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Hallowshean
Fort (Prehistoric)
Site Name Hallowshean
Classification Fort (Prehistoric)
Alternative Name(s) Hollowshean Camp
Canmore ID 40853
Site Number NS20NW 4
NGR NS 24408 06129
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/40853
- Council South Ayrshire
- Parish Kirkoswald
- Former Region Strathclyde
- Former District Kyle And Carrick
- Former County Ayrshire
NS20NW 4 2440 0612.
(NS 2440 0612) Hollowshean Camp (NAT) Fort (NR)
OS 1:10000 map (1972)
A fort (R W Feachem 1963) or small walled settlement consisting of an enclosure placed at the end of a ridge, the neck of which is cut off by outworks.
The enclosure measures about 240ft by 150ft within a ruinous rampart which may represent a robbed stone wall, and which may have been timber-laced, although only excavation could determine this. The three outer ramparts crossing the neck are of slighter appearance.
R W Feachem 1965; D Christison 1893
This fort is generally as described above.
Resurveyed at 1:2500.
Visited by OS (RD) 14 March 1967
This work is probably a fort rather than a settlement as it takes maximum advantage of natural defence and is multivallate on one side. Situated on the W end of a plateau spur, it measures over all 120.0m
E-W by 70.0m transversely, enclosing an area of 3/4 ha (about 2 acres). On the easily-approached E side are four curving and closely-spaced earthen ramparts (maximum height of 1.3m) with little trace of medial ditches. A modern track cuts the ramparts centrally. On the N side the slopes of a shallow gully are cut back, forming a curving scarp that fades on the W side, which although difficult to approach is entirely exposed and devoid of defence work. This is the likely entrance way. Steep natural slopes protect the S side. The interior, under rough grass, is level and featureless and the perimeter shows no trace of walling.
Revised at 25".
Visited by OS (JRL) 31 May 1977
Field Visit (29 May 1953)
This site was included within the RCAHMS Marginal Land Survey (1950-1962), an unpublished rescue project. Site descriptions, organised by county, are available to view online - see the searchable PDF in 'Digital Items'. These vary from short notes, to lengthy and full descriptions. Contemporary plane-table surveys and inked drawings, where available, can be viewed online in most cases - see 'Digital Images'. The original typecripts, notebooks and drawings can also be viewed in the RCAHMS search room.
Information from RCAHMS (GFG) 19 July 2013.
Field Visit (October 1982)
Hallowshean NS 244 061 NS20NW 4
This fort is situated at the W end of a ridge immediately N of Hallowshean farmsteading. It is oval, measuring 79m by 49m within a ruined rampart which, on the E, is accompanied by an external ditch. The defences on the E were strengthened firstly by a rampart and external ditch, which cross the spine of the ridge, and secondly, by an outer line comprising, on the SE, twin ramparts and medial ditch and, on the NE, a single rampart. The most likely position for the entrance is on the E but the present gap through the two inner ramparts appears to be of recent date.
RCAHMS 1983, visited October 1982
(Christison 1893, 396; Smith 1895, 199-200; Feachem 1977, 109)
Note (15 July 2014 - 16 November 2016)
This fort is situated on a local summit along a low ridge, from which the ground falls away sharply along the southern flank towards Hallowshean Farm. Oval on plan, its perimeter is defined by what was once probably a continuous inner rampart with an external ditch, though the ditch is clearly visible only on the E and peters out on both the N and S; on the W, where the ground falls away into a shallow saddle, both have been obliterated by cultivation. Additional protection on the easily accessible E flank is provided by another rampart and ditch, and outside this a third rampart and ditch, which on the southern margin of the ridge is also accompanied by a counterscarp bank. The interior measures about 79m from E to W by 49m transversely (0.3ha), but it has been cultivated and is featureless. The present entrance is on the E, though the gap through the inner two ramparts here appears to be relatively recent; for what it is worth, no gap is shown here on the 1st edition of the OS 25-inch map, but it does appear on John Smith's plan of 1893 (Smith 1895, 199-200, fig 270).
Information from An Atlas of Hillforts of Great Britain and Ireland – 16 November 2016. Atlas of Hillforts SC1232
