Arbory Hill
The Hillfort on 429 m high Arbory Hill is about 1.5 km northeast of Abington in South Lanarkshire in Scotland .
The remains of the well-preserved, double-walled hill fort from the Iron Age crown the hill. The lonely position of the fort led to the excellent preservation of the ramparts and the preservation of parts of a field system, which is rare for Lanarkshire.
The early enclosures consisted of two walls with outer trenches. Most of the circle, the walls are concentric and closely spaced. To the east, their lines diverge, creating a space that could have been used as a cattle pen . An unusual feature of the early phase is the number of five entrances, which would have weakened a fortress defense.
In the second phase, the enclosed area was reduced by approximately 50% in accordance with the practice of many forts in Lanarkshire. Instead of walls and ditches, a walled enclosure was built and the number of entrances was reduced to two. Traces of three moat houses and a platform can be found within the enclosure. Between the wall and the inner rampart of the early stage are several other vague platforms on which wooden houses may have been.
Field system
About 75 m to the east there is a linear embankment over the neck of the saddle. Such earthworks have been associated with frontier forts and were believed to form an outer line of defense. Recent work suggests that these are contemporary field systems that acted as field borders and kept animals away. Aerial photographs, taken with light snow dust, revealed traces of beds 1.20 m wide. Because the remains are so small, they can hardly be seen from the ground. Their discovery, however, was one of the most significant in recent Iron Age settlement studies, and other examples have been found on a large scale, but so far Arbory is the only example in Lanarkshire.
The village of Abington, the Clyde , the A74 (M) motorway and the railway line are wedged into the narrow valley.
literature
- Anna Ritchie, Graham Ritchie : Scotland. Archeology and Early History (= Ancient peoples and places . 99). Thames and Hudson Ltd., London 1981, ISBN 0-50002-100-7
Web links
- Entry on Arbory Hill in Canmore, Historic Environment Scotland database
- Description Engl. and pictures
Coordinates: 55 ° 30 ′ N , 3 ° 40 ′ W