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Arran, Cnoc A' Chlochair

Fort (Prehistoric), Roundhouse (Prehistoric)(Possible), Shieling Hut (Post Medieval)

Site Name Arran, Cnoc A' Chlochair

Classification Fort (Prehistoric), Roundhouse (Prehistoric)(Possible), Shieling Hut (Post Medieval)

Canmore ID 39682

Site Number NR93NE 1

NGR NR 9533 3578

Datum OSGB36 - NGR

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/39682

Ordnance Survey licence number AC0000807262. All rights reserved.
Canmore Disclaimer. © Bluesky International Limited 2025. Public Sector Viewing Terms

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Digital Images

General view of later hut which overlies cross wall. View from W
General view of later hut which overlies cross wall. View from WArran, Cnoc A' Chlochair, NR93NE 1, Ordnance Survey index card, page number 2, VersoArran, Cnoc A' Chlochair, NR93NE 1, Ordnance Survey index card, RectoSurvey of fort being undertaken with later hut visible to right. View from SWGeneral view of survey, view from E.Plan, copied from Ordnance Survey Record CardArran, Cnoc A' Chlochair, NR93NE 1, Ordnance Survey index card, page number 1, RectoArran, Cnoc A' Chlochair, NR93NE 1, Ordnance Survey index card, RectoArran, Cnoc A' Chlochair, NR93NE 1, Ordnance Survey index card, page number 3, RectoPlan of Cnoc a' Chlochair

Administrative Areas

  • Council North Ayrshire
  • Parish Kilmory
  • Former Region Strathclyde
  • Former District Cunninghame
  • Former County Buteshire

Archaeology Notes (1973 - 1977)

NR93NE 1 9533 3578.

(NR 9536 3578) Fort (NR) (Cnoc a' Chlochair).

OS 6" map, (1924)

Cnoc a Chlochair, meaning the Hill of Assembly, is applied to an apparently artificial knoll, with distinct traces of a stone wall - the remains of a fort -around its summit.

Source: Name Book 1864.

Fort: The summit of this small hill, 144ft E-W by 103ft N-S is enclosed by a ruinous stone wall 6-7ft wide. No worked stones were noted, only loose stones being seen. An inner wall divides the area enclosed into two sections, that to the E being 47ft in length, and to the W, 77ft. No entrances were noted.

Source: J Balfour 1910.

Two overlapping forts, of differing wall structure, one of them circular, and the other of an irregular shape dictated by the lie of the ground. They are obviously not of the same period.

Source: R McLellan 1970.

NR 9533 3578. The remains of a fort or defended settlement occupy the uneven top of a spur commanding the head of the Machrie plain. The sub-oval enclosed area measures 41.0m E-W by 30.0m over ruinous walling spread to 2.5m and 0.4m high with no facing stones visible. A wall of similar proportions running NNE-SSW appears to divide it into two unequal parts, although this is not clear.

The western enclosure measures 25.0m E-W by 30.0m and is formed by a low stony bank 0.3m high encircling the upper edge of the knoll; a lowering of this bank in the west may suggest an entrance. A modern rectangular stone-built structure, occupying the site of an earlier structure, lies in the NE of the enclosure. The eastern enclosure measures 14.0m E-W by 25.0m with a 2.0m wide simple entrance in the SE.

There is no gap now apparent in the medial wall and no evidence of occupation in the bracken-covered interiors. It is difficult to interpret this site from the present remains. These enclosures, prominently sited and reasonably defensive, could represent a fort or defended settlement although no huts were noted. It is not certain if the upper and lower 'enclosures' are of different constructional phases, or if the latter served as a contemporary annexe or outer defensive wall.

Surveyed at 1:10 000.

Adjacent to the E of the site, and lying in a sheltered hollow, are the wasted footings of three shieling-type bothies similar to the footing beneath the rebuilt structure within the main enclosure (see NR93NE 12).

Visited by OS (T R G) 7 November 1977.

Activities

Note (30 October 2014 - 23 May 2016)

This small fortification, which is situated on a low hillock, is enclosed by a single wall reduced to a band of rubble some 2.5m in thickness by 0.4m in height. Measuring about 35m from E to W by 25m transversely (0.07ha), the roughly oval interior is divided into two parts by a cross wall of apparently similar dimensions to the perimeter, the larger part lying on the W and enclosing the footings of a rectangular shieling hut. What may be an entrance is visible on the SE.

Information from An Atlas of Hillforts of Great Britain and Ireland – 23 May 2016. Atlas of Hillforts SC2469

Note (19 July 2018)

The location, classification and period of this site have been reviewed.

HES Survey and Recording 19 July 2018

Field Visit (29 October 2019)

This small fort stands on a prominent spur at the headwaters of the Machrie Water commanding extensive views down the glen to the SW. It comprises at least two phases and may originally have been oval on plan measuring 39m from E to W by 29m transversely within a wall now reduced to little more than a band of rubble spread up to 2.8m in thickness and 0.4m in height. There are faint traces of a circular house at the centre of its interior. A cross wall, of similar character to the perimeter, has been constructed subsequently, overlying the house and dividing the interior into two unequal parts. The larger on the W occupies slightly higher ground and forms a discrete D-shaped enclosure with a gap in the rubble on the W indicating the position of an entrance. The smaller part on the E takes on the appearance of an annex and was entered through a narrow gap on the SE. There is no direct communication between the two parts though this may be obscured by a later shieling that has been built at the N end of the cross wall. Further shieling huts are visible below the fort, together with stretches of trackways, one to the S forming a terrace as it cuts obliquely across the spur.

Visited by HES Survey and Recording (ARG,AM,KM), 29 October 2019

References

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