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Hownam Law

Enclosure (Prehistoric), Fort (Prehistoric), Hut Circle(S) (Prehistoric)

Site Name Hownam Law

Classification Enclosure (Prehistoric), Fort (Prehistoric), Hut Circle(S) (Prehistoric)

Canmore ID 58271

Site Number NT72SE 10

NGR NT 79640 22000

Datum OSGB36 - NGR

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/58271

Ordnance Survey licence number AC0000807262. All rights reserved.
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Administrative Areas

  • Council Scottish Borders, The
  • Parish Hownam
  • Former Region Borders
  • Former District Roxburgh
  • Former County Roxburghshire

Archaeology Notes

NT72SE 10 79640 22000.

(NT 7964 2200 - Centre) Hownam Law Fort (NR).

OS 6"map, Roxburghshire, (1924).

Fort and Enclosure, Hownam Law.

Hownam Law, one of the most conspicuous outliers of the Cheviot Hills, stands 2 miles NE of Hownam between the Kale and Bowmont Waters. Its summit, which rises to a height of 1472ft above sea-level, consists of a ridge which descends to NE and SW at comparatively gentle gradients; but to S and SE the ground drops steeply away from the summit-ridge, with rocky scarps, while to NW it falls 50ft to a fairly level area beyond which there is a further sharp descent. The steep slopes continue for some 500ft downhill. A distant view is given in RCAHMS 1956, Fig.17. Occupying both the actual summit-ridge and the lower-lying ground to the NW. there are the remains of a large fort (RCAHMS 1956, fig.185). It is one of the highest forts in Scotland, (D Christison 1898), though slightly lower than RCAHMS 1956, No.650, the highest in Roxburghshire. Its maximum dimensions are 1600ft from NE to SW by 800ft from NW to SE, and its area is rather less than 22 acres. The defences are extremely simple, consisting of a single drystone wall, not less than 10ft thick but now reduced to its foundations, which has been skilfully adapted to the natural features of the site. On the SE side, where the line of the outer footings is still tolerably clear, the wall is alined along the shoulder of the summit-ridge, descending some 60ft to the SW end, where the only certainly identifiable entrance is situated. This entrance, which is approached from the WSW by a road terraced out along the lower slopes of the ridge, is a simple one, the wall at either side ending without either an outward or an inward turn. From this entrance the wall follows the outer edge of the level area, swinging to N and NE and maintaining more or less the same elevation; for some 120 yds the outer footings can be seen an many points, but from the point where the wall turns NE the original masonry has been obliterated by a modern stone dyke built on the ancient foundations. At the NE apex of the fort the wall again appears and can be followed SE, SW, and S round the head of a small hollow which here runs up the side of the hill. Within the bulge so formed lies an enclosure which will be described shortly. South of the re-entrant made necessary by the hollow the wall curves gently SE to complete the circuit, three-quarters of a mile in length, on the shoulder of the summit-ridge. In 1929 the late J Hewat Craw noted an entrance just S of the enclosure, and what may have been traces of another near the middle of the SE side (J H CRaw 1932); the former of these cannot now be seen and the latter appears to be a breach, not an original entrance.

Of the internal features of the fort, the most considerable is the enclosure that has just been mentioned. This is sub-oval in shape, measuring 250ft from NW to SE by 230ft from NE to SW. On the N and W it is divided from the rest of the interior of the fort by a much-spread bank of upcast material, 10ft to 15ft thick at the base and 2ft 6in high, taken from a ditch 8ft wide by 1ft 6in deep. No trace of stone facing like that of the fort-wall appears anywhere in this bank. In the rest of its circumference the enclosure is conter- minous with the bulge in the fort-wall already described, its bank having apparently been built on top of the latter after it had fallen into ruin. Consequently, although fort and enclosure communicate by an opening 10ft wide in the NW sector of the latter, the two must belong to widely different periods. The situation of the enclosure, which is at the lowest and most accessible part of the site, likewise suggests that it was not a defensive structure.

Other features noted in the interior were:

(i) A number of hollows of horse-shoe shape, excavated in the sloping ground immediately within the fort wall, and measuring from 15ft to 27ft in diameter. They are most numerous along the N and S sides of the fort, and were probably quarries used at the time of the construction of the wall.

