Dumbarrow Hill
Dun (Iron Age)
Site Name Dumbarrow Hill
Classification Dun (Iron Age)
Canmore ID 34656
Site Number NO54NE 5
NGR NO 55153 47917
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/34656
- Council Angus
- Parish Kirkden
- Former Region Tayside
- Former District Angus
- Former County Angus
NO54NE 5 5515 4791
(NO 5515 4791) Dun (NR)
OS 6" map, (1971)
The remains of a dun situated on a E-W ridge. It is so robbed and mutilated as to make accurate survey almost impossible, but it appears to have been oval measuring c.38.0m E-W by c.30.0m N-S over a stone wall varying from 5.0m to 3.5m wide. The entrance was probably in the east. Outer facing stones are visible on the NW and elsewhere the outer edge of the wall is traceable as a scarp c.3m high.
The ridge provides natural defences on the N and S and to a lesser extent on the W. Additional defences might have been expected on the east but none are visible.
Resurveyed at 1/2500.
Visited by OS (WDJ) 12 May 1966.
NSA 1845; Name Book 1859; A J Warden 1880-5.
Field Visit (7 August 1956)
This site was included within the RCAHMS Marginal Land Survey (1950-1962), an unpublished rescue project. Site descriptions, organised by county, are available to view online - see the searchable PDF in 'Digital Items'. These vary from short notes, to lengthy and full descriptions. Contemporary plane-table surveys and inked drawings, where available, can be viewed online in most cases - see 'Digital Images'. The original typecripts, notebooks and drawings can also be viewed in the RCAHMS search room.
Information from RCAHMS (GFG) 19 July 2013.
Field Visit (March 1978)
Dumbarrow NO 551 479 NO54NE 5
A rocky eminence that forms the E end of Dumbarrow Hill, is occupied by an oval dun measuring 38m by 30m overall; the wall appears to have been up to 5m thick, and some outer facing-stones are visible on the NW. RCAHMS 1978, visited March 1978
(NSA, xi, Forfar, 142)
Note (25 May 2015 - 31 May 2016)
This small fortification is situated on W end of a low ridge on the NE flank of Dumbarrow Hill. The ground falls away quite steeply on the N, but is more easily accessible elsewhere, particularly across the level ground to the E. Oval on plan, it measures about 31m from E to W by 23m transversely (0.06ha) within a heavily robbed wall in the order of 3.5m in thickness, its best preserved portion on the W retaing four large outer facing stones. The entrance is probably on the E and apart from a shallow hollow in the E half, the interior is featureless.
Information from An Atlas of Hillforts of Great Britain and Ireland – 31 May 2016. Atlas of Hillforts SC3076
