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Largiemore
Fort(S) (Period Unassigned), Coin (Roman)
Site Name Largiemore
Classification Fort(S) (Period Unassigned), Coin (Roman)
Alternative Name(s) Ballergie Dun
Canmore ID 38369
Site Number NR62NE 13
NGR NR 6812 2595
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/38369
- Council Argyll And Bute
- Parish Killean And Kilchenzie
- Former Region Strathclyde
- Former District Argyll And Bute
- Former County Argyll
NR62NE 13 6812 2595.
(NR 6810 2595) Largiemore Dun (Fort) (NR)
OS 6" map (1900)
Two successive forts, known locally as Largiemore Dun or Ballergie Dun, occupying a spur bounded by almost precipitous slopes on the W while it is cut off from broken moorland on the NE by a wide marshy hollow.
The earlier fort, stone-walled, has enclosed an irregularly-shaped area measuring 83.0m NE-SW by 49.0m. On the W there has probably been only a single wall but there has been a second wall round the other sides and a third on the NE. The walls have been heavily robbed and although occasional facing stones are visible it is impossible to measure the thickness accurately. The only sign of an entrance is at the NE corner where a modern track leads directly through all three walls.
The second fort is oval, measuring 40.0m by 33.0m within a single stone wall which overlies the wall of the earlier fort on the S. It varies from 2.4m to 4.3m in thickness and survives to a maximum of two courses in height. Faced on both sides with massive rectangular blocks, the wall is filled with smaller stones tightly packed with earth. The position of the entrance is probably represented by a broad gap on the E. Apart from the foundation of a probably modern stone dyke, the interior is featureless.
Three possible house-sites occur between the walls of the earlier fort on the NNE. Two are situated close together, between the inner and middle walls, and take the form of roughly circular depressions about 4.3m in diameter, with which are associated two short lengths of ruined walling. The third house-site lies immediately N of the others, between the inner and outer walls, and is represented by a crescentic scarp, measuring 7.6m across. From their position it is clear that these features are later than the first fort, but their chronological relationship to the second fort can be determined only by excavation.
A denarius of Trajan, minted AD 103-111, which is said to have been found in an old fort at Balergie presumably came from this site, but the exact find-spot is not recorded. It is now in Campbeltown Museum.
RCAHMS 1971, visited 1965
No change to the above description.
Surveyed at 1:10 000.
Visited by OS (JM) 5 November 1977
Field Visit (14 June 1943)
This site was included within the RCAHMS Emergency Survey (1942-3), an unpublished rescue project. Site descriptions, organised by county, vary from short notes to lengthy and full descriptions and are available to view online with contemporary sketches and photographs. The original typescripts, manuscripts, notebooks and photographs can also be consulted in the RCAHMS Search Room.
Information from RCAHMS (GFG) 10 December 2014.
Note (10 October 2014 - 31 August 2016)
This fort, situated on a prominent spur forming a local summit, comprises two successive elements: an inner walled enclosure, which overlies an outer multivallate perimeter. The inner enclosure is oval on plan and measures 40m from N to S by 33m transversely (0.1ha) within a wall between 2.4m and 4.3m in thickness; numerous runs of inner and outer face are visible and a gap on the E probably marks the entrance. The earlier multivallate fort is irregular on plan, measuring a maximum of 83m from NE to SW by 49m transversely (0.3ha) within the innermost rampart, now reduced to little more than an a scarp. A second heavily-robbed rampart pursues an eccentric course at the foot of the slope below on the S, E and NE, and a third on the E and NE, but while both have been reduced to scarps, they also retain several long runs of outer face. A modern track on the NE may mark the position of the original entrance. No contemporary structures can be seen within either fortification, but three circular platforms lie between the outer ramparts of the earlier fort on the N. A denarius of Trajan minted AD 103-11 found at the beginning of the 20th century 'under the surface in an old fort at Balergie' (Robertson 1950, 141), may come from here.
Information from An Atlas of Hillforts of Great Britain and Ireland – 31 August 2016. Atlas of Hillforts SC2220