(ii) A large number of hut-sites, measuring from 20ft to 30ft in diameter, which appear all over the interior of the fort except on the steepest parts of the ridge. They are all of one type, but appear in three different forms, according to the slope of the ground on which they lie. Where situated on level ground, they appear as simple saucer-like circular depressions a few inches in depth, and where situated on a gentle slope, a level floor has been achieved simply by digging away the upper side of the circle; but where the huts have been sited on steeper slopes, the upper half of the floor has been levelled by digging into the slope, and the other half produced by making a terrace of the material thus acquired. A total of 155 of these huts was planned, but it is possible that the heather and coarse vegatation which cover much of the interior of the fort have hidden or obliterated others.

(iii) Two shallow artificial ponds near the centre of the more level ground N. of the ridge. They are approximately circular, the larger one 50ft and the smaller 42ft in diameter. Both are choked with rushes; at the date of visit, the larger held water and the smaller was boggy. The area immediately surrounding the ponds and SW of them is clear of huts. A "large iron gate" is said to have been taken from the fort in the latter part of the 18th century. (Statistical Account [OSA] 1791-9).

RCAHMS 1956, visited 25 May 1949.

'The term 'oppidum' has been used to distinguish certain sites, of exceptional size and on particularly commanding hilltops, comparable with the larger English series and suggestive, in terms of social organisation, of tribal centres. Of these, the one on Hownam Law (RCAHMS 1956, No.299)...., has a single line of defence consisting of a broad double-faced wall......'

RCAHMS 1956 (Introduction).

Generally as described and planned by the Commission although many of the hut sites were either too amorphous for survey or could not be definitely identified. Many of the hollows on the north and south side are probably hut sites.

Resurveyed at 1/2500.

Visited by OS (RD) 8 July 1968.

Visible on Ordnance Survey large scale vertical air photographs (OS 68/027/035-6).

(Undated) information in NMRS.

Hownam Law is a conspicuous outcrop on the watershed between the Kale Water to the W and the Bowmont Water to the E. The summit rises to a height of 449m above sea level and stands some 100m above neighbouring ground.

The site is set upon a summit ridge measuring about 440m from NE to SW by up to 80m. At the NE and SW ends of the ridge there are relatively short, moderate to moderately steep slopes and on the SE to S there is a long moderately steep to steep descent to the head of the Crooked Burn by Braemoor Knowe. On the NW the ground falls away, by a 15m high, moderately steep scarp, to a gently sloping area measuring up to 475m from NE to SW by 170m to the base of the summit ridge, below which there is a long moderately steep to steep drop down to the Weary Stream.

The rampart

Both the upper, summit, ridge and the lower level on the NW are enclosed by a 3m wide drystone wall, now reduced to its foundations, set on the crest of moderately steep to steep scarps dropping away on all sides. Immediately within the circuit of the rampart, there are a number of shallow quarry hollows, which are particularly evident on the NW and SE sides. Those on the NW range in size from 5m to about 8m across whilst on the SE there is an almost continuous band of quarrying. In the absence of any external ditch, and in keeping with other enclosure walls crowning the crests of scarps, these internal hollows appear to have been the principal source of building material.

Whilst the outline of the wall is well-defined on the SE side of the summit ridge it is less clear for the remainder of the circuit. The E end of the lower level is utilised by a later subrectangular enclosure and over the N part of the circuit a modern dyke is set on the inner edge of the denuded rampart

Over the whole extent of the wall, there are two entrances visible. At the SW end of the fort, below the summit ridge there is a simple break without any elaboration of the terminals. It is approached from the WSW by a road terraced out along the lower slopes of the ridge. The second, about 40m from the NE end of the summit ridge is, again, a simple break in the enclosing wall. It is possibly a later breach as there is no indication of a sustained approach across the moderately steep scarp. A third possible entrance, observed by Craw (Craw 1929), on the S side of the later enclosure was not observed during the present survey, and may represent no more than a poorly preserved stretch of walling such as at the base of the summit ridge.

Internal features

House-stances

Aside from the aforementioned quarry-hollows associated with the construction of the enclosing wall, there are numerous shallow house-platforms scattered over the interior with a particular concentration towards the NE and a marked absence in an area to the N of the summit ridge and W of two ponds.

