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Latitude: 55.9437 / 55°56'37"N
Longitude: -2.4279 / 2°25'40"W
OS Eastings: 373372
OS Northings: 672382
OS Grid: NT733723
Mapcode National: GBR NFC0.8GL
Mapcode Global: WH8W7.PV2T
Entry Name: Black Castle Cottage,promontory fort 300m SW of
Scheduled Date: 10 January 1994
Source: Historic Environment Scotland
Source ID: SM5876
Schedule Class: Cultural
Category: Prehistoric domestic and defensive: fort (includes hill and promontory fort)
Location: Innerwick
County: East Lothian
Electoral Ward: Dunbar and East Linton
Traditional County: East Lothian
The monument comprises the remains of a promontory fort of later prehistoric date represented by cropmarks visible on oblique aerial photographs.
The monument occupies a naturally well-defended, steep-sided, inland promontory above a meander of the Ogle Burn. It comprises a series of defences set across the relatively flat W approach to the promontory, effectively enclosing the flat summit. The innermost defences comprise two lines of ditch, each approximately 3m wide and some 9m apart, which are joined by a transverse ditch at their N end.
There are several possible breaks in the ditches but none unambiguously represents the remains of an entrance. External to these ditches is a narrow ditch or palisade, approximately 1m wide. Beyond this is what appears to be an exceptionally wide ditch, approximately 8-9m wide which extends parallel to the inner defences from the S for approximately one third of their length. This feature has a clear N terminal and did not form part of a complete line of defence.
It is possible that, rather than a ditch, it represents the remains of dense occupation deposits associated with an external, rectilinear structure. The interior summit of the fort measures approximately 100m E-W by 40m and has no unambiguous traces of internal features.
The area to be scheduled encompasses the visible features and an area around them in which traces of associated activity may be expected to survive. It is irregular in shape with maximum dimensions of 140m E-W by 50m as marked in red on the accompanying map.
Source: Historic Environment Scotland
The monument is of national importance because of its potential to add to our understanding of high-status defended settlement of the later prehistoric period. The ditches may be expected to contain material relating to rampart construction as well as to the environment and economy of the site. There is a strong probability that internal deposits will provide detailed information on domestic organisation within the fort.
Source: Historic Environment Scotland
Bibliography
RCAHMS records the monument as NT 77 SW 38.
Source: Historic Environment Scotland
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