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Brotherstone Hill West
Fort (Period Unassigned), Rig And Furrow (Medieval) - (Post Medieval)
Site Name Brotherstone Hill West
Classification Fort (Period Unassigned), Rig And Furrow (Medieval) - (Post Medieval)
Canmore ID 57166
Site Number NT63NW 13
NGR NT 6111 3595
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/57166
- Council Scottish Borders, The
- Parish Mertoun
- Former Region Borders
- Former District Ettrick And Lauderdale
- Former County Berwickshire
A prehistoric fort, which probably dates to the first millennium BC, occupies a particularly defensive location on the eastern summit of Brotherstone West Hill.
The fort is oval on plan, and measures 380m by 237m in extent. To the south, the site is protected by a rocky slope and no further defences have been added here. Elsewhere, traces of two ramparts can be identified, with three ramparts surviving on the east side. All these ramparts are poorly preserved, surviving only as low banks.
There are two entrances evident, at opposing sides of the monument. At the east side of the fort, entry is gained through a straight gap which runs between the three ramparts. The entrance on the west side is more complex. Here, the gaps in the ramparts appear to have been staggered so that a more indirect route must be followed to pass into the fort's interior.
Text prepared by RCAHMS as part of the Accessing Scotland's Past project
NT63NW 13 6111 3595
Fort, Brotherstone West Hill: This fort occupies a strong position on the eastern summit of the hill. It measures 380ft by 237ft and is defended on the S by a steep and rocky slope with no trace of ramparts along the top. To the W a narrow col separates the fort from another rocky eminence. Two low ramparts of stone defend the fort on this side. At the E end there are three ramparts, and slight trenches have apparently existed where the rocky nature of the ground permitted excavation. There are two entrances, one at the W and the other at the E; from the latter a track seems to lead into the interior of the fort. No trace of cultivation or hut circles in the interior.
Much of the material of the ramparts has been removed for wall building.
J H Craw 1921.
This feature is generally as described above, but the track mentioned as leading into the interior of the fort is a natural hollow-way through outcrop rock. The ramparts survive for the most part as scarps only.
Surveyed at 1/2500.
Visited by OS (RDL), 19 September 1962.
Note (23 January 2016 - 21 October 2016)
This fort is situated on the eastern of the rocky summits of Brotherstone Hill West. An irregular oval plan, the S side is defended by no more than a rocky escarpment, but elsewhere the remains of at least two stone ramparts can be traced round the flanks of the summit, enclosing an area a little over 110m from E to W by a maximum of 72m transversely (0.63ha). At the E end, however, where James Hewat Craw mentions that the ramparts are accompanied by slight ditches 'where the rocky nature of the ground permitted excavation' (1921, 246), a third rampart lies within the line of what is elsewhere the inner rampart, apparently petering out on the N; this arrangement would be curious if all the ramparts were contemporary, and it is possibly the remains of an earlier enclosure that was superseded by the outer defences. An entrance pierces all three ramparts on the E in a straight line, but the gaps in the two ramparts at the W end are staggered, leading visitors along in front of the inner rampart and exposing their right side. Craw found no trace of any house stances within the interior, but the Scheduling document mentions three, though it does not give any details of their character. The surrounding ground has been extensively cultivated and the defences are overridden on the N by the upper ends of a series of rigs.
Information from An Atlas of Hillforts of Great Britain and Ireland – 21 October 2016. Atlas of Hillforts SC4024
Sbc Note
Visibility: This is an upstanding earthwork or monument.
Information from Scottish Borders Council
