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Archaeology Notes
Date - 1977
Event ID 694931
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Archaeology Notes
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/694931
NR76SE 1 7925 6192.
(NR 7925 6194) Fort (NR)
OS 6" map, (1924)
Fort, Dunmore: This sub-oval fort occupies the NE half of a narrow rocky summit. It is bounded by a single stone wall enclosing an area 140' x 70', with an entrance at each end. Along the NW side, and at the rounded NE end, the wall is built on the outer margin of the summit, but on the SE side it diverges from it to follow the line of a prominent spine of outcrop for 90' before turning squarely across the ridge to form the straight SW end. The wall is of stone-faced rubble construction; considerable sections of both faces remain, though in several places, especially on N and NW, the outer face has collapsed down the slope, and much of the inner face is obscured. Both faces stand over 4' high on the SE; the best preserved piece of outer face lies between the SW entrance and the SW angle, where it is 5' high. The wall thickness varies from 12' on the W and NW to 6'6" on the E and S, but this may be due to rebuilding. Other wall features also suggest reconstruction. On the SE, the thickness appears to increase suddenly to 12' where a stretch of inner face is visible for a length of 13'. The wall at this point is so disturbed and overgrown that it is impossible to ascertain whether this wider portion is part of the thinner wall on either side of it or belongs to a different phase of construction. Again, towards the SW end of the NW side, opposite a break in the inner face of the wall, and set back 6' from it, a short piece of facing can be seen among the core material. Without excavation, the true nature of this feature cannot be explained; it may be part of a medial face, or even a mural cell, but could also signify a repairing or re-inforcing of the wall. At both entrances, on NE and SW, the wall has been severely robbed and most of the facing stones and core material have been removed.
The interior of the fort is uneven; two structures can be distinguished - both seem secondary, and may possibly be associated with each other. The first consists of the very fragmentary foundations of what has probably been a small building or hut. Sufficient facing stones remain to indicate a rectangular outline with rounded corners, 20' x 10' within a 3' - 4' thick wall. The entrance position is uncertain. The second feature, near the SW end of the fort, appears as a ragged band of stones spread to 5' wide, representing all that remains of a collapsed wall, springing from the inner face of the fort wall on the SE, and running W for 30' to merge with the heavy mass of tumble NW of the entrance. It appears to have no facing stones; its slight construction and odd relationship to the fort wall clearly indicate its secondary nature. There is an outer defence at the SW end of the summit area. It consists of a wall drawn across the ridge top in a gentle arc, ending abruptly at either end on the natural crest-line. It is now reduced to an over- grown scatter of stones, with two pieces of outer face visible. No inner face is visible, but judging from the width of the scatter, the wall thickness would be c. 6'. There is no sign of an entrance.
Information from RCAHMS Ms, visited 1959.
The fort is generally as described by RCAHMS, although fallen trees and vegetation obscure many details.
The scatter of stone to the SW is too slight to identify as an outwork. Surveyed at 1:10,000.
Visited by OS (D W R) 26 May 1973.
No change to the report of 26 May 1973.
Surveyed at 1/10,000 on MSD.
Visited by OS (B S) 8 March 1977
