Easter Pinkerton
Fort (Iron Age)
Site Name Easter Pinkerton
Classification Fort (Iron Age)
Alternative Name(s) Thurston
Canmore ID 58846
Site Number NT77NW 9
NGR NT 70779 75033
NGR Description Centre
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/58846
- Council East Lothian
- Parish Dunbar
- Former Region Lothian
- Former District East Lothian
- Former County East Lothian
NT77NW 9 NT 70778 75030
NT 706 750. Fort, Pinkerton Hill: Aerial photography reveals a small fort on the crest of the spur that runs E from Pinkerton Hill, 600 yds S of Easter Pinkerton, at a height of 350ft OD. Only the N portion of the defences, consisting of triple ditches, can be seen on the air photographs (CPE/Scot/UK257: 3094-5). It seems probable, however, that the fort was oval on plan with maximum internal measurements of 300ft from E to W by about 200ft transversely.
RCAHMS Marginal Lands MS., 1954
There are no visible traces of this fort. Sited to NT 7077 7503 from air photographs (541/A570: 4087-8) and ground observation.
Site surveyed at 1:2500.
Visited by OS (WDJ) 23 March 1966
(NT 7077 7503) Fort (NR) (site of)
OS 6" map (1970)
Additional aerial photographs have been taken by the RCAHMS in 1976, 1977 and 1981.
(Undated) information in NMRS.
Scheduled as Thurston, fort.
Information from Historic Scotland, scheduling document dated 7 February 1994.
Aerial Photographic Interpretation (6 October 1954)
Fort, Pinkerton Hill (Dunbar)
A small fort on the crest of spur that runs E from Pinkerton Hill, 600 yds S of Easter Pinkerton and at a height of 350 ft OD. Only the N portion of the defences, consisting of triple ditches, can be seen on the air-photographs, the S portion being situated in another field where were not responsive to the formation of crop-marking at the time the photographs were taken. It seems probable, however, that the fort was oval on plan with maximum internal measurements of 300 ft from E to W by about 200 ft from N to S (1).
(1) CPE Scot UK 257, 3094-5.
Information from RCAHMS (KAS) 6 October 1954.
Reference (1957)
This site is noted in the ‘List of monuments discovered during the survey of marginal land (1951-5)’ (RCAHMS 1957, xiv-xviii).
Information from RCAHMS (GFG), 24 October 2012.
Aerial Photographic Transcription (11 December 1995 - 6 January 1998)
An aerial transcription was produced from oblique aerial photographs. Information from Historic Environment Scotland (BM) 31 March 2017.
Note (24 February 2014 - 23 May 2016)
This fort, which is known only from cropmarks, is situated on a spur projecting from the E flank of Pinkerton Hill, with the ground falling away steeply on all sides except the W. Oval on plan, it measures 90m from ESE to WNW by 45m transversely (0.4ha; 0.3 ha allowing for an internal rampart) within three concentric ditches between 3m and 4m in breadth, forming a band of defences at least 25m deep and, including ramparts probably some 30m. While the greater part of the circuit is revealed by the cropmarks, neither of the entrances is clearly defined, largely on account of a hedged field-boundary which bisects the fort along its axis. Nevertheless there are probably entrances on the WNW and E, a slight deviation in the line of the outer ditch possibly indicating that the latter is more than a simple gap.
Information from An Atlas of Hillforts of Great Britain and Ireland – 23 May 2016. Atlas of Hillforts SC0489
Note (10 June 2023)
The location, classification and period of this site have been reviewed and changed from FORT (PREHISTORIC).
