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Dummiefarline

Fort (Prehistoric)

Site Name Dummiefarline

Classification Fort (Prehistoric)

Canmore ID 49618

Site Number NT09NE 1

NGR NT 0885 9683

Datum OSGB36 - NGR

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/49618

Ordnance Survey licence number AC0000807262. All rights reserved.
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Administrative Areas

  • Council Perth And Kinross
  • Parish Cleish
  • Former Region Tayside
  • Former District Perth And Kinross
  • Former County Kinross-shire

Archaeology Notes

NT09NE 1 0877 9682.

(NT 0877 9682) Fort (NR) (Remains of)

OS 6" map, (1959).

The fort occupying the rocky summit of Dummiefarline is formed by a stone wall 10' thick, now no longer traceable throughout the whole of its length. It encloses an area 210' x 70'. The interior contains an arc of walling which may belong to a secondary structure comparable with that on Dunearn Hill (NT28NW 8).

Traces of vitrified material have been reported from this piece of walling.

R W Feachem 1963; RCAHMS 1933.

This vitrified fort measures 55.0m E-W by 18.0m. It has consisted of a stone wall about 3.5m thick on the edge of the rocky knoll, but on the W this has been completely robbed. On the E the wall is now largely turfed over but several outer facing stones are visible.

The entrance is in the E. Within the interior is a stretch of turf-covered walling about 2.0m thick which overlies the fort wall on the W and extends in an arc for some 15.0m to end on a rocky boss. Its date and purpose are not clear but it may be the remains of a later hut. There is no evidence that this feature is vitrified.

Surveyed at 1:10,000.

Visited by OS(BS) 19 February 1974.

Activities

Field Visit (2 August 1927)

Fort, Dummiefarline.

On the top of a hill about a mile to the eastwards of Drumglow, at an elevation of 900 feet above sea-level, are the remains of a fort which, like Drumglow, has been accessible only from the east. On this side are the remains of a wall, near the north end of which two stones, which have evidently belonged to a gateway, are lying, apparently in situ, at a distance of 9 feet apart. The wall itself is now a mere foundation, covered with a luxuriant growth, but its appearance suggests that it was originally very strong. It shows a spread of from 10 to 12 feet. No traces of any additional defences were observed.

RCAHMS 1933, visited 2 August 1927.

Field Visit (7 May 1952)

Fort, Dummiefarline. A plan of this fort was made in 1952, and the following account should be substituted for the description given in the Inventory [RCAHMS 1933, No. 548].

The fort occupies a prominent knoll lying E and W with a long steep slope on the N, steep but shorter slopes to W and S, and easy access only from the E.

On the E side the defences consist of a single wall, about 10ft thick, which lies at the base of the knoll and terminates against a rock face at the W end, and against a scarp on the N. The latter end probably returned westwards along the natural shoulder shown on the plan which similarly ends against a rock face. The wall is heavily ruined, but the outer facing stones survive in some places; at one point it still stands to a height of 2ft 2ins in 4 courses, but elsewhere only one course is visible. The entrance is marked by 2 external jamb-stones.

What appears to be a continuation of this wall on the W side of the rocky summit is indicated, as far as the W entrance, by 3 outer facing stones marked on the plan. On the N side of this entrance, but further downhill, a rickle of stone and one outer facing stone may represent a further extension which presumably continued along the narrow terrace, dying out into the steeper northern slope.

Within the western half of the interior there is a semi-circular rickle of stones suggesting a robbed wall which may or may not be contemporary with the fort defences. Three of the stones in this rickle, lying together on the N shoulder of the knoll, are vitrified, but no sign of vitrification can be seen at any other point. There are no traces of internal buildings, and the terrace below the fort on the NE is a natural feature and does not appear to have been fortified.

Visited by RCAHMS (KAS) 7 May 1952

Field Visit (August 1991)

NT09NE 1 0877 9682.

This fort is situated on the rocky hillock known as Dummiefarline, overlooking the minor road that cuts across the hills to the S of Cleish. The defences comprise a central citadel, with outlying ramparts taking in terraces on the E and W. The citadel crowns the summit of the hillock, but its wall can only be traced as a band of stone-robbing and disturbance about 3m wide, which defines an area measuring 25m from E to W by 14m transversely.

The position of the entrance is probably marked by a cleft in the edge of the summit on the E. On the W, the outer defences comprise an arc of rampart reduced to a stony scarp, which extends along the edge of the summit area between the precipitous sides of the hillock. On the E, however, the lines of defence can be identified, the inner taking in a lower terrace on the SE, before turning sharply to run down to the probable entrance on the E. Along the edge of the terrace numerous outer facing-stones are visible, in places two courses high, and there are also several inner facing-stones. Beyond the entrance the course of the rampart is uncertain; it may cut sharply back along the N side of the hillock, where there is a scatter of loose stones, but there are also traces of a rampart running along the edge of a lower terrace and this appears to extend E beyond the entrance.

Visited by RCAHMS (SPH) August 1991.

Note (20 July 2015 - 31 May 2016)

This fort occupies a rocky hillock overlooking the minor public road that traverses the Cleish Hills S of Cleish. The defences are heavily robbed, but they probably comprise two elements: a heavily robbed inner enclosue crowning the summit of the hillock; and an irregular outer enclosure taking in the terraces to either side of the summit on the E and W respectively. The rocky interior of the inner enclosure measures about 25m from E to W by 14m transversely (0.03ha) within a wall reduced to little more than a band of disturbance some 3m wide where the stones have been removed to its very foundations; in 1952 RCAHMS investigators identified three pieces of vitrified stone in the line of this wall on the N. The outer enclosure, which they and the OS regarded as the fort itself, measures internally about 64m in length and tapers from a maximum of 20m in breadth at the E end to no more than 14m on the W (0.1ha). At the W end, where the RCAHMS investigators believed there was an entrance, the rampart is reduced to a stony scarp drawn in a shallow arc between the crags on the N and S respectively, but at the E end it is much better preserved, following the S margin of the hillock before turning sharply northwards across its spine and dropping down to what is probably an entrance on the E; numerous outer facing stones are visible along its line, in places standing two courses high, and there are also several stones of the inner face, indicating a thickness of about 3m. The course of the rampart beyond the entrance is less certain, and while there is a scatter of loose stones along the N margin of the hillock, there are also traces of a rampart extending along a lower terrace on this flank, though this latter appears to extend eastwards beyond the position of the entrance. The interior is featureless.

Information from An Atlas of Hillforts of Great Britain and Ireland – 31 May 2016. Atlas of Hillforts SC3202

Field Walking (1 April 2019 - 2 April 2019)

A desk based assessment and walkover survey was undertaken by Guard Archaeology between the 1st and 2nd of April, 2019 of an area proposed for afforestation at Loch Glow in Perth & Kinross.

The assessment indicates that there are nine known cultural heritage sites within the area proposed for afforestation that could potentially be directly affected by the proposal. These consist of a prehistoric fort, a possible cairn, two boundary stones, a shieling hut, a farmstead, two buildings and field banks. None of these sites is designated and all are of regional, local or lesser cultural heritage significance. A further 18 cultural heritage sites, including one Scheduled Monument, one Conservation Area and one Inventory Garden and Designed Landscape, are located within the surrounding 1 km buffer. One previous archaeological assessment has been carried out within 1 km of the Site.

Information from: Christine Rennie (Guard Archaeology) 23rd May, 2019

OASIS ID: guardarc1-348247

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