LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
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HER: The West of Scotland Archaeology Service 18088 (None)
NMR: NT 07 NE 8 (49174)
SM: None
NGR: NT 0761 7691
X: 307610 Y: 676910 (OSGB36)
Nothing remains of this fort, which had been largely destroyed by the Craigton Quarry before RCAHMS investigators visited in 1926. By that time no more than a spread fragment of a rampart survived on the NE, one of at least two that are depicted on earlier editions of the OS 25-inch map (Linlithgow 1856, sheet 6.2; 1895, sheet 6.2). Roughly oval on plan, the earlier of these maps gives the impression that the two ramparts formed an almost continuous circuit, though the accompanying commentary in the Name Book suggests that the steep N flank, which had already been subjected to some quarrying, had been left undefended (Linlthgowshire, No.5, p 20). A possible third rampart is shown between the inner and outer at the SE end, extending W from what was probably an entrance on the ESE; a gap in the outer rampart possibly marks the position of a second entrance on the W. The interior measured about 85m from NW to SE by up to 55m transversely (0.35ha). In the course of its destruction the upper stone of a rotary quern and two shallow stone basins were recovered (RCAHMS 1929, 187, no.283).
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -387624 Y: 7553699 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -3.4820828952572125 Latitude: 55.976300731093126 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Scotland
Current County or Unitary Authority: West Lothian
Historic County: West Lothian
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Abercorn
Destroyed by quarrying
| Extant | ✗ |
| Cropmark | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed | ✓ |
Quarried wasteland
| 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: 108.0m
N/A
Discovery of a rotary quern in the quarry need not relate to any defensive phase and there is now no recoverable evidence 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: | Planted with trees in the early 19th century and subsequently quarried to destruction |
None
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1854): | Annotated Fort on the 1st edition OS 25-inch map (Linlithgow 1856, sheet 6.2; Name Book, Linlthgowshire, No.5, p 20) |
| Other (1926): | Visited (RCAHMS 1929, 187, no.283) |
| Other (1974): | Visit by the OS confirms total destruction |
Featureless
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 | ✗ |
NO APPARENT FEATURES
| APs Not Checked | ✓ |
| None | ✗ |
| Roundhouses | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures | ✗ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Postholes | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
See main summary
| 2: | None |
| 2: | None |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
| 1. Simple Gap (South east): | None |
| 2. Simple Gap (West): | Possibly no more than a gap in the depiction of the slope, but apparently the route of a path shown on the 1st edition OS 25-inch map |
At least two ramparts round most of the circuit, and a possible third in one sector
| Area 1: | 0.35ha. |
| Total: | 0.35ha. |
Total Footprint Area: 0.83ha.
None
| ✗ | Measurements taken from the OS 2nd edition 25-inch map (1895) |
| ✗ | None |
| NE Quadrant: | 2 |
| SE Quadrant: | 3 |
| SW Quadrant: | 2 |
| NW Quadrant: | 0 |
| Total: | 3 |
| Partial Univallate | ✗ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✓ |
| Bivallate | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✓ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
| Unknown | ✗ |
| Partial Univallate | ✗ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✗ |
| Bivallate | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
All destroyed, but described in the Name Book as 'of earth, in which are embedded some large rough stones'
| 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: None
| ✗ | None |
Name Book, Ordnance Survey Object Name Books (6 inch and 1/2500 scale); available https://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/
RCAHMS (1929) The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions of Scotland. Tenth report with Inventory of Monuments and Constructions in the Counties of Midlothian and West Lothian. HMSO: 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