The present survey recorded about 110 house-stances although when surveyed by the RCAHMS in 1949, a total of 155 house-stances were planned and Craw (1929) planned 'no fewer than 187'. At the time of the RCAHMS survey it was felt that the heather and coarse vegetation over much of the interior could have hidden or obliterated other structures. As observed by the RCAHMS the topography influences the appearance of the houses. Those sited on the steeper scarps are partially levelled in and partially terraced out from the slope. As the gradient lessens, the houses are simply levelled into the slope whilst those on the gentlest slopes and level ground appear as very shallow, simple saucer-like depressions. Unusually the house-stances are predominantly NNW-facing; a factor strongly influenced by the local topography. Only about twelve house-stances, situated on the relatively narrow, SE-facing side of the summit ridge face southwards.

Ponds

On the N, below the summit ridge, there are two shallow, probably artificial, ponds situated towards the centre of a level area. Both are roughly circular.

The N pond measures 15m in diameter while the S pond is slightly smaller, measuring about 13m in diameter. There is no evidence for house-stances in the immediate surroundings.

Cairn

The summit of Hownam Law is crowned by a grass-covered cairn measuring about 11m from N to S by 9m and 0.6m high.

The enclosure

Occupying the E end of a bulge of the lower level of Hownam Law, there is a sub-oval enclosure measuring about 80m from N to S by 77m internally. On the NE and SE, the enclosure bank appears to overlie the earlier wall while on the NW and SW the enclosure is defined by a bank, spread up to 4m in width and standing up to 0.8m in height. The bank is built from material gained from an external, discontinuous ditch spread up to 2.5m in width and about 0.5m deep. The only entrance lies on the NW, to the E of which there is short stretch of a second bank. Internally, there are two low level mounds towards the W side of the enclosure. otherwise the interior is featureless.

REFERENCES: Craw J H 1932, Hounam Law fort, Hist Berwickshire Natur Club, 1929-31, 218-20

RCAHMS 1956 vol.2, 157-8

Information from RJ Mercer. 1986.

Activities

Note (11 September 2015 - 19 October 2016)

The fort crowning Hownam Law, which is a prominent summit on the northern flank of the Cheviots, is one of the larger around the Tweed basin, enclosing about 8.8ha and second only in size to Eildon Hill North. The single rampart, which has stone faces and measures about 3m in thickness, follows natural shoulders from which the ground drops away steeply on all sides, extending along the SSE flank of the summit ridge before dropping down to take in a lower terrace on the NNW flank. Topographically defined in this way, the plan is irregular and the interior measures a maximum of 490m from NE to SW by 238m transversely. A single entrance is visible at the SW end, piercing the rampart at the foot of the summit ridge, and the plan drawn up by RCAHMS investigators places a second, unremarked, at the NE apex; they failed to locate an entrance noted in 1929 by James Hewat Craw in a re-entrant created by a natural hollow on the E flank of the fort and dismissed a second gap in the SSE side as a relatively recent breach. Within the interior there are numerous traces of timber round-houses, ranging from shallow circular depressions to well-defined platforms, but counts vary; a plan by Roger Mercer prepared in 1985 (RCAHMS DC48788) shows about 110, whereas the RCAHMS investigators identified 155 and James Hewat Craw 187 (1931, 219), which perhaps accounts for why the RCAHMS investigators speculated that many more might be hidden beneath the heather and coarse grass, a contention that is broadly supported by oblique aerial photographs taken under a range of conditions since. The interior is also unusual for the two artificial ponds measuring 15m and 13m in diameter respectively, which a have been dug on the lower terrace close to the centre. The only other feature of note is a a later enclosure which overlies the rampart on the NE, taking in an oval area measuring 75m from NW to SE by 70m transversely; the perimeter comprises a bank 3m to 4.5m in thickness by 0.7m in height with an external ditch up to 2.4m in breadth and is broken by an entrance in its N side.

Information from An Atlas of Hillforts of Great Britain and Ireland – 19 October 2016. Atlas of Hillforts SC3426

Sbc Note

Visibility: This is an upstanding earthwork or monument.

Information from Scottish Borders Council

References

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