Caspin
Promontory Fort (Iron Age)
Site Name Caspin
Classification Promontory Fort (Iron Age)
Alternative Name(s) West Balscalloch
Canmore ID 60923
Site Number NX07SW 2
NGR NX 00522 73257
NGR Description Centre
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/60923
- Council Dumfries And Galloway
- Parish Kirkcolm
- Former Region Dumfries And Galloway
- Former District Wigtown
- Former County Wigtownshire
NX07SW 2 0052 7325
(Name centred: NX 0057 7320) Earthwork (NR)
(To what the name refers is not obvious).
OS 6" map (1957)
NX 005 733 A fort occupying a promontory which is cut off from the mainland by a natural gully. Along the crest of the rocky scarp are visible the remains of a stony rampart or wall, some 7' to 8' in thickness, extending along the frontage for a distance of 218' or thereby, with a return towards the edge of the dividing chasm at its western extremity. Through the centre of this defence, between two points of rock, has been the entrance, now confused with a mass of displaced stones.
The surface of the promontory is broken by many low outcropping rocks with sheltered grassy hollows among them. At either end of the trench there is a stone revetment built in connection with kelp-gathering operations formerly conducted here, and the well-like construction at the SW end is said to have been a shaft up which the sea-weed was hoisted by windlass.
G Wilson 1885; RCAHMS 1912; R W Feachem 1963.
Centred NX 0052 7325. Generally as described by RCAHMS, the easternmost portion of the rampart being no longer evident. The interior contains several 'sheltered grassy hollows', possibly hut floors.
Revised at 25".
Visited by OS (WDJ), 13 February 1968
This fort is situated 730m NNW of West Balscalloch farmhouse, occupying a rocky coastal promontory which is cut off on the landward side (SSE) by a gully between 5m and 10m deep. The only point of access to the fort is by way of a narrow terrace which climbs obliquely through a small cleft in the sheer N face of the gully. The wall, which runs along the N edge of the gully, has been reduced to a mound of rubble about 2.2m thick by 0.6m high for most of its length, but at the cleft, where the outer face survives for a distance of 4.2m, it measures up to 4.5m in thickness by 0.7m in height. No details of the entrance are visible, but the face of the wall, which stands to a maximum height of 0.7m in three courses, turns down the upper end of the terrace, and does not run straight across the cleft. The interior of the fort is rocky and uneven, measuring 69m from ENE to WSW by 43m transversely.
More recently, in the course of kelp-gathering operations a trackway was constructed to provide access to the floor of the gully which was also extensively modified. Massive stone revetments between 2m and 3m high were constructed to create a platform on to which the kelp could be hoisted; most of these revetments are still intact.
OS Name Book; G Wilson 1885; RCAHMS 1912; R W Feachem 1977; RCAHMS 1985, visited (SH) October 1984.
Field Visit (15 July 1953)
Promontory fort, Caspin (Inventory No. 76)
There is nothing to add to the Inventory description of this fort.
NX 005 733
Visited by RCAHMS 15 July 1953
Note (20 December 2013 - 18 May 2016)
This fort occupies a rocky coastal promontory which is partly cut off by a deep gully from 5m to 10m deep. Defended by a single wall set on the lip of the gully, the interior measures about 69m from ENE to WSW by 43m transversely and is largely made up of grass grown rock outcrops. For much of its length the wall is reduced to a mound of rubble 2.2m thick by 0.6m high, but in a natural cleft midway along the sheer N face of the gully, which is the only means of access to the interior and almost certainly marks the position of the entrance, there is a run of outer face 4.2m in length and it increases to 4.5m in thickness by 0.7m in height. The gully has also been exploited in the post-medieval period to provide access to the shore for the kelp industry. An engineered trackway leads down to the floor of the gully which has been modified at both ends with the insertion of massive revetments 2m to 3m high to create a platform onto which the kelp could be hoisted.
Information from An Atlas of Hillforts of Great Britain and Ireland – 18 May 2016. Atlas of Hillforts SC0193
Project (1 October 2020 - 31 July 2021)
NX 0052 7325 to NZ 9725 6795 The Rhins Revealed project forms part of the Rhins of Galloway Coastal Path initiative and aims to provide outreach related to the coastal archaeology of the Rhins area, as well as training for community volunteers and baseline surveys that can assist with future condition monitoring of sites along the coastal path route. As part of this project, several surveys were carried out between 2019 and 2021 including topographic surveys and drone photography and photogrammetry at Dunman (Canmore ID: 60438), Caspin (Canmore ID: 60923) and Kirklauchline (Canmore ID: 60642) forts; hut circles at Cairnmon Fell (Canmore ID: 60485) and at Castle Ban motte (Canmore ID: 65434). A resistivity survey was carried out over the upper surface of Castle Ban; the results suggest the presence of stone structures not visible at ground level.
NX 1417 3101, NX 1438 3074 A gradiometry survey was carried out at the Mull of Galloway between the western (Canmore ID: 61050) and eastern (Canmore ID: 61051) earthworks, S of the road, using a Sensys MXPDA cart-mounted gradiometry system. The results suggest the presence of circular structures in the northern end of the dataset, and a possible enclosure positioned on a low knoll near the access to East Tarbet. The data is relatively noisy however, and the results have not been confirmed by excavation.
NX 06702 44683 At Doon Castle (Canmore ID: 60487), a promontory fort containing a broch-like stone roundhouse, topographic survey and 3D laser scanning were carried out in advance of conservation works planned for a later stage of the project.
NX 0324 6902 A high-resolution 3D model was produced of the Kilmorie Stone, Kirkcolm (Canmore ID: 60731) using photogrammetry, and the results presented online.
Archive: NRHE (intended)
Funder: Rhins of Galloway Coastal Path Project, Dumfries and Galloway Council, Heritage Lottery Fund, Coastal Communities Fund
Graeme Cavers, Jamie Humble and Marta Pilarska – AOC Archaeology Group
(Source: DES Vol 22)
Note (9 June 2022)
The location, classification and period of this site have been reviewed and changed from PROMONTORY FORT (PERIOD UNASSIGNED).
