stirling-1963-vol-1/05_111

Transcription

No. 77 -- FORTS -- No. 77
Much of the interior of the fort has been under the
plough, and the higher parts have been quarried; it
contains no recognisable features.
The fort, which seems to belong to the Early Iron Age,
is probably the structure at "Cunny park" that was
described in 1796 ¹ as being less entire than the motte at
Balcastle (No. 182) and so "scarcely deserves to be
mentioned".

770792 -- NS 77 NE (unnoted) -- 15 April 1954

[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 15. Fort, Coneypark (No. 76)

77. Fort, Dunmore. Dunmore, rising to a height of
1126 ft. above sea-level, is the northernmost hill-top of
the Campsie Fells. It is situated half a mile W. of Fintry
and dominates the narrow mouth of the Upper Endrick
valley opposite the point where the Fintry Hills give
way to the broad plain that stretches thence westwards
to Loch Lomond. The rocky eminence forming the hill-
top rises sharply from the high plateau to the S., across
which the approaches are comparatively level, while to
the N. the ground falls steeply to the river nearly 900 ft.
below.
The summit of the hill consists in the main of an oval
area measuring about 530 ft. from E. to W. by a
maximum of 170 ft. transversely (Fig. 16). It is girt on
all sides by steep, and in places precipitous, rocky slopes.
Most of this area is comparatively level and covered in
coarse pasture and heather, but the surface of the SW.
quarter consists of bare rock. The remains of a stone
wall (A in Fig. 16) are visible round much of the margin
of the summit area. Judging by the amount and position
of the debris, the wall seems to have been about 12 ft. in
thickness at the base, and the lowest courses of the outer
face appear to have been set into the rocky slopes of the
hill, a few feet below the crest-line. No trace of wall
debris can be seen along the SW. margin of the summit
area, where the presumed line of the wall lies on a bare
rocky cliff; but as soon as this gives way to the less severe
W. and WNW. slopes a considerable amount of rubble
remains to mark the course of the wall. After running
NNE. for about 100 ft. the line of debris turns ESE. to
follow the margin of the summit area for about 200 ft.,
when it is interrupted by a gully. This presumably
formed the entrance to the fortified summit from an
outer defensive area described below. The debris can
be followed thereafter for about 60 ft., but beyond this
point it is lost in coarse grass and heather until it
reappears 200 ft. further on. From here it turns S. and
SW. to round the E. extremity of the summit area,
finally running W. for 200 ft. before meeting and dying
out upon the rocky SW. crest-line.
The ESE. arc of the wall is covered by a horn-work
(B) which runs along a subsidiary crest about 11 ft.
below it for 150 ft.before dying out on the ever-
steepening slopes of the rock at a distance of 30ft.
outside the main wall.
The rocky N. flank of the summit area falls only 36 ft.
before reaching a broad ridge, the central spine of which
increases in height as it runs ESE. To NW. the ridge
is bounded by a steep, rocky slope which is a continuation
of the NW. flank of the summit area. As this continues
N. and NE. it becomes increasingly precipitous until,
at the NE. corner of the ridge, it includes sheer rock-faces.
A gully of ever-increasing breadth and depth starts at
about the central point on the line of union between the
summit and the ridge to the N. of it, running ESE. to
merge eventually into the gentler rock-strewn slopes
ESE. of both summit and ridge. Except to the ESE.,
therefore, the ridge is bordered by slopes and cliffs so
precipitous as probably to render a defensive wall
superfluous. From the NE. angle of the ridge, however,
a wall 12 ft. in thickness (C) runs SSW. along the crest
of the ESE. slope; on reaching the lip of the gully, which
here, near the mouth, is 140 ft. in width and 20 ft. in
depth, it descends into the gully, crosses the bottom, and
ascends a little way up the opposite slope towards wall A.
This feature recalls very precisely a wall which forms part
of the fort on Rubers Law in Roxburghshire. ²
A gap about 4 ft. in width, which can be seen among
the debris of wall C at the point where this crosses the
bottom of the gully, presumably represents the entrance
to this part of the fort, and from it the way is clear to
the gap, mentioned above, which occurs in the N. sector
of wall A.
A ruinous circular foundation (E) lies outside the fort
on the slope 50 ft. ESE. of the entrance in the mouth of
the gully. It consists of a ring of tumbled stones which
measures 20 ft. in internal diameter and is presumably a
hut-circle later in date than the fort.
A low rocky terrace, measuring about 400 ft. in length
from E. to W. by about 120 ft. transversely, lies immedi-
ately S. of, and 38 ft. below, the E. half of the summit
area and separates this from the moorland to the S. A
ruinous stone wall (D) about 5 ft. 6 in. in thickness starts
at the W. end of the terrace and runs E. along the middle

1 Stat. Acct., xviii (1796), 292.
2 Inventory of Roxburghshire, No. 145 (wall B, SE. of the
summit).

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