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Burnhill
Earthwork (Period Unassigned), Human Remains (Period Unassigned)
Site Name Burnhill
Classification Earthwork (Period Unassigned), Human Remains (Period Unassigned)
Canmore ID 66173
Site Number NY07SE 2
NGR NY 0578 7312
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/66173
- Council Dumfries And Galloway
- Parish Mouswald
- Former Region Dumfries And Galloway
- Former District Nithsdale
- Former County Dumfries-shire
NY07SE 2 0578 7312.
(NY 0578 7310) Mote (NR)
OS 6" map (1957)
Remains of a small fort (RCAHMS 1920) or camp (OSA 1793; NSA 1841) on a slight natural eminence at Burnhill. It is described in 1793 and 1836 as a "strong double fosse or ditch"; in 1912 as a "small portion of a terrace some 20' in width", traceable only at N angle.
Several human bones were found in 1790 when the school-house foundations were dug. According to Young, there was quite a small village here. He speaks of "cottages of a hundred years ago" long since disappeared. (Nothing significant on APs - RAF 1958.) Nothing seen during recording to substantiate published entry "Mote".
RCAHMS 1920, visited 1912; Statistical Account (OSA) 1793 (J Dickson); New Statistical Account (NSA) 1841 (A B Murray); J F Young 1930
NY 0578 7312: All that remains of this earthwork are the scarps of two banks at the N angle. The remainder has been destroyed by the construction of buildings and ploughing. No evidence of a village could be found.
Resurveyed at 1:2500.
Visited by OS (RD) 6 November 1967
Earthwork (NR) (Remains of)
OS 1:10000 map (1973)
No change to previous field report.
Visited by OS (DWR) 22 February 1973
Note (22 May 2014 - 23 May 2016)
The buildings around the school at Burnhill, which stand on a low hillock, overlie a fortified enclosure, traces of which survive in the garden ground on the N. Described in the Statistical Account (vii, 1793, 298) as having a 'strong double fosse', short lengths of two accompanying banks were noted by the OS in 1973. If an angle in the boundary of the school and the angled road junction mark the line of the perimeter on the E and SW respectively, then the enclosure would have measured about 80m in overall diameter, enclosing an area in excess of 0.3ha. In 1790 human bones were found when the foundations for the schoolhouse were dug (Statistical Account vii, 1793, 298).
Information from An Atlas of Hillforts of Great Britain and Ireland – 23 May 2016. Atlas of Hillforts SC0863
