Kip Knowe

NT82SE 28 8501 2126 and 8502 2128

NT 8501 2126. Situated on a high river terrace, are two simple circular earth-and-stone banked enclosures, 17.0m apart, and each measuring 13.0m in diameter. No entrances are apparent, and to all appearances these are simply old sheepfolds.

Visited by OS (JLD) 19 August 1960.

Old sheepfolds.

Visited by OS (WDJ) 3 July 1968.

Two low earth-and-stone oval sheepfolds, separated by a field-bank, lie on the level river terrace above the Sourhope Burn at the base of the steep SE-facing slope of Kip Knowe. They overlie the faint traces of contour cultivation (NT82SW 253). The N enclosure, at NT 8502 2128, measures up to 12m in diameter within a low bank spread up to 4m in width. The S enclosure, situated 13m to the SW at NT 8501 2126, is marginally smaller measuring up 10m in diameter again within low banks spread up to 4m in width. Both banks stand up to 0.4m in height. No entrances are apparent. Two further small structures were observed to the SW of the sheepfolds. The N structure is subrectangular, measuring 7m from NE to SW by 5m within a low bank up to 1.5m in width and standing to about 0.3m in height. The S structure is oval and measures about 5m from NW to SE by 3m overall. The field-bank separating the two sheepfolds was observed to extend upslope, across the cultivation, for some 120m. On the gentler slopes the bank measures about 2m in width and up to 0.4m in height but as it climbs the hillside it is reduced to a low SW-facing scarp standing up to 1m in height.

Information from RJ Mercer (University of Edinburgh) 22 March 1987

RCAHMS MS 2598. No. 20/243