Note
Date 3 August 2015 - 24 May 2016
Event ID 1044996
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Note
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1044996
The remains of what may have been a fort or a fortified settlement are situated immediately N of Caerlanrig, which stands on the NE end of a long ridge in the headwaters of the River Teviot. The defences have been heavily degraded, apparently comprising a single rampart and ditch, though little of the rampart is visible. The ditch can be traced for a distance of some 65m along the crest of the slope dropping steeply down to the River Teviot on the NW, set at the foot of a largely natural scarp some 3m high. At the NE end the ditch and traces of the inner rampart turn in an arc through almost 90 degrees before petering out on the NE side, while at the SW end a later ditch appears to cut sharply back at right-angles towards the farm. In 1858 the first OS surveyors to depict the earthworks completed the circuit of the ditch on the NE and SE with a dashed line to create a rectilinear enclosure measuring internally about 75m from NE to SW by 50m transversely (0.38ha). Apart from the NW flank, however, there are no compelling topographical features to limit the size of the enclosure. While described by RCAHMS as a ridge fort, a type where the topography has created a roughly rectilinear plan (RCAHMS 1956, 18), it might equally be described as a strongly enclosed rectilinear settlement. If extending beyond the area shown by the first OS surveyors, it would probably embrace the cottage gardens in which an aureus of Vespasian was discovered in 1856 (RCAHMS 1956, 441, no.992; Canmore 53015); the Wilton Lodge Museum, Hawick also holds a perforated stone disc (HAKMG 4247; Canmore 53017) from Caerlanrig.
Information from An Atlas of Hillforts of Great Britain and Ireland – 24 May 2016. Atlas of Hillforts SC3240
