Flagstaff Hill

This barrow stands on the summit of Flagstaff Hill, in a pocket of unimproved ground at the junction of the North Strip and Long Strip plantations. It is enclosed by the plantation walls, that on the W arcing around and respecting its bottom edge. The barrow measures 31.8m from E to W by 29m transversely and up to 5m in height, and on the date of visit it was heavily overgrown with long grass and thistles, and a shrub on its N flank just below the summit. A trench measuring 17.9m in length has been dug into the barrow from the E, exposing a core of earth containing a few loose stones. This trench is 3.5m wide and up to 0.9 deep and, with little upcast visible, it is not known where the material removed from the barrow has gone.

The barrow is annotated ‘Grass Law’ on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map and a triangular trigonometric point is indicated on its top (Fife and Kinross 1855, Sheet 19). The latter is also depicted on the 2nd edition of the OS 6-inch map but without the annotation (1896, Sheet XXI.NE). Both editions predate the plantations and the trigonometric point is no longer visible.

Visited by HES Archaeological Survey (A. Gannon), 20 September 2022.