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Newhall Farm

Palisaded Settlement (Prehistoric), Settlement(S) (Iron Age)

Site Name Newhall Farm

Classification Palisaded Settlement (Prehistoric), Settlement(S) (Iron Age)

Alternative Name(s) Newhall Hill

Canmore ID 67226

Site Number NY28SW 6

NGR NY 23840 83706

NGR Description NY 2380 8372 and NY 2388 8368

Datum OSGB36 - NGR

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/67226

Ordnance Survey licence number AC0000807262. All rights reserved.
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Administrative Areas

  • Council Dumfries And Galloway
  • Parish Tundergarth
  • Former Region Dumfries And Galloway
  • Former District Annandale And Eskdale
  • Former County Dumfries-shire

Summary Record (May 2014 - March 2015)

Well preserved remains of later prehistoric enclosures located on south-east facing slopes of summit of Newhall Hill within pasture farmland. Distant views to surrounding landscape, particularly in wide northeast to south-eat arc of view. Other related monuments in surrounding area, particularly to north (2330; 12674; 3964 and 12667). Consented Ewe Hill Wind Farm visible to northeast, and existing development of Minsca Wind Farm visible to the southwest.

information from Héléna Gray, (CFA Archaeology Ltd), August 2015

Archaeology Notes

NY28SW 6 2380 8372 and 2388 8368.

('A': NY 2380 8372; 'B' NY 2388 8368) Earthworks (NR)

OS 6" map (1957)

'A': Rampart 5' high and trench 22' wide and up to 4' deep, of an oval fort 198' by 160' with entrances E and SW.

'B': Some 40' SE of 'A' is a second fort, oblong, 215' by 183', of massive rampart 5'-6' high with a suggestion of stone pitching and trench 25'-30' wide and 4' deep; the entrance, which opens on an excavated hollow, is in the SE.

RCAHMS 1920, visited 1912

Situated in a non-defensive position just below, and to the E of the summit of Newhall Hill are two settlements.

'A' is an oval, formed by a stony bank with outer ditch and slight indications of a counterscarp bank. It measures 62.0m E-W by 52.0m N-S and has entrances on the E and W.

'B', on the slope immediately SE of 'A', is formed by a massive earthen bank with outer ditch. It is rectangular and measures 67.0m NE-SW by 55.0m NW-SE with its only entrance in the middle of the lower SE side. No internal features were noted in either 'A' or 'B'.

Resurveyed at 1:2500.

Visited by OS (WDJ) 14 July 1970

Defended settlements. While 'A' occupies a situation providing better natural defence on top of a spur, 'B', if anything, has the more substantial ditch, commensurable with defence rather than drainage.

G Jobey 1971

No change to the previous information.

Visited by OS (MJF) 30 August 1979.

Settlements [NR]

OS 1:10,000 map, 1983.

Activities

Field Visit (23 August 1993)

NY 2381 8376 NY28SW 6

An arc of palisade trench, measuring 25.5m along the chord by about 1m in breadth and 0.1m in depth, is visible immediately to the NNW of the more westerly of the two settlements on Newhall Hill. The palisade trench appears to have enclosed the highest part of the hill and is clearly overlain by the counterscarp bank of the settlement ditch.

Visited by RCAHMS (JRS, ARW), 23 August 1993.

Listed as palisaded enclosure, settlement, (rectilinear) settlement and palisade .

RCAHMS 1997.

Note (20 June 2014 - 24 December 2016)

This fortified settlement is situated on the shoulder of the broad rounded summit of Newhall Hill, lying immediately NW of a second fortified settlement (Atlas No.1038) on the slope below the shoulder. Oval on plan, it measures 60m from E to W by 48m transversely within a rampart with a partly rock-cut external ditch and a low counterscarp bank, and there are entrances on the E and W respectively. The rampart is up to 5m in thickness, and while it is not particularly high internally, it stands some 1.5m above the bottom of the ditch, which is up to 5m in breadth by 1m in depth where it has been cut through rock on the N, but barely visible on the NW. In 1912 Alexander Curle noted stones set up on end in an exposure in the crest of the rampart on the S (RCAHMS 1920, 205-6, no.601), possibly indicating the presence of a palisade set into the top of the rampart. On the N, however, there are also traces of an earlier palisade trench, which loops out from beneath the counterscarp bank over a distance of about 25m and appears to have enclosed the low rise that forms the very summit of the hill, though no evidence of it can be seen within the featureless interior.

Information from An Atlas of Hillforts of Great Britain and Ireland – 24 December 2016. Atlas of Hillforts SC1037

Note (20 June 2014 - 23 May 2016)

This fortified settlement is situated on a SE-facing slope, immediately below the shoulder of the Newhall Hill to the SE of the fortified settlement on the summit. Subrectangular on plan, it measures about 64m from NE to SW by 55m transversely within a massive earthen rampart with an external ditch and the entrance is in the middle of the downslope side on the SE. The rampart stands up to 1.8m high internally, though the scooped interior gives it the appearance of much greater stature along the uphill, NW, side, and in 1993 packing stones for a palisade or breastwork were noted in exposures in its crest on the S quarter (RCAHMS 1997, 126, 138). The accompanying ditch is up to 7m in breadth by 1.2m in depth, on the uphill side, though it diminishes in scale along the lower side, where it has also been cultivated over. A shallow hollow runs up from the entrance into the interior, where there are traces of several stances for timber round-houses dug into the slope.

Information from An Atlas of Hillforts of Great Britain and Ireland – 23 May 2016. Atlas of Hillforts SC1038

Project (29 May 2014)

An archaeological evaluation was undertaken by CFA Archaeology Ltd, a desk based assessment and walk over survey (May 29th 2014) was conducted

The historic environment record within the Site Boundary is relatively limited, although there is some potential for the proposed development site to contain previously unknown heritage assets from at least the later prehistoric period onwards, given the historic landscape character of the wider area. Taking this into account, the archaeological potential of the proposed development site is considered to be low.

A summary assessment, on a site by site basis, of the predicted effects on the settings of assets within a 10km radius where the blade tip ZTV indicates that there would be theoretical views of one or more turbines

information from Héléna Gray, (CFA Archaeology Ltd), August 2015

OASIS ID: cfaarcha1-278420

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