Sundhope Kipp

NT81NW 34 8159 1679

See also NT81NW 34 and NT81NW 67.

(NT 8159 1679) Fort (NR)

OS 6"map, (1962).

An elliptical fort, measuring internally 270' NW-SE by 160', occupies the terminal knoll of Sundhope Kipp, a projecting spur of high ground. The site is virtually impregnable on three sides, owing to the steep fall of the ground to the Heatherhope and Muckle Sund Hope Burns, and easily accessible only from the summit of the spur on the NE. The innermost rampart, which was drawn round the shoulders of the knoll, has been completely denuded on all sides except the NW, where it consists of a mound of heaped earth and stone with no trace of revetting walls or kerbs. Some 30' below the shoulders of the knoll, on the E and S sides, there is a narrow terrace, less than 10' wide, indicating either another denuded rampart or a filled-up ditch, but no further defences can have been erected on these precipitous slopes. On the N side, however, there are three additional ramparts, built like the first of heaped earth and stone; they measure 38', 20' and 20' in breadth and have ditches between them, while a smaller ditch forms the outermost element of the whole system. The ends of each rampart are returned towards the one immediately inside it, but only in one or two instances is an effective junction made. The main entrance, on the E side, is approached from the N by a long defile, some 12' wide, between the curving ends of the advanced ramparts and the steep hill-slope on the E.

The N side of the innermost rampart at the entrance swings out to join the second rampart, while the S side is also out-turned, thus forming a long entrance-passage with a sharp turn halfway along it. The pathway, 11' wide, opens on to an excavated hollow immediately within the interior, and there divides into two branches leading to right and left. Another entrance, approached by a similar defile, on the opposite side of the spur may be either original or intrusive. Covering the greater part of the interior of the fort there are fifteen huts, either circular or oval on plan, defined by shallow trenches 2' wide which are continuous in all but two cases. The smallest hut measures 18' in internal diameter and the largest 30'. Slight upcast-banks are visible in many places on both lips of these trenches, the inner bank showing curious indentations on the side towards the centre of the hut which may represent the seating of the timber framing of the hut wall. The site of another hut is perhaps indicated by a circular depression, 30' in diameter, lying between the first and second ramparts on the NW side of the fort, but, if so, this hut must have been erected when the defences were obsolete. Two small rectangular enclosures seen farther N in the second of the outer ditches are no doubt of comparatively recent date.

RCAHMS 1956, visited 1938.

As described above.

Visited by OS (WDJ) 31 August 1960.

No change.

Visited by OS (TRG) 9 September 1976.

The prominent S-facing spur of Sundhope Kipp, with very steep slopes falling away to the Heatherhope and Muckle Sund burns, provides an imposing, and virtually impregnable location for an elliptical fort. At an altitude of 381m, the fort overlooks the palisaded enclosure on Greenbrough , some 350m to the NW.

The ramparts

The fort occupies an area measuring 156m from NNW to SSE by 95m. Access is only practicable from the NE along the gentle ridge of the spur. This approach leads to a series of four ramparts stretching across the neck of the spur. All four ramparts are in-turned at their ends reflecting the local topography. The innermost rampart is morphologically different from the outer ramparts in that there is no external ditch present. It is best preserved on the NW where it survives a stony bank crowning a natural scarp. Elsewhere the rampart has been partly reduced through the construction of ring-ditch houses, particularly houses (1 and 4), in its lee, indicating that the rampart had become obsolete. On the E, S and W of the spur the natural slopes are augmented by low scarps which may represent the last vestiges of a rampart which has slumped into and infilled an external quarry ditch.

The three outer ramparts each comprise a stony bank with external ditch. There are traces of a slight counterscarp bank outwith the northernmost bank which has, in plan, a different character to the medial two banks which could, superficially, be construed to be of a single defensive conception. There is a slight suggestion that the outermost bank returns into the circuit of the two medial banks, and could, therefore, predate them either as an outwork to the innermost rampart, or a free-standing second phase. It is tempting to see the construction of the medial banks as contemporaneous with the occupation of, at least some of the ring-ditch houses.

Throughout the life of the fort there appear to have been two entrances at the N end of the fort, at either side of the multivallate ramparts crossing the neck of the spur. Both entrances appear to have been in use throughout the history of the fort and the approaches to both are overlooked by the returns of the rampart terminals. That on the E perhaps demonstrates the most use with a bi-furcated, sunken trackway apparently aligned with the principal 'street' within. The W entrance displays a similar alignment but maybe not the same degree of sustained use. A break in the scarp line in the SE extent of the fort may, remarkably, also mark the position of an entrance almost at the very tip of the spur.

