Description

The monument is a fort of the Iron Age, some 2000 to 2500 years old, situated on a shelf immediately to the NW of the summit of the ridge to the SW of Belchester House. The enclosure is defined on all but the NW side by a broad ditch about 14m wide and 2.2m deep. There is a counterscarp bank on the SW, where the ditch is best preserved and where traces of the rampart survive, covering the easy SW approach to the enclosure. The defences on the NW have been obliterated by rig and furrow cultivation, which covers the whole interior of the fort.

At the NE there are traces of a second ditch about 10m outside the main ditch. Although the surface features of the fort have been damaged by rig and furrow cultivation, experience on other sites show that most of the underlying archaeology will survive. In Berwickshire the majority of ridge forts of this type have been completely flattened; this monument id therefore better preserve than most. An area measuring a maximum of 260m (NE-SW) by 150m transversely is proposed for scheduling.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is a moderately well preserved fort of a type poorly represented in the area, due to the vulnerability of such forts to damage in arable agriculture. The monument will therefore preserve important information on the settlement of the period; the monument is of national importance to the theme of Iron Age settlement and defence.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NT 74 SE 12.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland