Archaeology Notes

Event ID 721126

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Archaeology Notes

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/721126

NT65NE 1 6722 5845

(NT 6722 5845) Fort (NR)

OS 25" map, (1967)

Promontory Fort, Wrinklaw: A fort situated on a promontory, across the neck of which, facing the higher ground on the NW, is a rampart some 4ft to 5ft high, with an entrance near the centre. To the S of this, a trench 10ft to 12ft deep, beyond the termination of the rampart, is continued down the bank at a little distance from the fort. Some 86ft S of the rampart is a second line of defence, comprising a trench some 36ft wide from crest to crest with a mound to the rear of it some 6ft in height. Within the fort are the remains of a number of rectangular foundations in two contiguous rows, all probably connected with some later, secondary occupation.

RCAHMS 1915, visited 1908; D Christison 1895; J Farquharson 1885

A strongly defended promontory, with remains of later farm buildings and enclosures. The site is as described by the previous authorities, except that the initial rampart on the N side of the first ditch has been removed; the maximum depth of the ditch is 3.2m. The maximum depth of the second ditch below the crest of the rampart is 1.5m. The fort is in a very strong position with precipitous slopes on all sides except where defended by its ditches.

Visited by OS (JFC) 15 December 1954

The remains of this promontory fort are generally as previously described. There is now no trace of a ditch E of the entrance at NT 6722 5846. It would appear that the main ditch leads into the top of a gully at NT 6719 5843, the steep slopes on this side being an adequate defence. The interior of the fort has been occupied by a later farmstead, only the footings of which now remain.

Surveyed at 1:2500.

Visited by OS (WDJ) 30 October 1963

The remains of the fort and footings of the farmstead are very well preserved.

Surveyed at 1:10,000.

Visited by OS (MJF) 30 May 1979

The approach to a U-shaped promontory is blocked by a substantial earthen bank accompanied, to the SW of a central entrance, by an external ditch. About 35m to the rear there is a second, much-reduced bank and ditch while there are slight indications of further defences around the tip of the promontory. The inner defences are partly overlain by the stone footings of a number of rectangular buildings and enclosures, probably of late medieval date, including a possible hall. These remains suggest that at this period the site was the residence of a family of lesser baronial status, although the earthwork defences may in part be of earlier medieval date.

RCAHMS 1980, visited 1979

A farmstead annotated Wrinklaw (Remains of), comprising two unroofed buildings and an enclosure, is depicted on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Berwickshire 1862, sheet ix), but it is not shown on the current edition of the OS 1:10000 map (1982).

Information from RCAHMS (SAH) 14 September 2000