The interior

Up to twenty-three structures, described individually below, are crowded into the interior of the fort which measures 80m from NNW to SSE by 54m. The distribution of these structures, ring-groove houses and ring-ditch houses, displays an interesting spatial and stratigraphic sequence. The houses are clustered into five groups which permit some observations on their likely stratigraphy and contemporary populations.

Group 1 comprises two ring-groove houses, (22 and 23), levelled into the W side of the spur, immediately within the enclosing scarp.

Group 2 comprises one ring-groove house (5), and four ring-ditch houses (1 to 4), lying immediately behind the innermost rampart.

Group 3 is separated from group 2 by a c.2m wide WNW to ESE aligned 'street' and from group 4 by what may be a second 'street' on a NE to SW alignment. The group comprises one definite ring-groove house (9), a possible second ring-groove house (10) and three ring-ditch houses (6 to 8).

Group 4, to the SE of group 3, comprises five ring-ditch houses (10 to 15).

Group 5 lying immediately SE of group 4 and the SSE angle of the fort, comprises one ring-groove house, S, and five ring-ditch houses, (16 to 18) and (20 and 21).

Ring-groove houses

Traces of up to six ring-groove houses survive within Sundhope Kipp. Where relationships can be established, the ring-groove houses (5, 9, 10 and 19), are consistently the earliest in the sequence. This stratigraphic relationship is most notable in group 5 but also in group 3 and possibly in group 2. Spatially, ring-groove houses are only observed towards the W side of the spur, an area which is not favoured for occupation by ring-ditch houses. It is, therefore, tempting to link the two isolated ring-groove houses, (22 and 23), forming group 1, with the stratigraphically early houses, (5, 9 and 19). The true extent of any ring-groove house distribution on the spur cannot be established as the more substantial character of the ring-ditch houses will have obliterated the slight character of any grooves.

Ring-ditch houses

Concentrated within the centre and E part of the spur there are at least eighteen ring-ditch houses leaving an area of open ground on the W. At least three stages of ring-ditch house construction may be observed within the fort and in some cases, notably houses (1 and 4), over the innermost rampart. At least six of the houses, (2 and 3) in group 2, (11 and 13) in group 4 and (16 and 17) in group 5 appear to be contiguous with a larger and smaller 'room'. Houses (6 and 7) in group 3 may also contiguous although there appears to be a stratigraphic relationship between them. The houses range in overall diameter from 8m to 15m although none of them can be described as truly circular but are rather more oval on plan.

In group 2, ring-ditch house (4), which is constructed into the lee of the abandoned rampart, is free-standing. To the W there is a conjoined pair of houses (2 and 3), with a fourth house (1) overlying the W end of ring-ditch house (3). Ring-ditch house (1), itself appears to have two possible phases of construction.

In group 3, house (6) is the earliest ring-ditch house. It is cut on the E by the ditch of house (7) and both are, in turn, overlain on the SW by the circuit of house (8).

In group 4, to the SE, the earliest structure appears to be house (14) which is clipped on its NE side by the ditch of house (12). In turn house (12) is overlain on the E side by the contiguous ring-ditch houses, (11 and 13). Ring-ditch house (15) lies to the SSW.

In group 5, the early ring-groove house (19) is overlain on the S by an oval ring-ditch house (20) which is conjoined to a second ring-ditch house (21) on the S. House (21) is, in turn, cut on the NE by the sunken entrance piercing the inner scarp. On the NE side of the hollow, there are contiguous ring-ditch houses (16 and 17). A fifth ring-ditch house (18) appears to have been appears to be distorted to possibly allow its insertion in the space between house (17) and houses (13 and 15) in group 4 when they where all still standing. By implication, there appears to be a group of six, closely-spaced, contemporary structures.

Shieling-huts

Within the relative shelter of the two medial ramparts, there are three rectangular huts, either shieling-huts or bothies, and traces of cross-contour rig. Two of the huts lie within the third rampart. The NW hut measures 6.5m from NW to SE by 4m over low banks and is open on the NE side. The SE hut measures about 6m from NW to SE by about 3m over an uninterupted bank. A further hut lies within the second rampart, close to its SE end. The hut measures about 7m from NW to SE by about 3.7m over a low bank and is open-ended at the SE end. Traces of about eight rigs, or lazy-beds, survives on the level ground to he NW. The huts may be associated with three sheep stells situated to the N of the fort.

Information from RJ Mercer (University of Edinburgh) April 1985

RCAHMS MS 2598.