east-lothian-1924/05-046

Transcription

INVENTORY OF MONUMENTS IN EAST LOTHIAN.

Chesters, Spott (No. 167), on the summit of a ridge, has been a
fine fort, having two concentric ramparts with a ditch between,
but it has been almost levelled by the plough. Kidlaw fort (No. 259)
is situated on the slope of a hill. On the most vulnerable parts it
is defended by three lines of ramparts, but elsewhere only two are
considered necessary. There are a number of foundations of hut
circles and of a single rectangular enclosure in the interior. While
the Friars Nose fort (No. 219) might have been classed under
the hill-forts, as it is partly protected by steep slopes under the
ramparts and is of an irregular oval shape, it so much resembles
the Kidlaw fort that it may be compared with it. As in the latter,
the ramparts vary in number according to the vulnerability of the
different parts of the fort, which also contains a number of
hut circles as well as the foundation of a rectangular enclosure.
(c) Oval Forts. - Only one fort comes under this head - the Chesters near
Drem (No. 13). It occupies the greater part of a long oval hillock,
the flanks being protected by terraces and ramparts of stone and earth,
while the ends have a more elaborate arrangement of defences. There
are traces in the interior of the foundations of numerous structures
including hut circles.
4. Small defensive constructions possibly of a domestic character. - The two
defences on the ridge Blackcastle Hill, Innerwick (Nos. 88, 89,) have each a single
rampart and ditch, but the latter shows outworks in the shape of four
short banks or redoubts with a ditch on the exterior placed in a line con-
centric with the inner rampart and 22 feet beyond it and lower down the hill.
In the interior are the remains of several hut circles and of a long narrow
curved structure. The defence on the Kingside Rig, Garvald (No. 47) has
features seen on none of the other forts. Besides containing hut circles the
interior is divided into sections by walls running in from the outer wall
as if to form cattle pens. Surrounded by the remains of a stone wall it shows
a ditch only on the most assailable arc. Soonhope Burn enclosure (No. 255)
is also surrounded by a single wall with a ditch outside for part of its circum-
ference, while a large hut circle occupies one corner. The enclosure near
the White Well, Whittinghame (No. 218), with its two concentric earthen
ramparts, differs entirely from the other defensive enclosures. There are no ditches,
and, while the interior is only 48 feet in diameter, the distance between the
ramparts is 64 feet. The entrance is flanked from the outer mound, where it is
20 feet broad, to the inner rampart, which it does not penetrate, contracting to
a breadth of 7 feet in its course. The large enclosure at Townhead of Duncanlaw
(No. 260) is adjacent to if it does not occupy part of the site of an ancient hamlet.
It is probably of much later date than the defensive enclosures described.
Dunpender, Traprain Law. - This site is better described as a fortified hill
than a hill fort. It was known in olden times as Dunpender and earlier as
Dunpelder (cf. Art. No. 148), which may mean " the fort of stockades." Occupying
one of the strongest and most prominent sites in the Lothians, Dunpender is one
of the largest forts in the east of Scotland, the distance between the outer wall on the
north-east and the same wall on the north-west being more than 300 yards.
The outer defence, which has been a fine drystone structure of 6 to 8 feet

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