Auchincloich

NS77NE 1 c.76 79.

No trace of this site was encountered during field investigation, nor was any knowledge of the names Forebrae or Cairnfaal discovered. The site marked by O G S Crawford (at NS 7663 7879, undated) was under crop at the time of visit. Farm workers have never seen any large stones around the area.

Visited by OS (JD) 9 October 1953

NS77NE c. 76 79 (unnoted)

Dun, Auchincloch (Site).

Gordon's illustrated account (1) of a stone-walled structure known as ‘Cairn-faal’, situated on a hill called the Forebrae ‘above the Village of Achincloich’, leaves no doubt that, in his time, a dun existed here and was in an excellent state of preservation. The circular stone wall, showing eight or nine courses of masonry and measuring 12 ft. in height by 16 ft. in thickness, enclosed an area about 80 ft. in diameter. There was an entrance on the E. An outwork is shown on Roy's plan (2), but of this Gordon says that it was ‘so embarrassed and confused, that I hardly dare offer to describe it’.

RCAHMS 1963, visited 19 June 1954

(1) Itin. Septent., 22 and pl. III, I.

(2) Military Antiquities, pl. xxxv, where the dun is named "Cairn Faulds".

Auchincloch NS c. 76 79 NS77NE 1

Dun recorded by Gordon, 18m in diameter within a wall 5m thick and 3.5m high.

RCAHMS 1978, visited June 1977

(Gordon 1726, 22 and pl. iii, 1; RCAHMS 1963, p. 84; No. 93)

Auchincloch NS 76 79 NS77NE 1

The site of the 'Castellum', possibly a broch, noted by Gordon on 'a Hill called the Forebrae, above the Village of Achincloich' cannot be located; what was probably the same structure is depicted by Roy about 485m NW of the present cottage of Easter Auchincloch, placing it in the vicinity of the boundary between the districts of Falkirk, and Cumbernauld & Kilsyth. It was circular, measuring about 76m in circumference (25m in diameter), and the wall, which stood to a height of 3.6m in eight or nine courses, was 4.9m thick. It had an entrance facing E and was accompanied by an outwork. Although Gordon does not specify whether his measurement of the circumference is internal or external, it matches the external circumferences of other southern brochs, such as Torwoodlee, Selkirkshire (70m), the Tappoch, Stirlingshire (73m) and Calla, Lanarkshire (73m).

RCAHMS 1982

(Gordon 1726, 22; Roy 1793, plate xxxv; RCAHMS 1963, p. 84, No. 93; pp. 85-7, No. 100; RCAHMS 1957, pp. 88-91, No. 118; RCAHMS 1978, pp. 109-10, No. 244)

NS77 1 AUCHINCLOICH

NS/76 79

This possible broch in Kilsyth was described and illustrated by Gordon [2] and in the early 1720s was some kind of dun or broch with a wall 4.9m thick and still showing several courses of masonry, apparently standing up to a height of 3.6m. The entrance faced east and the internal circumference was 73m. There are no traces of the building now and the grid reference is an estimate [1].

Sources: 1. NMRS site no. NS 77 NE 1: 2. Gordon 1726, 22: 3. RCAHMS 1963, 84, no. 93.

E W MacKie 2007