Mare Rock

NW96NE 26 9599 6510

Not to be confused with NW96NE 29.

This fort occupies a precipitous promontory which rises up from the foot of the coastal cliffs at Mare Rock. The only possible line of approach is from the E, but this is blocked by a wall which runs the entire length of the SE side of the promontory, a distance of about 50m, and dies out on the cliff-edge on the N. For much of its length the wall has been reduced to a stony scarp, but considerable portions of the outer face still survive and these will be described from N to S. On the N there are 1.6m of face standing 0.5m high in two courses, the basal course resting on bedrock 0.7m below the crest of the promontory. From here the wall probably rode over the NE shoulder of the promontory, dropping to the N end of the SE side, where 13m of face are visible; founded 3m below the crest, it measures up to 0.7m in height in five courses. The face probably extended a further 7.5m to a gap in the outcrops 2.8m wide, which marks the position of the entrance; no trace of the wall survives, but a narrow ledge on the rock outcrops probably provided a foundation for the basal course of the face. To the SW of the entrance a further 8.8m of face is visible, founded on an outcrop 2m below the crest; it stands up to 0.6m high in three courses. The line of the face is carried across the rock outcrops to the next fragment of masonry, which blocks a gully 6.5m to the SW, by a narrow ledge 0.6m wide; the ledge appears to have been artificially prepared, probably to provide a level foundation for the face. In the gully the surviving face measures 3.9m in length and stands up to 0.8m in height in six courses. The wall core extends for about 3.8m beyond the gully before petering out. No inner facing-stones survive but the wall must have been about 3.1m thick. The interior of the fort measures 67m from NE to SW by 25m transversely, but mainly comprises rock outcrop interspersed with a few patches of turf. From the entrance a terrace drops obliquely down the SE side of the promontory.

The fort was first recorded by Wilson (SAS 453) and was depicted on the 2nd edition of the OS 6-inch map (sheet 10). Since then, however, it has passed unnoticed.

RCAHMS 1985, visited (SH) September 1984