Pricing Change
New pricing for orders of material from this site will come into place shortly. Charges for supply of digital images, digitisation on demand, prints and licensing will be altered.
Upcoming Maintenance
Please be advised that this website will undergo scheduled maintenance on the following dates:
Thursday, 9 January: 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Thursday, 23 January: 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Thursday, 30 January: 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
During these times, some functionality such as image purchasing may be temporarily unavailable. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Courthill
Fort (Period Unassigned)
Site Name Courthill
Classification Fort (Period Unassigned)
Canmore ID 57157
Site Number NT63NE 5
NGR NT 688 360
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/57157
- Council Scottish Borders, The
- Parish Nenthorn
- Former Region Borders
- Former District Roxburgh
- Former County Berwickshire
Aerial photographs show that a low hillock to the south of Courthill is occupied by the remains of a prehistoric fort, probably dating to the first millennium BC.
The fort is oval in shape and measures approximately 150m from the north-east to the south-west, by 60m transversely. It has at least one entrance, on the north-east. Traces of up to three defensive ditches can be identified in places, encircling the summit of the hill.
Originally, this fort would have been a substantial structure that formed a prominent landmark in the surrounding countryside. Centuries of cultivation have taken their toll, however, and now no traces of the fort can be seen by even the trained observer on the ground.
Text prepared by RCAHMS as part of the Accessing Scotland's Past project
Note (22 January 2016 - 18 May 2016)
This fort is situated on the NE end of a low ridge that extends NE from East Muirdean. Lozenge-shaped on plan, with flattened sides and rounded ends, it measures about 150m from NE to SW by 75m transversely (1ha) within two ditches set about 5m apart; the ditches are some 4m in maximum breadth, and a third has been drawn around the SW end, which is the most accessible part of the circuit approached along the crest of the ridge. Allowing for the presence of an inner rampart the interior encloses about 0.8ha and a series of dark irregular marks along its SE side probably indicates the remains of extensive occupation deposits and structures. A single entrance is situated in the middle of the NE end, and though there is a possible gap in the cropmarks at the W angle of the enclosure, this coincides with the edge of the field and may be an edge effect in the crop; if there was a second entrance it is perhaps more likely to have been in the centre of the belt of three ditches on the crest of the ridge.
Information from An Atlas of Hillforts of Great Britain and Ireland – 18 May 2016. Atlas of Hillforts SC4021
Sbc Note
Visibility: This site is visible as a cropmark.
Information from Scottish Borders Council
