east-lothian-1924/05-198

Transcription

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

elevation of 600 feet above sea-level, on the
summit of a hill on Spott Farm. To the west
the hill slopes away suddenly, but round the
other sides the ground is undulating, and the
whole area has long been under regular cul-
tivation. The fort, which is circular with an
internal diameter of some 352 feet, is defended
by two concentric earthen ramparts 80 feet
apart from crest to crest. Both the ramparts
have been considerably widened by agricultural
operations, and, towards the south-east, the
inner rampart is now some 60 feet broad, rising
4 1/2 feet on the inside and 7 1/2 feet on the outside,
while the outer rampart is 45 feet broad, 3 feet
high on the inside and 4 1/2 feet high on the
outside. Between the ramparts there has been
an excavated ditch more than 30 feet broad, the
bottom of which is now only 1 foot below the
natural level of the ground. On the north-
western arc, where there is a steep slope, the
top of the inner rampart is 20 feet higher than
the outer, which has been reduced to a mere
scarp by the plough. There are three broad
entrances, some 24 feet wide, through the
inner rampart ; the first, to the east-south-east,
shows a gap in the outer rampart, while the in-
termediate ditch at this part has not been ex-
cavated and so provides a roadway ; the
second, to the west, shows evidence of having
a corresponding gap in the outer rampart ; but
there is no opening in the outer defence oppo-
site the gap on the north-west of the inner line.

xi. N.E. 25 June 1913.

HUT CIRCLES AND CAIRNS.

168. Hut Circle and Cairns, Dunbar Com-
mon.-On the moor a short distance south
of the summit of Lothian Edge, which
forms the northern boundary of the Dunbar
Common, and about half a mile west of the
cart track to Friardykes, at an elevation
of between 1000 and 1100 feet above sea-
level, is a group of three cairns and a
hut circle. The hut circle, which is slightly
hollow in the centre, is very indistinct but
measures 15 feet in diameter internally. About
100 yards to the south-west are the remains
of what looks like a pillaged cairn, 12 feet wide.
Stones from it have been used to form an
erection, now broken down, on the summit.
Some 40 yards to south-west of the latter is

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a second cairn 12 feet in diameter and rising
1 1/2 feet in height. Almost on the summit of
the slope, about 200 yards north-east of the
hut circle, is the third cairn, 9 feet in diameter
and rising only 6 inches above the surrounding
level. On the top are many loose stones, which
measure up to 14 inches in length.

xi. S.E. (unnoted) 17 June 1913.

169. Hut Circle and Cairns, Elsie Cleuch
Rig, Caldercleuch.-On a gently sloping
ridge, known as Elsie Cleuch Rig, running down
towards the east from Spartleton, some 50
yards from the top of the steep brae on the
western bank of Bothwell Water and some 350
yards south-west of Caldercleugh, at an ele-
vation of 900 feet above sea-level, is a hut
circle, difficult to detect among the heather but
measuring 15 feet in diameter internally and
9 inches in depth. Some 80 yards to the north-
east is a cairn, 26 feet in diameter and 2 1/2 feet
in height, which has been excavated on the
south-western side. About 20 yards south-
south-east of the hut circle is a stony mound
covered with grass, 12 feet in diameter and
9 inches in height, which is slightly hollow in
the centre. It is impossible to say definitely
whether the last is a cairn or a hut circle
but the former is more probable.

xvi. N.E. (unnoted) 14 June 1913.

170. Cairn, Watch Law, Dunbar Common.-
About 60 yards south-south-west of the hillock
known as Watch Law, and immediately to the
west of the cart track to Friardykes, and 1 3/8
miles to the north by west of the latter place, is
a cairn, 20 feet in diameter and 1 1/2 feet in
height. It stands at an elevation of 1150 feet
above sea-level.

xi. S.E. 17 June 1913.

171. Hut Circle, Birk Cleuch Hill, Calder-
cleuch.-About 600 yards south-east of
Caldercleugh house, on the north-eastern slope
of Birk Cleuch Hill, about 50 yards to the south
of Elsie Cleuch and some 150 yards west of the
Bothwell Water, at an elevation of 900 feet
above sea-level, is a hut circle, of which the
diameter is 21 feet within a wall 4 feet broad
and rising 6 inches above the surrounding level.