Field Visit
Date 15 December 1998
Event ID 1011215
Category Recording
Type Field Visit
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1011215
The defences of this fort are depicted at 1:5,550 on an archaeological map of Holyrood Park (RCAHMS 1999). The innermost line of defence encloses a pear-shaped area, and is defined for the most part by the footings of a stone wall extending along the edge of the precipitous crag, but on the E, where the ground drops less steeply, by a substantial grass-grown stony bank measuring 4m in thickness and up to 1m in external height. On the NE, a 4m break in the wall marks the position of the entrance, and coincides with the point through which a later field-bank extends SE down the slope (this field-bank may belong to the field-system described under NT27SE 3938). A row of four facing-stones set back a short distance from the NW angle of the crag probably belong to the inner face of the wall. Rock outcrops divide the interior into three levels, but no structures are visible within any of them.
An additional line of defence is visible below the wall on the W, where a stony scarp can be traced between two rock outcrops. On the E, there are also possible traces of an annexe occupying the gently sloping area dropping down from the wall. The N and S sides of the annexe are mainly defined by low outcrops, but a possible bank extends along the crest of the outcrop on the S and cuts northwards across the slope on the E immediately above an area of cultivation terraces (NT27SE 102). Here the annexe appears to overlie the lower side of a scooped settlement (NT27SE 145), although the entrance to the settlement forms a marked gap in its line. There are several other breaks in the annexe wall, some of which may be relatively modern and the result of erosion by footpaths. Within the annexe, several vague platforms can still be seen, none of which appear to be anything more than a small quarry scoop. The existence of the annexe can only be confirmed by excavation.
Visited by RCAHMS (ARG), 15 December 1998.
NMRS, MS/726/96 (41-2, no. 16); RCAHMS 1999.
