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Skirley Craig
Promontory Fort (Period Unassigned)
Site Name Skirley Craig
Classification Promontory Fort (Period Unassigned)
Canmore ID 25423
Site Number NN82NE 5
NGR NN 8626 2590
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/25423
- Council Perth And Kinross
- Parish Crieff
- Former Region Tayside
- Former District Perth And Kinross
- Former County Perthshire
NN82NE 5 8626 2590.
(NN 8626 2590) Multi-vallate promontory fort visible on RAF APs (106G/ Scot/UK 37: 2051-2, flown 1946).
This fort is situated at c.1110' OD on a promontory forming the NW corner of Skirley Craig. It is almost oval on plan and measures about 80.0m NE-SW by 40.0m internally. On the S and E it is defended by ramparts which cut off the promontory, while the N and W sides are sufficiently defended by the cliff. Although the ramparts are all composed of stone, there may have been two phases, the middle rampart possibly representing the earlier since it is slighter than the others; also it appears to be overlaid and partially destroyed by the entrance, which is probably of the second phase. A break at the N end of each rampart next to the cliff may be an entrance to the earlier fort.
The fort lay within a wood which has been cleared and this has had the effect of reducing the majority of the ramparts to mere scarps. No trace of any features could be found in the interior.
Surveyed at 1:2500.
Visited by OS (RD) 16 November 1966
No change to previous field report.
Visited by OS (SFS) 29 September 1975
Note (16 December 2014 - 18 May 2016)
This fort occupies the W angle of Skirley Craigs, which falls away in a precipitous cliff on the NW and SW. The defences comprise three ramparts, all reduced to stony scarps, which have been drawn in an arc across the NE and SE approaches. The roughly oval interior formed between the defences and the cliff-edge measures about 80m from NE to SW by a maximum of 40m transversely (0.23ha) and is featureless. There is a clearly defined entrance on the E, which forms a deep passage some 15m in length through the defences, but the OS observed that this appeared to post-date the slighter middle rampart, proposing two phases of construction in which the middle rampart represented the first period of construction. Furthermore they noted a gap between the terminals of the ramparts and the cliff-edge on the NW, suggesting that this was the position of the earlier entrance.
Information from An Atlas of Hillforts of Great Britain and Ireland – 18 May 2016. Atlas of Hillforts SC2633
