Note
Date 27 January 2016 - 18 May 2016
Event ID 1045273
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Note
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1045273
This fort is situated to the S of Birgham, exploiting a low rise and an escarpment dropping down to Birgham Haugh along its SE side. Oval on plan, it measures about 85m from NE to SW by 55m transversely (0.4ha) within three concentric ditches forming a belt 26m deep; allowing for the presence of the inner rampart, the interior probably enclosed about 0.31ha. On the SW, despite the edge of the field obscuring the cropmarks, there are traces of the inner ditch turning back along the escarpment, but the middle and outer ditches run straight out onto the slope; conversely, on the NE, where the detail is also obscured by two large maculae, the ditches may terminate just short of the edge of the escarpment, probably marking the position of an entrance. These maculae are just two of a series that are scattered along the edge of the escarpment, and while most may simply be old gravel-pits, others may mark the stances of circular and rectangular structures; the character of the irregular maculae that fall within the interior can only be determined by excavation. The only other feature of note is an outlying ditch no more than 1.5m in breadth, which springs from the lip of the escarpment some 70m NE of the fort and is drawn in a shallow arc towards the defences on the N, though it terminates well short of the outer ditch; its relationship to the fort is unknown, intersecting a small sub-rectangular enclosure and possibly enclosing traces of several ring-grooves between it and the fort.
Information from An Atlas of Hillforts of Great Britain and Ireland – 18 May 2016. Atlas of Hillforts SC4041
