Clubbiedean

Fort, Clubbiedean Reservoir.

Rather over a mile south-east of Currie station, on a slight plateau on the southern side of Clubbiedean Reservoir, at an elevation of slightly under 800 feet above sea-level, are the remains of a fort. On the east side is the small Clubbiedean Burn, on the north a slight depression runs down to the loch, and to the south is a small hollow, with the Pentlands rising beyond. The plan of the fort is sub-oval, and the main axis runs north-east and south-west, its length along this line being 164 feet internally, and its greatest breadth 124 feet. The defences consist of two concentric earthen ramparts with a ditch between them and another on the outside. These works are carried round about two thirds of its circumference, the northern segment being defended by the loch. The ends of the ramparts terminate at the loch side on the north-west, and on the east at the edge of the burn near its junction with the loch. At the latter point the ramparts diverge considerably, the distance between them at their eastern terminations being some 70 feet. The inner rampart at the north-western termination is carried some distance farther east along the loch side than the outer. The defences are well preserved along the southern arc. A section here shows the inner rampart, 14 feet broad at the base and 3 feet high, with a terrace outside 5 feet broad, beyond which is a ditch 23 feet broad and 5 feet deep. Between this ditch and the outer rampart is a platform 14 feet broad, the rampart. 23 feet broad at the base, rising 5 feet above the platform and 8 feet above the bottom of an outer ditch, which is 16 feet broad and 4 ½ feet deep on the counterscarp. No indications of internal structures are visible, but three dry-stone dykes converge inside the fort, obliterating much of the original contents. There are traces of an entrance about 12 feet broad through the inner rampart to the south. As the summit of the outer rampart here is crowned by a stone dyke, the outer entrance is difficult to define, but probably it penetrated the outer defence some 8 feet east of the inner gap, where there is a modern gateway.

RCAHMS 1929, visited 1 September 1913.

OS map: vii N.W.

This site was included within the RCAHMS Marginal Land Survey (1950-1962), an unpublished rescue project.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.

This fort occupies a promontory formed between the gully of the Clubbidean Burn on the E and what is now the S shore of the Clubbidean Reservoir; another shallow gully drops down to the loch shore on the W. The defences comprise at least two ramparts, each flanked by an external ditch up to 5m in breadth, and the outer possibly with traces of a counterscarp bank, which bar access from the S and W. The inner rampart is apparently separated from the inner lip of its ditch by a berm, but this unusual feature is due perhaps to its demolition rather than the original design, while a narrow flat space between the outer lip of the inner ditch and the outer rampart may indicate that the two represent separate periods of construction. This may explain why there is no gap corresponding with what appears to be an entrance through the outer rampart on the SE, and, if correct, suggests the inner represents a later insertion. The interior, which is featureless, is roughly oval, measuring about 60m from NE to SW by 38m transversely (0.12ha).

Information from An Atlas of Hillforts of Great Britain and Ireland – 01 June 2016. Atlas of Hillforts SC3696