<< Text Pages >> Auld Hill Fort (Portencross) - Hillfort in Scotland in North Ayrshire
Submitted by AstroGeologist on Tuesday, 21 May 2019 Page Views: 1227
Iron Age and Later PrehistorySite Name: Auld Hill Fort (Portencross) Alternative Name: Portencross Dun, Portencross HillfortCountry: Scotland
NOTE: This site is 7.316 km away from the location you searched for.
County: North Ayrshire Type: Hillfort
Nearest Town: West Kilbride Nearest Village: Seamill
Map Ref: NS17834910
Latitude: 55.701033N Longitude: 4.900492W
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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Hillfort in North Ayrshire
Auld Hill Fort is a double period Hillfort situated on the tail of a Volcanic Ridge called Auld Hill on the Ayrshire coast.
Overlooking the small hamlet of Portencross, this HillFort provides excellent 360° views of the surrounding landscape, with great views of Goat Fell on Arran (20km away to the West - across the Firth of Clyde)
The elongated crest of the Hill is aligned WNW~ESE, the Dun occupied the highest point of Auld Hill, 72m above sea level, while an earlier, larger Fort occupied the lower NW portion at 70m above sea level.
1st Occupation ; When the Vitrified Fort was first documented by "V.G Childe" and "A. Graham" in 1943, the Rampart Remains appeared as a low grass covered pile of stones enclosing a sub-rectangular space about 110m x 28m. Organic matter from a pit in the interior dates occupation to around the 7th or 8th century bc. By 1982 when OS made a visit the Vitrification could only be seen in one place on the SW perimeter, but further excavations by "G.J. Ewart" in 1987 revealed more Vitrified stone in several other places.
2nd Occupation ; Separated from the Fort by two rock-cut ditches (Thought to be medieval in date) the Dun was rectangular in shape with 1.5m thick walls, the interior measured about 13m x 8m. Over thirty Patinated Flint Blades & Flakes were found nearby in 1974 by "M. Macneill"
Remains of a 13th century Motte & Bailey Castle now sit over the ruins of the Fort and Dun.
For more information : Canmore ID 40587
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