Craik Cross

Surveyed by RCAHMS as part of the Marginal Land project.

(NT 3036 0471) Roman Signal Station (R)

OS 6" map (1965)

An earthwork, highly reminiscent of the Roman signal tower at Robin Hood's Butt [Cumbria], though the latter was shown by excavation to be an earthwork of indeterminate nature, occupies the summit of Craik Cross Hill, 22 yds N of the Roman road (NY29NW 17). It comprises a circular ditch 40 ft in diameter over its centre line with a bold mound inside it, 4 ft high and some distance away from the lip of the ditch, but unlike a tumulus or cairn (Richmond 1948).

A trial trench cut in June 1946 revealed a mound of turf and peat sods to a maximum height of 16 ins, surmounted by a layer of broken rock of similar thickness, both layers cut into by a modern excavation. 'No direct evidence of date was thus obtained. The construction, of gravel and turf, and the plan, a platform within a circular ditch, is quite normal for Roman work, while the single cross-trench might easily have missed the post-holes of a timber watch-tower. But if the site and the association with the road are considered, the case for a Roman date becomes stronger. The view from the mound is the most extensive that can be obtained anywhere along the line of the road, including as it does the Eildon Hills, Rubers Law and Burnswark. Indeed it would not be possible to organise a signalling system along the road without making use of the Craik Cross summit' (Joseph 1947).

Information from OS (ES) 18 May 1960

Sources: J K St Joseph 1947; I A Richmond 1948

A round, grass-covered mound with a flattish top, 4.0m in diameter, almost certainly a Roman signal station. The mound is about 1.5m high and measures 11.0m in diameter at its base. Around the base runs a very slight ditch barely 0.2m deep. Although visibility was poor at the time of visit, the Eildon Hills were clearly seen.

Visited by OS (WDJ) 25 July 1962

Craik Cross NT 303 047 NT30SW 2

Situated on the summit of Craik Cross Hill, and 10m W of the Roman road from Craik Cross Hill to Raeburnfoot, there is a mound measuring 11m in diameter and 1m in height and surrounded by a shallow ditch 1.8m broad. When first recorded the site was thought to be a Roman signal station, but excavation in 1946 produced no finds or structures definitely assignable to the Roman period and it is equally possible that the mound is a burial-cairn.

RCAHMS 1980, visited August 1980

(Richmond 1946, 113; St Joseph 1946, 151-2)

Reclassified as Roman Watch-tower (possible) although identification not confirmed by excavation, and may be a barrow.

Information from RCAHMS (ATW), 23 April 1997.

NT 3036 0471 NT30SW 2

Listed as watch tower (possible).

RCAHMS 1997.

Scheduled as part of 'Mid Raeburn to Craik Cross Hill, Roman road & watch tower'.

(Extent indicated in Scheduling document).

Information from Historic Scotland, scheduling document dated 12 August 2010.

What may be the remains of a Roman watchtower are situated on the summit of Craik Cross Hill about 8km NE of the fort at Raeburnfoot (NY29NE 5) to which it is linked by a Roman road (NT30SW 3) which passes 6m to its SE. Roughly circular on plan, this grass-, rush- and heather-grown earthwork comprises a conical mound 11.5m in diameter and 0.7m in height, enclosed by a rock-cut ditch 1.5m broad and 0.2m deep, and a counterscarp bank up to 2m thick and 0.2m high - the whole measuring about 18m in diameter overall. The outer edge of the bank is broken by a gap 3.6m wide on the SW, but the feature is entirely lost beyond the ruined fence to the ENE, which marks the old county boundary between Roxburgh and Dumfriesshire. By contrast, the ditch appears broken only on the E, where there is a gap 2.6m wide which may represent an entrance. The summit of the mound, which is 8m in diameter, is surmounted by a small, subcircular tump (see NT30SW 1). This measures 6m from NW to SE by 5.5m transversely and 0.3m high. Faint traces of St Joseph's excavation trench, measuring 1m wide and up to 0.1m deep, can be detected crossing the earthwork from NE to SW (St Joseph 1947).

The road to the SE, which is set into a rush-, grass- and peat-grown cutting about 7m broad and at least 0.6m deep, bifurcates immediately S of the earthwork. There is a small grass-grown earthen mound close to its E lip about 18m to its E, while a series of irregularly spaced forestry furrows are situated within a thin scatter of conifers 8m to its NE.

The best analogies for the earthwork are at Ewes Doors (NY39NE 4) and White Type (NT01SE 2), which are also situated adjacent to Roman roads at points where wheeled traffic, in particular, might experience difficulties in tackling the long, relatively steep climbs that were necessary to reach them.

The odd configuration of the earthwork's profile probably results from the excavation and back-filling of the central pit, which was sectioned by St Joseph and found to contain 18th-19th century china. The unknown antiquaries had possibly interpreted the mound as a barrow.

Visited by HES, Survey and Recording (ATW, GFG) 30 June 2016.

HES surveyed Craik Cross Roman watchtower on 30 June 2016 with plane-table and self-reducing alidade at a scale of 1:250. Survey control, section lines and spot heights were recorded with GNSS. The resultant plan and sections were redrawn in vector graphics software.