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NOTE BERWICKSHIRN O S 1 23 E FORTS. I. NOTES ON BERWICKSHIRE FORTS, WITH A DESCRIPTION OF THOSE RECENTLY DISCOVERED. By J. HEWAT CRAW, F.S.A.ScoT. Since the Eoyal Commission issued its Report on the Ancient Monument e Countth n i f sBerwicko y , several additional forts have been discovere n thadi t area. Although mos f theso t e have suffered severely at the hands of the agriculturist, it is desirable that a descrip- tion of -their features and position should be put on record. Some additional note n earlo s y fortification regardee e countb th y n si yma d as supplementar e excellenth o t y t wor kCommissione donth y eb . NUMBER.—Dr Christison mentions fifty-eight Berwickshire forts in s Earlyhi Fortifications n Scotland,i with e Complanth f tenn o -sI . mission's Inventory ninety-three are reported, of which seventy-eight e figured ar n recore numbeo Th f w whico d. no r h surface evidence stil l e hundreexiston s d fivei sn an additiodi , o twenty-twt n o sites where forts are staged to have formerly been visible. To these should be added thirteen place-names which see o indicatmt e previouth e s existenc a fort f o e. This bring e totath s l numbee f on forto r o t s hundred and forty. DISTRIBUTION.—The majority of the forts in the county are to be foun eminencen o d s overlookin historio countryw tw lo e ce Th gth . passes—Lauderdal Pease th d e eBurnan l—are flanke chaia y fortsdf b n o ; another chain extends along Bunkle Edge, overlookin e Merseth ge Th . coast line, especially where the uplands approach the sea, is thickly dotted, as at Lamberton Moor, Cockburnspath, and St Abb's Head, where the Coldingham Loch group is particularly noticeable. The remoter parts of Lammermoor are sparsely dotted with forts, and the same may be said of the richer portions of the Merse, where, however, many forty havma es been destroye y cultivationb d n I . several instances fortse th occu f o n pairsi r p to , situatee th n o d opposite banks of a stream. SITUATION. — Forts may be classified according to the nature of their sites:— groue 1Th f fort potheo d san r remain Pease th t e a s a specia Bur s nha l personal interest for Scottish archasologists. Abou hundrea t fiftd dan sheeye yearth o p grazinsag g among these forts wer ecalled la tende a d y Christisondb afterwardo wh , s became Humanity Professot a r Edinburgh University, and who all his life maintained an interest in these early remains. He grandfathee th s wa r DaviD f ro d Christison authoe th , Earlyf ro Fortifications Scotland.n i t I is possible tha e interes famile th t th f sucn o yti h matter havy esma originate thin i d s striking collection of early remains. 232: PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F O S , APRI , 192111 L . (1) Cliff, Escarpment r Crescentico Forts e sucar s hav a h e their base resting on a slope sufficiently steep to require little or no artificial protection. The defences consist of one or more curved ramparts springing from the edge of the cliff. (2) Promontory Forts e thosar e having straigh r curveo t d defences stretched across the base of a promontory. (3) Contour Forts, circular, oval r (moro , e rarely) rectilinean i r form, are completely surrounded by ramparts. They may be subdivided:— (a) Summit Forts, from whic e grounth h l d al fall n i s directions. (b) Hillside Forts, placed on the side of a slope, almost invariably where the slope becomes steeper. (c) Marsh Forts, depending more or less -on marshy ground for their defence. (1) Cliff Forts.—There are nine of these in the county. Barn's Heugh, Coldingham (No. 80 in the Inventory), is stated by Dr Christison to be mosthe t notable examplScottisthe on e h' coast ChesterAt ^ Hill, Ayton (No. 10), a rampart of slight "dimensions running along the edge of the cliff may be of later date. At Ninewells, Chirnside (40), the a edgstee f o ep ban s beeha k n preferre e summi th a knol o f t do tl overlooking the fort. An entrance is traceable in five of these forts, t onl bu t n oneyMilni a , e Graden, Coldstream (104)t i place s i , d close to the edge of the cliff. (2) Promontory Forts.