Blackhall Hill

NT71SE 17 7805 1177 and 7804 1176.

(A: NT 7805 1177; B: NT 7804 1176) Cairns (NR)

OS 6"map, (1962).

There are two round cairns on the summit of Blackhall Hill. Both are made up of small stones, hardly larger than coarse gravel, and each is encircled by a shallow ditch.

Cairn 'A', the better preserved, has a maximum height of 4'3" above the bottom of the ditch and measures 43'7" in diameter at the base N-S by 42'2". The ditch is from 5' to 6'6" wide and about 1' deep. The top of the cairn, which is flat, has been dug into.

Cairn 'B' is situated on the edge of a precipitous slope, 67' W of 'A'. So much material from its SW side has been thrown down the slope that its diameter cannot be measured from N-S; it is 36' E-W. The cairn stands to a maximum height of 3'3" above the bottom of the ditch, but it has been extensively dug into and is very much dilapidated. The ditch is 5' wide and less than 1' deep.

Crawford, noting the above cairns, suggests that 'B' is a possible Roman signal station.

RCAHMS 1956, visited 1938; OS 6"map, annotated by O G S Crawford 23 June 1934.

These cairns are as described by the RCAHMS. There is no real evidence for 'B' being a Roman signal station.

Visited by OS (WDJ) 13 September 1960.

No change.

Visited by OS (BS) 16 September 1976.