (58330)
SM:  5601
NGR:  NT 7832 3770
X:  378320  Y:  637700  (OSGB36)
Cropmarks have revealed what appears to be a multivallate fort some 600m E of Redden, but rather than exploiting the escarpment in the vicinity of the farm, it is sited on a lower spur, with a minor scarp along its N flank and a shallow gully on the SE. The defences comprise up to four ditches from 2m to 4m in breadth, which on the S flank appear to be concentric, set at intervals of about 6m. On the E, however, where the cropmarkings are more diffuse, the arrangement of the ditches is not so clearly defined, though the innermost ditch seems to cut back more tightly towards the scarp on the N; on the W only the courses of the and the innermost and the second ditch have been photographed so far. While there may be some doubt as to whether the innermost forms part of an unitary scheme with the outer ditches, it encloses an oval area measuring about 75m from E to W by 50m transversely (0.3ha), within which at least three maculae are visible on some of the photographs. One of them is oval and fairly sharply defined, while another more diffuse mark impinges on the line of the innermost ditch on the WNW; there are also several narrow linear features on the E. No clear evidence of an entrance has been recorded yet. In addition to the fort part of a rectangular enclosure lies immediately outside the outermost ditch on the S.
Citizen Science:  ✗
Reliability of Data:  Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed
X:  -261145  Y:  7485585  (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude:  -2.34590511993052  Latitude:  55.63241424586867  (EPSG:4326)
Country:  Scotland
Current County or Unitary Authority:  Scottish Borders
Historic County:  Roxburghshire
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Sprouston
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:  30.0m
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:   | Ploughed flat and almost certainly cut by a leat draining W to a millpond N of the Farm |
First photographed by John Dewar in 1971, it has bee photographed by the RCAHMS Aerial Survey Programme in 1976, 1977, 1983, 1991, 1994, 1995 and 1996.
| 1st Identified Written Reference (1971):   | First photographed by John Dewar |
| Other (1993):   | Scheduled |
At least three maculae, one of which forms a fairly sharply defined oval shape.
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   | ✗ |
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   | ✗ |
Several narrow linear marks on the E
| APs Not Checked   | ✗ |
| None   | ✗ |
| Roundhouses   | ✓ |
| Rectangular Structures   | ✗ |
| Pits   | ✗ |
| Postholes   | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks   | ✗ |
| Other   | ✓ |
None known
| 0:   | None |
| 2:   | Not known |
Guard Chambers:  ✗
Chevaux de Frise:  ✗
Up to four ditches, presumably accompanied by upcast ditches
| Area 1:   | 0.3ha. |
| Total:   | 0.3ha. |
Total Footprint Area:  0.95ha.
None
| ✗   | None |
| ✗   | None |
| NE Quadrant:   | 0 |
| SE Quadrant:   | 4 |
| SW Quadrant:   | 4 |
| NW Quadrant:   | 0 |
| Total:   | 4 |
| 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:  4
| ✗   | None |
No related records
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