Archaeology Notes

Event ID 835060

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Archaeology Notes

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/835060

NT07NE 4.01 05254 78591

The tower on Binns Hill, property of the National Trust, was built in 1826 as the result of a wager.

NTS, undated.

A circular tower situated on the summit of Binns Hill, of considerable altitude. Formerly it contained a spiral stair by which its summit was gained. The stair is now entirely removed and the whole is in a ruinous state.

Ordnance Survey Name Book 1855

NT 0530 7860 An archaeological evaluation was commissioned in advance of restoration works on The House of the Binns Tower (NMRS NT07NE 4.01). The tower is purported to have been built in 1862 on top of Binns Hill as the result of a wager. The top of Binns Hill is allegedly the site of a Pictish fort and may have been used as a camp or observation post in Roman times although there are no distinguishing features presently visible. Documentary sources refer to 'the lands of the Bynnis' from 1335 onwards, and the existence of a house before 1478.

The archaeological evaluation comprised two trial trenches, one inside the tower and one outside, between the enclosing wall and the tower. The recorded deposits were in all instances contemporary with the construction of the tower. A degraded lime mortar floor was found inside the tower. Outside the tower a gravel surface was recorded. The tower has been built onto bedrock. No deposits associated with earlier occupation of the site were identified.

Full report lodged with the NMRS.

Sponsor: National Trust for Scotland.

A Hunter Blair 2001