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Chester Knowe

Fort (Prehistoric), Settlement (Prehistoric)

Site Name Chester Knowe

Classification Fort (Prehistoric), Settlement (Prehistoric)

Alternative Name(s) Allanwater Reservoir

Canmore ID 54008

Site Number NT40NE 1

NGR NT 4749 0971

Datum OSGB36 - NGR

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/54008

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

  • Council Scottish Borders, The
  • Parish Hawick
  • Former Region Borders
  • Former District Roxburgh
  • Former County Roxburghshire

Archaeology Notes

NT40NE 1 4749 0971.

(NT 4749 0971) Fort & Earthworks (NR)

OS 25" map (1968)

The ruinous remains of a fort, an earthwork, and three enclosures lie on Chester Knowe, a small, isolated flat-topped ridge half a mile NNE of Southfield, at a height of 826 ft OD.

The earliest structure, overlain by all the rest, is the fort (I) which measured about 300 ft from NE to SW by 170 ft transversely. The defences consisted of a rampart (A) which ran round the edge of the level top of the ridge, and an outer rampart (B) which encircled the slopes lower down, about 45 ft from 'A'. Both these ramparts now appear as terraces. The NE and SW ends of the fort have been destroyed by the later works. The earthwork (II) has been roughly oval on plan, its long axis lying from NW to SE across the NE end of the ridge. Most of the NW arc has been obliterated by cultivation, but the original length of the earthwork can be estimated at about 220 ft; the width is 125 ft. It is formed by two concentric earthen banks (C and D) about 22 ft apart. Their SW arc was constructed over the NE arc of A and B. They are best preserved in the NE where they stand 1 1/2 ft high. Within the interior there are shallow scooped hollows, probably made by quarrying; one of the hollows breaks through the SE arc of the defences.

The third structure, an enclosure (III), lies in the NE end of the interior of I. It consists of two courts bounded by low earthen banks. At X on the plan one of the banks overlies the mound which represents A of I and D of II. That part of A which borders the NE side of III has been restored, and appears as a low bank which carries on for a distance of 70 ft beyond the NW limit of III.

The fourth structure (IV) is a three-sided enclosure with a low earthen bank, lying immediately S of I. The NW side runs upon A for 90 ft; the NE side, also about 90 ft long, runs SE down the slope of the ridge, and has an external quarry-ditch. The third side is formed by an arc 150 ft in length which appears as a terrace. There is an entrance in the NE side.

The fifth structure (V) is a subrectangular enclosure which overlies part of the SW end of I. It measures 105 ft from N to S by 95 ft transversely. It is formed by a low earthen bank and contains three irregularly shaped, excavated courts. The entrance is in the SW.

A quarry is located on the E arc of the defences of I; this has removed a length of A and B. An access road leads out of it to the S. Another quarry has been cut near the SW end of the NW part of A; an access road leads out of it to the N, passing over B. The whole site is under grass.

RCAHMS 1956, visited 1949

The site is generally as described by the RCAHMS. To the W, S and SE of enclosure IV are fragments of banks and a scooped area, all possibly the remains of enclosures contemporary with those described above.

Surveyed at 1:2500.

Visited by OS (EGC) 22 April 1965

No change to previous reports.

Visited by OS (JRL) 19 December 1979

Activities

Note (3 August 2015 - 19 October 2016)

The remains of a substantial fort occupy the Chester Knowe, which forms the S end of an elongated summit, but large sectors of its defences and parts of its interior have been mutilated by the construction of a series of later enclosures, probably mainly in the late Iron Age. Roughly oval on plan, it measures at least 80m from NE to SW by 50m transversely (0.38ha) within twin ramparts that can be seen now only along the NW and SE flanks, where they are both reduced to scarps. On the NE, the line of the circuit has been obscured by the construction of a later enclosure, probably a settlement, though cultivated has smoothing the contours of several scoops and platforms within its interior and removed the NW and SE sectors of its perimeter; dropping down the slope from the fort on the SW, the surviving sectors on the NE and SW comprise twin banks with a medial ditch and suggest a polygonal or roughly rectilinear shape on plan, measuring 40m from NE to SW by up to 60m transversely (0.15ha). Another curvilinear enclosure and scooped court at the NE end of the interior of the fort, not only overlies the defences of the fort, but also the perimeter of this settlement, while at the SW end the defences are virtually obliterated by two more small enclosures which are almost certainly the remains of late Iron Age settlements. On the slope below the S flank of the fort, three or four stubs of radiating field-banks can be seen, almost certainly representing agricultural enclosures or fields pre-dating the surrounding rig-systems; whether these are associated with the late Iron Age occupation is unknown.

Information from An Atlas of Hillforts of Great Britain and Ireland – 19 October 2016. Atlas of Hillforts SC3244

Sbc Note

Visibility: This is an upstanding earthwork or monument.

Information from Scottish Borders Council

References

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