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Latitude: 55.548 / 55°32'52"N
Longitude: -3.4007 / 3°24'2"W
OS Eastings: 311724
OS Northings: 629149
OS Grid: NT117291
Mapcode National: GBR 44P9.K0
Mapcode Global: WH6VF.QTT5
Entry Name: Norman's Castle, dun 830m SW of Stanhope
Scheduled Date: 28 April 1980
Last Amended: 2 November 1999
Source: Historic Environment Scotland
Source ID: SM4253
Schedule Class: Cultural
Category: Prehistoric domestic and defensive: dun
Location: Drumelzier
County: Scottish Borders
Electoral Ward: Tweeddale West
Traditional County: Peeblesshire
The monument comprises a dun of prehistoric date. The monument was first scheduled in 1980, but an inadequate area was included to protect all of the archaeological remains: the present rescheduling rectifies this.
The monument lies on the NW face of Laigh Hill, at around 300m OD. It comprises an oval dun known as Norman's Castle, measuring about 15m E-W by about 16m transversely. The walls measure about 4m thick and up to about 1m in height, leaving an interior with an area of about 6m N-S by about 7m transversely. The E half of the interior is cut into the hillside, creating a scarp almost 2m high between the floor level and the base of the wall. There is a paved entrance passage measuring about 1m wide through the dun wall on the S. A ditch measuring about 2m deep can be traced around the S and E sides of the dun, with an external rampart measuring about 4m wide and about 1m high. A causeway measuring about 1.3m wide cuts through the rampart and ditch on the SW.
The monument was partially excavated in 1959 by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. The excavations revealed evidence for the construction of the dun, but uncovered very few artefacts. A penannular bronze brooch and some stone implements dating from the late first or early second century AD were found in the interior of the dun, indicating that the site was in use at that time.
The area proposed for scheduling comprises the remains described and an area around them within which related material may be expected to be found. It is irregular in shape, with maximum dimensions of 60m N-S by 50m, as marked in red on the accompanying map extract.
Source: Historic Environment Scotland
The monument is of national importance because of its potential to contribute to our understanding of later prehistoric defended settlement and economy. Its importance is increased by its proximity to other monuments of potentially contemporary date.
Source: Historic Environment Scotland
Bibliography
RCAHMS record the site as NT12NW 6.
References:
RCAHMS 967, Peeblesshire: An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments, Edinburgh: HMSO.
Source: Historic Environment Scotland
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