Grinan Hill
Fort (Prehistoric)
Site Name Grinan Hill
Classification Fort (Prehistoric)
Alternative Name(s) Grinnan Hill
Canmore ID 25262
Site Number NN80NW 6
NGR NN 8338 0936
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/25262
- Council Perth And Kinross
- Parish Ardoch
- Former Region Tayside
- Former District Perth And Kinross
- Former County Perthshire
NN80NW 6 8338 0936.
(NN 8338 0936) Ancient Earthwork (NAT).
OS 6"map, (1958)
A small native promontory fort (Crawford 1949) with a triple line of defence partly ramparted and trenched, partly terraced, the rough oval shape being completed by steep slopes.
D Christison 1900; O G S Crawford 1949.
An Iron Age fort as described by Crawford and Christison. A later field bank and field override and obliterate the defences on the NE sector. The site is wooded and obscured by undergrowth.
Re-surveyed at 1/2500.
Visited by OS (W D J) 22 May 1967.
Field Visit (12 June 1957)
Fort, Grinnan Hill of Keir.
The plan and description given in the Proceedings (Christison 1900) are adequate except that the outer pair of ramparts appear as banks, and not as terraces, and there are now no definite indications of an outer ditch. The inner rampart has totally disappeared, except at the point marked on the plan. The outer pair show no trace of stone and seem to have been constructed simply of upcast from the ditch. There are no internal features. [Section sketch in typescript]
Visited by RCAHMS (KAS) 12 June 1957
Note (15 December 2014 - 18 May 2016)
This fort is situated on a wooded promontory formed by the escarpment overlooking the Keir Burn on the SW side of Braco. The defences comprise three ramparts with external ditches drawn in an arc across the N and E approaches to form an oval enclosure, though the inner has been reduced to little more than a scarp, and all three have been obliterated in the central sector of the arc. The only recorded measurements of the interior are supplied by David Christison, who estimated it at about 60m by 50m (0.24ha). Likewise, Christison provides the only observation of an entrance, placing it on the E along the S margin of the promontory, though both his (1900, 54-5, fig 15) and General Roy's earlier plan (1793, pl xxxi) also appear to show a trackway descending obliquely down the escarpment on this flank of the promontory. The interior is featureless.
Information from An Atlas of Hillforts of Great Britain and Ireland – 18 May 2016. Atlas of Hillforts SC2630
