east-lothian-1924/05-245

Transcription

YESTER.] -- HISTORICAL MONUMENTS (SCOTLAND) COMMISSION. -- [YESTER.

the contour of the outer stone wall round the
south-western arc to the southern corner at
distances from wall face to crests of 28 and
65 feet respectively. The inner rampart is
14 feet broad at base, 1 1/2 feet high on the inside
and 9 feet above its ditch, which is 16 feet
wide ; the outer is 12 feet broad at base,
4 feet high inside and the same outside above
its ditch, which is 7 feet wide and 1 foot deep
on the counterscarp. The ends of the outer
rampart return towards the scarp of the inner,
and the inner ditch has been excavated for only
half the length between the ramparts, a plat-
form being left in the southern half, in which
three hollows have been dug. That towards
the east is 14 feet square with a projection to
the west 6 feet square making an L-shaped
depression; the second chamber 30 feet to the
west measures 18 feet by 8 feet, the longer axis
following the line of the ditch, and the third
12 feet farther on measures 12 feet by 8 feet
in the same line but opens to the ditch at the
west. The ramparts on the eastern flank are
down on the general slope, respectively 28 and
45 feet out from the wall face ; for the most
part they appear as little more than scarps and
are indefinite on the south-east.

xv. S.E. 15 May 1913.

255. Fort, Soon Hope Burn, Harelaw.-
This fort is situated behind the shoulder of
Harelaw Hill and at the top of a step brae
running down to the Soon Hope Burn, a small
feeder of the Harelaw Burn. It stands at an
elevation of 900 feet above sea-level some 600
yards north-north-east of and 350 feet lower
than the fort on the top of the hill, Harelaw
Fort (No. 254). It is irregular in shape,
the longest axis running north-west and south-
east, and it measures internally 104 feet in
length and 92 feet in breadth. It is surrounded
by a wall, which has been built of stone,
but which is now much depleted of this
material. It measures 12 feet in width at the
base and rises to a height of 4 feet at most
above the interior. A well defined entrance
11 feet wide is seen on the north-eastern flank,
with a passage still traceable outwards, curving
slightly to the north, for a distance of 30 feet
between parallel walls. From the southern
side of this entrance a shallow ditch 10 feet
wide and a low mound on the counterscarp

150

9 feet broad sweep round by the south and
west, the latter terminating about the southern
extremity and the former being carried round
the western arc, from which side the ground
slopes gently upwards and the fort is most
accessible. The ditch falls to a depth of 3 feet
on the scarp and 1 1/2 feet on the counterscarp.
In the south-western corner of the interior are
the stone foundations of an oval enclosure
overgrown with grass, with traces of an
opening to the north-east. It measures inter-
nally 28 feet by 24 feet, while the wall is
distributed over a width of 9 feet. A heap
of recently collected stones has been deposited
in it.

xv. S.E. 14 May 1913.

[illustration inserted]
FIG. 186.-" The Castles," Long Newton (No. 256).

256. Hill Fort, " The Castles," Long
Newton.-This fort is situated about one mile
east-south-east of Long Newton, at an elevation
of 800 feet above sea-level, at the eastern end
of the hill known as Whinny Knowe, on a
promontory formed by a curve of the Dumb-
adam Burn, whose steep bank at the north-
eastern end of the fort has a height of 76 feet,
providing a strong natural defence for this
part. On plan (fig. 186) the fort is sub-oval,
and its main axis lies north-east and south-
west. Internally it measures some 390 feet in
length by 150 feet in breadth. The inmost
defence along the south-eastern flank, north-
eastern end and about half-way along the
north-western flank has been a rampart, which
has almost entirely been removed, but on the
northern arc a portion of it remains, 10 feet

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Douglas Montgomery

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