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East Kinnauld

Broch (Iron Age)(Possible), Fort (Prehistoric)

Site Name East Kinnauld

Classification Broch (Iron Age)(Possible), Fort (Prehistoric)

Alternative Name(s) East Kinnauld 2

Canmore ID 5971

Site Number NC70SW 17

NGR NC 7421 0145

Datum OSGB36 - NGR

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/5971

Ordnance Survey licence number AC0000807262. All rights reserved.
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Administrative Areas

  • Council Highland
  • Parish Rogart
  • Former Region Highland
  • Former District Sutherland
  • Former County Sutherland

Archaeology Notes

NC70SW 17 7421 0145.

Fort: The summit of a bluff which measures 126ft from N to S by 96ft transversely has been enclosed by a wall 6ft to 7ft in thickness, now dilapidated. On the E slope, about halfway up, is a shoulder or terrace some 90ft long by 30ft wide, and above this the defences have been supplemented by an extra wall, 7ft thick still for a short distance showing its outer and inner faces. Within these defences are the ruins of an inner circular enclosure, with a surrounding wall, 12ft to 15ft in thickness and an internal diameter of 31ft.

The approach appears to have would upwards from the S end of the shoulder, passing diagonally through the outer wall in a northerly direction, being then diverted sharply to the SW as it approaches the central enclosure by the end of a flanking wall which runs from the N end of the latter in a generally south-easterly direction. This wall appears to terminate 17ft distant from the central enclosure and some 2 1/2ft from the outer wall opposite the point where the entrance passes through the latter. In the thickness of the outer wall, to the N of the entrance through it, are the appearances of two chambers, one in the rear of the other, some 6ft and 10ft in diameter respectively. The position of the entrance to the inner enclosure is suggestive of a broch, but there is an absence of debris in the interior, which is usually characteristic of ruins of this class.

RCAHMS 1911.

NC 7421 0145. The much reduced remains of a fort, generally as described by the RCAHMS. There is possibly another entrance in the SW, where there is a break in the defences. Below the rock face on the NW side, there is a defensive, turf-covered bank of stones, 2.0m high and some 80m long N-S.

Surveyed at 1:2500.

Visited by OS (N K B) 1 March 1966.

(NC 7421 0145) Fort (NR)

OS 1:10,000 map, (1971)

This fort, on the summit of a commanding bluff, measures some 37.0m from NE to SW by 29.0m within a wall reduced to an amorphous spread. No entrance is now discernible. The bottom of the low cliff flanking the W side of the fort has been scarped to form a ditch and outer bank. A natural trench across the steep N approach to the fort has been scarped and heightened on the N side to give added defence. Extending from the SW side of the fort in a southerly direction down the slope to end on a rock outcrop is a stony bank some 33.0m in length with an entrance gap. Tenuous traces indicate that the bank continued round to the E and then N to terminate on the NE side of the fort or on the rocky slope close by it. On the E, an elongated mass of stones with some indication of coursing at the lower end lies up and down the slope; from the lowervend there is some suggestion of a bank or wall curving round to the NW and ascending the slope. Generally, however, the feature does not appear to be the remains of a defensive outwork.

Within the fort is a circular enclosure as described by the RCAHMS.

This may be the remains of a dun, but if so it is very depleted, and no facing stones, entrance, or any other structural details are exposed. Revised at 1:10,000.

Visited by OS (J M) 18 March 1981.

Activities

Field Visit (27 April 1995)

This fort occupies the summit of a conical hill, the E side of which has recently been quarried away. Roughly oval on plan, it measures about 37m by 29m within a wall now reduced to a stony bank 2.3m to 4m in thickness. In the interior there are the wasted traces of a circular, stone-walled enclosure, 9.5m in diameter internally, which may be the remains of a heavily-robbed dun. Outside the fort four stretches of walling, possibly the remains of outworks, can be seen, one of which, on the S, encloses what may be a hut platform. A further hut has been built into the fort wall on the SW.

(ROG95 1020)

Visited by RCAHMS (PJD) 27 April 1995

Publication Account (2007)

NC70 2 EAST KINNAULD 2

NC/7421 0145

Possib1e broch in Rogart, Sutherland, originally described as a fort [2]. It stands on top of a bluff and consists of an 'inner circular enclosure' with an internal diameter of 9.46m (31ft) and a wall 3.66-4.56m (12-15ft) thick [2]. This stands in an area of the summit enclosed by the remains of a stone wall 1.83-2.14m (6-7ft) thick and measuring 38.43m (126ft) north-south and 29.28m (96ft) east-west. There is a length of extra wall on the east slope which in 1909 still showed parts of its faces. The absence of debris in the interior persuaded the Commission's investigator that the inner enclosure was not a broch.

Sources: 1. NMRS site no. NC 70 SW 17: 2. RCAHMS 1911a, 165-66, no. 479.

E W MacKie 2007

Note (4 February 2015 - 1 November 2016)

This small fortification occupies the summit of a conical hillock overlooking Strath Fleet above Kinnauld. Roughly oval on plan, it measures about 37m from NE to SW by 29m transversely (0.08ha) within a wall reduced to a stony bank between 2.3m and 4m in thickness. Within the interior, offset a little to the SW from the centre, there is a circular structure, measuring 9.5m in diameter within a stony bank from 3.5m to 4.5m in thickness, though whether this is the robbed stump of a broch or dun is uncertain. Additional protection to the fort has been provided on the N and NW, where the ground has been dug away at the foot of the outcrops forming the flanks of the hillock to create ditches with external banks, the lower one on the NW with an upcast counterscarp rampart 2m high. Another outer bank has been identified on the E, though aerial photographs give the impression of a quarry on the slope immediately below it, with an approach track leading up from the SE. Be that as it may, there has possibly been another line of defence following the crest of the steeper slopes on the E and S, and returning along the NW crest of the hillock on the SW, where a stony bank drops down the slope from the enclosure on the summit; this possible outer enclosure on the S and E takes in an area measuring about 85m from NE to SW by 55m transversely, representing an additional 0.3ha and has an entrance gap on the SW. There is no clear entrance into the enclosure on the summit.

Information from An Atlas of Hillforts of Great Britain and Ireland – 01 November 2016. Atlas of Hillforts SC2785

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