Law Of Dumbuils

(NO 101 169). There are the remains of a fortification on the Law of Dumbuils, about a mile SE of Forgandenny. The law is a low craggy eminence, elliptical in form, the South and West sides being a precipitous rock, while on the North and East sides it is protected by a wall of great granite boulders, many still in place (NSA 1845). There is some sign of vitrification (C MacLagan 1875).

Information from OS (JHC) 5 October 1964.

The fort is situated at the west end of a rocky ridge approached from the north by a gradual slope. It is D-shaped on plan and protected on the south and west by steep rocky slopes.

The north defences consisted of three ramparts the inner only of which, for the most part, survives, the two outer now being reduced to scarps. On the east and west there was apparently only a single rampart, traces only of the west one surviving. There are two entrances, one inthe NW corner and one in the centre of the east side where the ramparts are offset. There is no evidence of vitrification, the ramparts consisting mainly of turf-covered earth and stones with a number of large boulders. There is no trace of structures within the fort.

Surveyed at 1/2500.

Visited by OS (R D) 11 March 1965.

The remains of this fort are situated on the E end of a rocky knoll 800m NW of Glenearn House (NO11NW 58.00). Roughly egg-shaped on plan, it measures internally about 130m in length from E to W and varies in breadth from 42m at the E end to 80m at the W end. The main defences comprise a single rampart, now largely reduced to a grass-grown stony bank, but, on the NW, the easiest line of approach, additional protection has been provided by two slighter, external ramparts; these too have been reduced to stony banks. Where best preserved, the main rampart forms a bank up to 8m in thickness and 2m in height; inner facing-stones are visible at several points around the circuit, but there is no evidence for the vitrifaction referred to by Miss MacLagan. There are two entrances, one on the NW, passing through all three of the lines of defence on this side, and one on the E. From the latter, an S-shaped trackway, now partly obscured by vegetation, drops down to a terrace outside the defences. On the date of visit the rocky interior was masked by a deep cover of snow, but midway along the S side of the fort, overlying the main rampart at the top of the steep natural slope, there is a house-platform some 8m in diameter and 0.5m in depth at the rear.

Visited by RCAHMS (JRS), 25 November 1996.

NO 1014 1695 The hillfort of Law of Dumbuils was excavated

2–22 August 2010 as part of the ongoing SERF project. The

fort is defined by three ramparts following the contours on

the N side of the hill. The ramparts tail off as the natural

slope steepens towards the S side. The main entrance is on

the NW side with a possible second entrance on the E side.

A trench 35m long by 2m wide was excavated across the

ramparts. The outermost rampart or counterscarp had been

greatly denuded and survived only as a very low earthen

mound. Inside this a shallow ditch had partially been cut

into the bedrock. The middle rampart also had an earthen

core, but was crowned by a palisade packed with massive

boulders. In between this and the innermost rampart there

was a roughly flat platform with portions of exposed bedrock.

The initial phase of the inner rampart was composed of an

earthen core, supported on its northern side by a stone-faced

timber palisade. At a later date this rampart was cut into

and broadened on its southern, interior, face. This secondary

phase was composed of large boulders, which probably

supported timbers. Two objects of iron, a small axe-head and

a circular disc, suggest that this phase dates to the Middle

Iron Age or later.

Within the entrance hollow there was a paved path and

to the S of this a pebbled surface. The southern edge of this

surface was defined by a rough line of boulders, running

along the base of a bedrock outcrop. On top of the pebble

surface was a spread of rubble with a variety of stone finds,

including hammerstones, a mortar, a pecked cup stone and

a cannel coal disc. Two test pits within the interior did not

record any archaeological deposits.

Archive: Currently University of Glasgow and RCAHMS (intended)

Funder: Historic Scotland, University of Glasgow and University of

Aberdeen

RCAHMS surveyed the fort at Law of Dumbuils in April 2014 with plane-table and self-reducing alidade at a scale of 1:500. The resultant plan and section were redrawn in vector graphics software.

This fort is situated 280m E of South Dumbuils farmsteading on a craggy volcanic knoll that rises gently from the N to a very steep S face that falls some 15m to the farmland below. Roughly oval on plan but wider at its W end, the fort measures 140m from E to W by up to 70m transversely within a wall that has been reduced to a grass-grown bank measuring a maximum of 9m in thickness and 0.8m in internal height on the NNW. Elsewhere, this wall is marked by little more than an outward facing scarp and along the straight southern side there are places where it is not visible at all. A second and a third (outermost) bank are visible on the N, but mainly as scarps, and these tail off around the E and W ends of the knoll where they have been disturbed by later tracks that ascend towards the interior. The only original entrance that can be positively identified is situated on the NW, where there is a well-defined hollow passing through the defences and into the interior.

Within the fort the naturally uneven surface has been disturbed by small-scale quarrying (which is also evident elsewhere on and around the knoll) but there are several locations where scarps may represent the remains of circular prehistoric timber buildings. One especially, in the SE corner, appears to have both an outer (rear) scarp and an inner scarp of smaller diameter; another, half way along the southern side, if it is not actually a quarry, would represent a post-defensive occupation of the knoll as it overlies the line of the fort wall. A series of subrectangular platforms at the E end may represent later occupation of the knoll.

In 2010, a topographic survey and excavation of one trench and two test-pits were undertaken (Poller 2010).

Visited by RCAHMS (GFG, JRS, IP) April 2014.

This fort is situated on a low hillock to the E of South Dumbuils, which falls away steeply along its S flank, but easily approached across gentle grassy slopes from the N. Oval on plan, it measures about 140m in length from E to W and expands to a maximum breadth of 70m towards the W end (0.65ha) within a rampart variously reduced to a stony scarp from the W round the S flank to the E, and a thick bank on the N; where best preserved on the NNW it is up to 9m in thickness by 0.8m in internal height. Additional protection around the more vulnerable N flank is provided by two outer ramparts, which can be traced from the NW round to the E; largely reduced to stony scarps, an evaluation trench excavated by Tessa Poller (2010) demonstrated that there was a medial ditch between them and that the inner of them, the middle rampart, may have mounted a timber palisade. The innermost rampart exhibited at least two periods of construction, the earlier comprising an earthen bank with a stone and timber revetment forming its leading face, and the later extensive reconstruction and thickening, incorporating stone work and possibly also timberwork. All three lines of defence are pierced by an entrance on the NW, from which a hollowed trackway can be traced to the rear of the inner wall, but there are at least three other gaps cut by later traffic into the interior, of which one mounting the slope obliquely on the E possible adapts an original entrance. Within the uneven interior there are traces of shallow quarrying, making it impossible to determine whether any of the visible features are of any antiquity, but one possible round-house platform can be seen on the SE, while a series of subrectangular features at the E end may be the result of later occupation.

Information from An Atlas of Hillforts of Great Britain and Ireland – 25 October 2016. Atlas of Hillforts SC3034