Kerbers
Fort (Period Unassigned)
Site Name Kerbers
Classification Fort (Period Unassigned)
Canmore ID 64484
Site Number NX75NE 9
NGR NX 7774 5701
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/64484
- Council Dumfries And Galloway
- Parish Kelton
- Former Region Dumfries And Galloway
- Former District Stewartry
- Former County Kirkcudbrightshire
NX75NE 9 7774 5701.
NX 777 571. The last vestiges of an oval fort, measuring internally 270' by 150', protected by steep slopes on three sides but with only a gentle slope on the N.
The innermost defence is represented by three short lengths of turf-covered bank not more than 1ft high - a robber trench suggests that this defence was a stone wall about 10ft thick. There are slight indications of an entrance at the N end flanked by a ditch with outer rampart and possibly a second ditch beyond. A crescentic ditch with a possible rampart on its counterscarp protected the S end of the fort. The interior is covered with turf and scattered rock outcrop. The only signs of occupation are two scooped hollows, one of which, lying immediately inside the entrance, is oval on plan and measures 60' by 40', while the other, near the E side of the main wall, is semi- circular, with a radius of 20'.
RCAHMS Marginal Lands TS
NX 7774 5701. The remains of this fort are as described by the RCAHMS. Of the three lengths of bank mentioned, only that at the entrance is of any size.
Surveyed at 1/2500.
Visited by OS (WDJ) 8 August 1968
Field Visit (4 August 1953)
This site was included within the RCAHMS Marginal Land Survey (1950-1962), an unpublished rescue project. Site descriptions, organised by county, are available to view online - see the searchable PDF in 'Digital Items'. These vary from short notes, to lengthy and full descriptions. Contemporary plane-table surveys and inked drawings, where available, can be viewed online in most cases - see 'Digital Images'. The original typecripts, notebooks and drawings can also be viewed in the RCAHMS search room.
Information from RCAHMS (GFG) 19 July 2013.
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.
Note (20 December 2013 - 23 May 2016)
Situated on the steep-sided summit of the eastern spur of Dunguile Hill, this fort has been heavily robbed and what little remains of its defences is almost completely obscured by gorse. Oval on plan, it measures about 80m from N to S by 45m transversely (0.26ha) within the line of a wall marked by little more than a robber trench. Additional defence has been provided at both ends, according to the description prepared by RCAHMS in 1953 comprising an external ditch with a counterscarp bank on the N; though this is not in complete accordance with the plan prepared at the time. On the S there is an external ditch reduced to a slight terrace. A gap on the N, which is the easiest line of approach, is probably the entrance. Two scooped hollows within the interior, one at the N end and the other on the E, may indicate the positions of timber houses, though neither is shown on the RCAHMS plan.
Information from An Atlas of Hillforts of Great Britain and Ireland – 23 May 2016. Atlas of Hillforts SC0280