—In the nine Berwickshire examples an entrance remain e middlramparte th th n f i sf these o o d s i i no an ,t efour i tw n i : in the other two it is close to the edge of the steep slope. Blackcastle Rings, Greenlaw (171), is the best example of this type. (3) Contour Forts: (a) Summit Forts.—This class contains both .the largest numbe forty-eighr— e d finesmanth an f — to y examplef o s Berwickshire forts. Amon e highesth g t summits thus crownee ar d Tollis Hill, Lauder (1200 feet); Dabshood, Lauder (1256 feet); Longcroft, Lauder (1150 feet); Boon Hill, Legerwood (1070 feet); Cockburn Law, Duns (1066 feet); Black Hill, Earlston (1031"feet); Burncastle, Lauder (1020 feet) d Addinstonan ; , Lauder (1000 feet). (b) Hillside Forts.—These number thirty-seven n manI . y casee th s summit has been discarded as a' site in order to have the protection osteepea f e fort th sidre .f slopon o e Strikinn eo g instance f thio s s are found at Belchester, Eccles (141); and Habchester, Mordington (270). An outstanding example of the opposite principle is seen at Birkenside Hill, Legerwood (244), where the edge of a steep bank a short distance NOTE BERWICKSHIRN O S 3 23 E FORTS. wese s beeth ha to nt discarde favoun e highesdi th f o r t ground, where the slopes offer but slight natural protection. Twelve forts in this class occupy sites wher e grounth e d falls more steepl thren yo e sides beyon e rampartsth d , thus approaching promontory type n nini ; e cases the fall is steeper on two sides; in fourteen cases it is steeper o case e sloptw th s n i e sidee belod o on nan e for; wth s similai t o t r tha onle t abovTh y rectilinea . eit r for Berwickshiren i t t Marygola , d Hill Plantation, Bunkle (20) s placei a ,hillside n a o positiod n i , f o n small natural strength. (c) Marsh Forts.—There are only two of these in the county: the recently-discovered fort at West Morriston Bog, Earlston (fig. 4), and at Leetside, Whitsome (294) r MunrD . o (Ancient Scottish Lake Dwellings, p. 245), 011 the authority of the Neiv Statistical Account, vol. ii. p. 171, s classifieha e lattea lakth ds a er dwelling e remainth t bu ,s clearly sho e earthworkwth t a fortFans A f o s. , Earlston (132) e sits th i ,e additionally protected by a marsh to the north; and at Eaecleugh, Westruther (fig. 10) (recently discovered), the boggy nature of the ground to the south and east has somewhat strengthened an otherwise weak position. SIZE.—The average e hundrelengton d f threo han d e measurable forts, taken from crese inne th o crest tf ro t rampart feet5 28 . s i , Fifteen forts measure under 150 feet in diameter, forty-three are from 150 to 300 feet, thirty-four from 300 to 450 feet, eight from 450 to 600 0 feetfeetd thre75 an ., o ee t smalles Eigh th fro0 f 60 mo t t class are in the parishes of Cockburnspath and Coldingham. Earth forts average 332 feet; stone forts, 252 feet; cliff forts average 369 feet; promontory forts feet0 27 ,. MATERIAL.—Dr Christison state e sLowland th tha n i t s stone forts largely predominate; this ,e cas howeverth n Berwickshirei e t no s i , . n eighty-ninI e fort e constructioth s s sufficientlni y preserve shoo dt w that fifty-five are pure earthworks, and twenty are of stone, with no trac f excavateo e d trenches n fourteeI . n examples eart d stonan h e are mixed, the former predominating in four, the latter in ten. In Lauderdale and the west of the county there are thirty-three forts, seventeen being of earth and seven of stone. Stone has been largely employe e Coldinghath n i d m Loc he fourtee th group f O n. fortn i s e smallesth t class (unde feet0 15 f reart) o foud fou e f stonehan o ar r r ; of eleven in the two largest classes (over 450 feet) ten are of earth and one of stone,—the latter, however, on Duns Law (No. 119) is the largest e promontore countyth th l for n Al i t . d marsyan h fort e earthar s - works, otherwis e proportioeth f earthworkno stono st e forts doet no s differ in the various types. Where a fort is defended by a pure earth- 234. PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F O S , APRI , 1921L11 . work and by a stone rampart, the former is -placed to the outside, the fort thus having a trench as its first line of defence. ' It is possible that these earthen ramparts are a later addition to earlier stone forts, markin ga perio d when improved tools facilitate e excavatioth d f o n a trench.