More information : (NT 92040709) Camp (OE) (1)
Gallow Law. Hill Fort of approx 3 acres. (2)
Type B1. (Forts on hilltops with artificial defences following the natural line of the hill.) (3)
High up on the left bank of the Hawsden burn where it issues from a deep cleft in the hills, and cresting the western brow of Gallow Law are the ramparts of a strongly fortified camp. (4)
Remains of an earthwork situated at approx 870 feet above sea-level, upon the highest part of an oval-shaped hill, orientated east-west. The hill is isolated from higher ground to the north by a wide saddle, and is bounded on the north and south sides by very steep, and generally craggy, slopes. At the west end, below the ramparts on the summit and above the saddle, is a level piece of ground while at the east end the hill slopes are more gentle. The earthwork has consisted of a rampart of earth and stones encircling the top of the hill, with the addition of a stronger inner rampart around the south-west side. There are entrances at the west and east ends. At the east end, the slopes below the entrance and on either side of it, have been deeply scarped to produce a nearly vertical face, with a maximum height of 1.5 m. The scarping fades out to north and south, where the slopes become very steep. At the west end, the inner rampart stops at an outcrop of living rock, and the outer rampart is carried in and around the entrance to form an internal traverse. The only vulnerable side to the little plateau at this end, the north side, is bounded by a strong rampart running westwards from the steep slopes on the north side of the hilltop to the steep slopes at the west end of the hill. There is an entrance exactly midway in the rampart. Additional defence is provided by scarping of the hill slope below, on the north side. Traces of further scarping are seen all along the north side of the hill near the foot of the slopes. There are traces of what may be an inner rampart across the east end, either side of the entrance. The low broad mounds observed, may, however, be outcrops of living rock below the turf. The only internal remains of occupation are confined to a single rectangular hut foundation near the centre of the site. It is orientated north-south, and measures 6.0m by 4.0m. An outcrop of living rock forms the south end. On the other sides is a bank of earth and stones 1.5m wide, with a maximum height of 0.3m. No entrance is visible. The nearest present fresh water supply is a burn to the west. There are traces of what may be 2 small but circles either side of the east entrance, one to the north inside the entrance and one to the south outside it. They have diameters of approx 3.0m, and may have served as guard posts. The principle rampart appears never to have been very strong, probably because of the natural defence provided by the steep slopes. It is very fragmentary and slight, and along most of the south side is represented by a line of scree along the top of the slopes. The scarping is likewise very slight and weathered-down and is generally represented by a line of hummocks with some slight scooping behind. (5)
Listed as pre-Roman IA univallate (forts, settlements, and enclosures listed from early references). (6)
The remains of an Iron Age fort basically as described by authority 5, but consisting of two much robbed stone walls, now evident as turf covered stony slopes, with occasional facing stones visible. The internal wall has enclosed an area about 140.0m E/W by 50.0m N/S and the outer wall 170.0m E/W by 60.0m N/S. Along the N and S sides the walls have probably merged together. The entrance in the E is clear but in the W the walls are so mutilated and scattered that the exact form of the entrance (if indeed there was one here) is not clear. Outside the fort on the lower slopes to the SW,S and SE are remains of banks and an oval enclosure (25.0m NE/SW x 15.0m) later than the fort but possibly contemporary with the sub-rectangular building in its centre and with the huts at the base of its N slopes. (See NT 90 NW 31).
Enlargement at 1:2500. Surveyed at 1:10 000. (7)
|