Hophills Nob

NT70NW 20 705 094

A rectilinear enclosure defined by a palisade trench is situated in an unusual position immediately W of the fort on the summit of Hophills Nob (NT70NW 15). The crest of the hill descends westwards in a series of stepped ridges separated by shallow gullies, which cut across the axis of the hill from north to south. The perimeter of the enclosure takes in the two upper ridges and the intervening gully, enclosing an area measuring 80m from E to W by about 48m transversely, although little trace of the palisade trench is now visible along the crest of the steep slope that forms the S side. The entrance is probably in the N side near the NW angle. On the upper ridge, a single round-house is defined by a narrow ring-groove lying immediately within the NE angle, while a row of similar round-houses is visible on the lower ridge. Not all these houses are contemporary with the enclosure, whose perimieter cuts through the centre of one at the NW angle. This house, therefore, belongs to an earlier unenclosed settlement, as does the large round-house comprising a central platform with a concentric ring-ditch 1.8m broad and 0.3m deep, which it cuts on the SE; three other unenclosed round-houses lie to the WNW. With the exception of the large round-house with the central platform, which measures 13.5m in overall diameter, the rest of the buildings comprise ring-grooves from 8m to 10.5m in diameter, in some cases with traces of a shallow hollow at its centre.

Visited by RCAHMS (ARW and SPH) 22 January 1991

NT70NW 30 7047 0946

A cluster of four unenclosed timber round-houses is situated on the lowest of the ridges that step down westwards from the fort (NT70NW 15) on the summit of Hophills Nob. A rectilinear palisade (NT70NW 20) takes in the ridges between this settlement and the fort. Each round-house comprises a ring-groove enclosing a shallow hollow, three measuring about 8m in diameter and the fourth 9.2m.

Visited by RCAHMS (ARW and SPH) 22 January 1991

NT70NW 20

Hophills Nob

Palisaded Settlement; Unenclosed Settlement

NT 7058 0945

Plotted and recorded by RCAHMS as part of the Kale Water Survey project.

(Kale99 313-323)

Visited by RCAHMS (SDB) 9 September 1999

Visibility: This is an upstanding earthwork or monument.

Information from Scottish Borders Council