Castle Hill

NS65NW 16 6077 5552.

(NS 6077 5552) Castle Hill (NAT)

OS 6" map (1935)

Castle Hill is the site of a very ancient castle or fort.

Name Book 1857; D Ure 1793; New Statistical Account (NSA) 1845 (H Moncrieff)

On Castle Hill, a small promontory projecting into the valley of the Kittoch Water, there is a motte. It has been constructed by digging two transverse ditches across the promontory and isolating an area, kidney-shaped on plan, measuring 40m NE-SW by 18m transversely. There are no traces of internal banks or connecting works, the quarried material from the ditches being used to raise the height of the enclosed area. The scarps of both ditches are 4.5m in height, with counter-scarps of 2.2m. The top of the mound is flat, but at the NE end there is a raised area, circular on plan, measuring 17.0m in diameter and 0.3m in height, on which clumps of nettles are growing. This is evidently the site of the (? wooden) keep.

Surveyed at 1:2500.

Visited by OS (AC) 23 June 1959

Listed as a possible motte.

G Simpson, B Webster and G Stell 1970

This feature is similar to the unclassified promontory site in Kittoch Glen (NS55NE 29).

T C Welsh n.d., visited 1972

for further information, see MS/1507

NS 6077 5552 An archaeological evaluation was carried out to the NE of Castie Hill motte, East Kiibride, in advance of a proposed housing development. Desk-based and geophysical survey did not reveal the existence of any major archaeological features within the area. This result was supported by the excavation of eight trial trenches which revealed no concentration of archaeological features. An L-shaped ditch was found in the trench in the SW corner of the evaluation area, closest to the motte. The ditch ran from E to W for a distance of 6.8m and then continued SW for 2.45m into the southern section of the trench. It varied in width from 0.84m-1.O1m wide and 0.13m-0.23m deep. The ditch was filled with a homogeneous, stiff, grey clay. The ditch and fill are clearly an anthropogenic feature but due to the limited extent of the excavations and the absence of any artefacts, their date and function remain unknown. Two isolated pits of unknown date were located in two of the other trenches. The concentration of modern artefacts in the topsoil and the presence of a large number of field drains suggest that this field has previously been subject to intensive cultivation,

The assistance and advice provided throughout the project by Strathclyde Regional Council's archaeological service is gratefully acknowledged.

Sponsor East Kilbride Development Corporation.

CFA 1994p.