east-lothian-1924/05-127

Transcription

INNERWICK.] -- INVENTORY OF MONUMENTS IN EAST LOTHIAN. -- [INNERWICK.

by an earthen wall 17 feet broad, 3 feet high on
the outside and 2 feet high on the inside.
Outside the rampart is a ditch 10 feet broad
and 1 foot deep at most. To the west there
is a slight rise in the ground, but elsewhere a
very gentle fall. The main axis is east and
west, and the interior is 125 feet long and 102
feet broad. To the east is an entrance, 18
feet wide, which is much broken down, and
there is a gap, 12 feet broad, at the south-west.
Some 15 feet from the inside of the wall on
the north-eastern arc is a hollow circular
depression, 18 feet in diameter and 9 inches
deep, which was probably a hut circle. It
seems to have been entered from the south-
west.

xii. S.E. 26 June 1913.

89. Hill Fort No. 2, Blackcastle Hill.-About
5/8 of a mile south-west of the previous fort, and
near the western end

[illustration inserted]
FIG. 96.-Fort No. 2 Black-
castle Hill (No. 89).

of the Blackcastle
Hill, at an elevation
of 900 feet above sea-
level, is a fort sub-
oval in plan (fig. 96),
being wider towards
the eastern end. The
main axis is north-
east and south-west,
and internally it
measures 170 feet
in length by 150 feet
across the centre.
The fort is placed on the gentle western slope
of the hill, the ground falling gradually to the
north-west and to the south-west for a short
distance, when it drops sharply for 400 feet.
It is defended by a single rampart of earth, 11
feet broad for the greater part of its circum-
ference, but broadening to a width of 17 feet
on the south-west, near the centre of which is
an entrance 7 feet wide. Inside the rampart is a
ditch 6 feet broad and 9 inches deep, the soil
from which has apparently been used in making
the rampart, which rises at most about 2 feet
above the bottom of the ditch. Outside the
lower or western arc of the fort, at a distance
of 22 feet from the wall, are four short mounds,
15 feet broad, with a trench outside each, 7 feet
broad and 1 1/2 feet deep. These mounds are
1 1/2 feet high on the inside and rise 4 feet above

55

the bottom of the trenches. The eastern is
34 feet in length and the others are 58 feet,
17 feet and 30 feet respectively, while they are
20 feet, 25 feet and 44 feet apart, the northern
end of the third being in line with the southern
side of the entrance to the fort. Within the fort,
to the south of the entrance, is a hut circle,
20 feet in diameter internally and 1 1/2 feet deep,
showing several large stones in the wall, which
is 3 feet broad. The entrance, which is to the
south-east, is 3 feet in width. Running along
the eastern flank, 18 feet distant from the
wall, is an excavated curved hollow some 42
feet in length, 12 feet in breadth, and about
9 inches in depth, which has been entered from
the south. About 20 feet from the inner end
there seems to have been a partition thrown
out from the western side of the hollow, and
there is slight evidence of a hut circle having
existed between the entrance to this hollow and
the hut circle near the entrance.

xii. S.W. 26 June 1913.

CAIRNS.

90. Cairn, "The Witches Cairn," Crystal Rig,
Friardykes.-This cairn of stone, now almost
overgrown with grass, lies near the summit of a
broad flat hill, the Crystal Rig, nearly mid-
way between Friardykes and Caldercleugh at
an elevation of 1045 feet above sea-level. It is
58 feet in diameter and, though much reduced
in height, still rises 4 feet above the surrounding
level. The central part of the cairn is probably
undisturbed, but a small surveyor's cairn has
been erected on the summit.

xvi. N.E. 14 June 1913.

91. Cairns, Crystal Rig.-About 700 yards
south-east of the Witches Cairn (No. 90) and
the same distance north-east of Caldercleugh,
towards the southern end of the Crystal Rig,
a short distance above the 1000 feet contour
line, is a group of cairns, the majority of which
are nearly hidden by a growth of peat and
rough grass on the surface. The largest cairn
is 20 feet in diameter and 1 foot in height.
Some stones have been dug out of it to form a
small modern cairn, which has been erected on
its summit. Some 30 yards to the north-north-
east is a cairn 9 feet in diameter, rising 9 inches
above the surface, the stones of which can only