Description

The monument is a scooped settlement dating to the Iron Age (800BC-AD400). It survives as an oval enclosure with upstanding earth covered stone walls and internal features. The monument sits within Roughsware Wood, on the southeast facing slope of Carcant Hill, at around 345m OD.

The overall enclosure measures around 70m by 42m. Where the ground level is higher on the northwest due to the slope, the enclosure is cut into the slope to around 0.5m below the natural ground level. The rest of the enclosure circuit is formed by earth covered stone walls up to 4m wide, standing up to 0.75m above the exterior ground level and up to 1.5m above the interior ground level. The enclosure is divided into two areas by a low wall around 2m wide, the western area being the larger of the two. There are breaks in the enclosure wall for entrances giving access to the two internal spaces, one at the northeast and the other at the east-southeast. Internally, there are several scooped features which are settlement remains.

The scheduled area is rectangular on plan, measuring 85m west-southwest – east-northeast by 70m transversely. It includes the remains described above and an area around within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment is expected to survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The above ground elements of modern post and wire fences and the northwest boundary wall are specifically excluded from the schedule.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument continues to meet the criterion of national importance as a good example of a scooped settlement. It has a surviving upstanding enclosure wall and visible internal features. It is situated on the southern slopes of Carcant Hill in a characteristic location of many scooped settlements which are primarily found in eastern Dumfriesshire, the Scottish Borders, and the north of England. It is therefore an important representative of this monument type and makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the past adding to our knowledge of Iron Age society in southern Scotland and in particular the construction, use and development of later prehistoric settlements. The monument retains structural and other physical features and there is significant potential for the survival of buried archaeological deposits within and around the settlement which contribute to its research potential.  

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography
No Bibliography entries for this designation

Canmore

https://canmore.org.uk/site/53306/

Source: Historic Environment Scotland