Castle Hill

NC80SE 26 8952 0369

NC 8952 0369. At the NW corner of Castle Hill, a natural knoll, is a small motte with the hill itself probably being the bailey.

The motte is sub-circular in plan, bounded on the N and W by steep natural slopes and in the S and E by a semi-circular dry ditch, 0.8m deep and 7.0m wide. Spoil from the ditch has been thrown inwards to form a mound 1.0m high above natural ground level and approximately 10.0m in diameter. The shape of the mound is rendered indistinct by soil slip on the N side, by old excavations or surface quarrying and by displaced tree stumps.

Castle Hill is a steep-sided grave "island" standing 8.0m above the river terrace of the River Brora. Originally it formed part of the raised beach but river action has eroded it to its present shape. Its perfectly flat summit measures 150.0m E-W by an average of 40.0m N-S. Apart from a modern ditch there is no trace of any structures on the hill or of a bank or ditch around the rim, but the natural defences are so strong that artificial scarping was probably unnecessary. There is a complete absence of local tradition or documentary evidence concerning an early castle on Castle Hill.

Surveyed at 1:2500.

Visited by OS (N K B), 2 February 1976.