Cuil Plantation

NY38NW 4 3238 8907.

(NY 3238 8907) Earthwork (NR)

OS 6" map (1957)

This four-sided enclosure, occupying an angular promontory, is bounded on three sides by a stony rampart, some 17 ft broad at base and 5 ft or 6 ft high above the interior, which slopes to the south. There is now no artifical defence along the fourth side, which overlooks the Rig Burn. The interior is very uneven and has, in places, probably been dug out; as the area lies in thick wood and is overgrown, artificial features are difficult to discern.

Along the inner side of the rampart, on the N, a plateau, some 30ft to 40ft broad, extends from the edge of the bank on the NE for about half its length. The entrance has probably been in the W angle. The foundations of a small rectangular structure lie near the centre of the enclosure and odd heaps of stone are discernible over the general area.

RCAHMS 1920, visited 1912

This sub-rectangular work, which is best described as a settlement rather than a fort, lies on the end of a gently sloping south-facing ridge at 120m OD. It occupies an area approximately 70.0m by 40.0m and three sides are formed by steep slopes which are afforested. There has been a bank or wall along the top of these and this is most evident on the W side where a 0.9m high stony bank survives; elsewhere, it can only be traced as a stony spread up to 0.3m high. The fourth, uphill, side is defined by a substantial bank which averages 1.6m high internally and 1.1m high externally. There is no evidence of an outer ditch. The entrance is in the NW corner.

The sloping interior is sub-divided by a linear scarp which forms a level area against the N bank. The rectangular structure was not identified, but numerous pits and stony mounds indicate that the now heavily afforested interior has been extensively disturbed, perhaps by stone quarrying.

Surveyed at 1/10,000.

Visited by OS (MJF), 29 September 1979.