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Chester Hill, Hundleshope
Fort (Prehistoric), Roundhouse(S) (Prehistoric), Settlement (Prehistoric)
Site Name Chester Hill, Hundleshope
Classification Fort (Prehistoric), Roundhouse(S) (Prehistoric), Settlement (Prehistoric)
Canmore ID 51286
Site Number NT23NW 17
NGR NT 2368 3606
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/51286
- Council Scottish Borders, The
- Parish Manor
- Former Region Borders
- Former District Tweeddale
- Former County Peebles-shire
NT23NW 17 2368 3606.
(NT 2368 3606) Fort (NR)
OS 6" map (1965)
This fort, and the settlement that superseded it, are situated 700 yds SE of Hundleshope farm, and at a height of 1000' OD, on the summit of Chester Hill, a prominent spur projecting NW from Hundleshope Heights. The nose and flanks of the spur fall steeply, but from the SE there is relatively easy access from higher ground across a small saddle.
The fort, whose irregular outline is due to the uneveness of the ground, is defended by a single wall (I on plan) and measures 250' by 150' internally. The wall has been so heavily robbed that it now survives at best as a ragged stony bank, rising in places to a height of 2' but for the most part it has been reduced to a mere crestline. No facing stones remain and the position of the en- trance is unknown. Some very slight traces of an external ditch can be seen on the E.
The settlement, which les inside the fort, is oval on plan, measuring 150' x 110' within a stone wall (II). This wall is also very much wasted as a result of stone-robbing, and on the E, where it rides over
a spine of outcrop, the debris is spread to a thickness of nearly 40'. The entrance, which is on the NNE, was excavated in 1939 and was found to be 9' in width. Its position is marked at the present time by the unfilled excavation trench, in the side of which the outer jamb stone on the SE side of the passage is visible. Within the interior there are the foundations of two circular stone-walled houses measuring 25' in diameter internally. The excavations referred to also revealed the presence of a third house immediately inside the wall to the W of the entrance. Nothing can now be seen of it, buts its approximate position is indicated on the plan by a broken line.
About 50' outside the fort wall at the ESE end there is a short isolated stony bank running somewhat obliquely across the saddle. It is clearly unfinished, and its relationship to the fort and settlement is not apparent. On the W side of this bank there is an oval pit which is said to have shown signs of burning. The excavations mentioned above, which were undertaken at a time when the site was thickly covered by trees, were inconclusive, no relics being found. (Information from A McLaren notebook 2, 5)
RCAHMS 1967, visited 1962
As described by RCAHM.
Surveyed at 1/2500.
Visited by OS (DWR) 21 June 1971
Visible on vertical air photograph (OS 72/375/1048, flown 1972)
Information from RCAHMS (RJCM) 1991
Note (20 October 2015 - 18 October 2016)
This fort occupies the summit of Chester Hill, which is a lower spur of Hundleshope Heights, with steep slopes falling away along the N and S flanks. The defences of the fort comprise two elements, namely an inner oval enclosure and an irregular outer enclosure, which in the interpretation of RCAHMS investigators in 1962 is the remains of the fort (RCAHMS 1967, 108-9, no.271). Be that as it may, the wall of the inner enclosure was evidently quite substantial and in places the rubble is spread some 12m in thickness; it was sectioned in 1939 by Miss P A M Keef, who found several lines of inner and outer facing within its thickness at various points around the circuit (1946). The interior, which measures 45m from ESE to WNW by 33m transversely (0.11ha), contains at least two stone-founded round-houses and possibly a third; Miss Keef excavated within the one still visible on the E side of the entrance, but also excavated trenches across what may have been the third on its W side. As planned subsequently by RCAHMS investigators, the E round-house appears to impinge on the entrance passage and may therefore be of later date. The entrance was also excavated, revealing two pairs of post-holes, but whether they belong to a single gateway structure or two separate periods of construction is unclear. Lying eccentrically to the inner rampart, and indeed possibly underlying it on the N, the irregular outer enclosure was probably a free-standing enclosure and measures internally some 75m from ESE to WNW by 45m transversely (0.24ha). Its heavily-robbed rampart, which follows the contours of the hill, is accompanied by an external ditch on the ESE, though Miss Keef's excavations indicate that it is a fairly shallow feature.
Information from An Atlas of Hillforts of Great Britain and Ireland – 18 October 2016. Atlas of Hillforts SC3655
Sbc Note
Visibility: This site has been excavated.
Information from Scottish Borders Council
Sbc Note
Visibility: This is an upstanding earthwork or monument.
Information from Scottish Borders Council
