Lag's Tomb

This ploughed-out fort occupies a triangular promontory formed in the leading edge of a terrace on the W of the River Nith some 150m ESE of the site of the old parish church of Dunscore, better known for the tomb of Sir Robert Grierson of Lag (d 1733). The flanks of the promontory are not particularly steep and a visit by the OS revealed that the ditch drawn in an arc across the level approach on the WNW coincided with a broad natural hollow. In addition to the ditch, which is up to 4m in breadth, traces of a concentric palisade trench can be detected in the cropmarks about 5m outside the outer lip of the ditch, while at least one other palisade trench can be seen in the interior, drawn in a roughly concentric arc about 12m within the inner lip; other faint marking may represent other lines of palisade both within and without the ditch. The triangular interior probably measures about 85m from WNW to ESE by 50m transversely (0.33ha). Towards the S the ditch appears to taper and turn along the flank of the promontory, and a minor ditch no more than 2m board returns across the ENE tip, though whether these two elements are related is unknown. At the NE end of the main ditch, however, the CUCAP images appear to show a rounded terminal, possibly indicating the position of an entrance opening onto the terrace on the NW along the NE margin of the promontory.

Information from An Atlas of Hillforts of Great Britain and Ireland – 07 April 2017. Atlas of Hillforts SC4379