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<< Our Photo Pages >> Ardconnel Hill Fort - Hillfort in Scotland in West Dunbartonshire

Submitted by AstroGeologist on Thursday, 02 May 2019  Page Views: 2870

Iron Age and Later PrehistorySite Name: Ardconnel Hill Fort Alternative Name: Sheep Hill Fort, Auchentorlie HillFort
Country: Scotland County: West Dunbartonshire Type: Hillfort
Nearest Town: Dumbarton  Nearest Village: Milton
Map Ref: NS4348074400
Latitude: 55.937095N  Longitude: 4.507359W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
2 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
3 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
3 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
5

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Ardconnel Hill Fort
Ardconnel Hill Fort submitted by AstroGeologist : Facing N (13.05.19) : The summit of Ardconnel HillFort (Sheep Hill Fort) (Vote or comment on this photo)
Hillfort in West Dunbartonshire

Ardconnel Hill Fort (Sheephill Fort) is a double period Hill Fort situated on top of a steep-sided Volcanic spur, on the lower slopes of the Kilpatrick Hills.

Sitting 160m above sea level, and overlooking the River Clyde to the South, the original fortification on the summit of Sheep Hill was a small oval shaped Dun, with a timber-framed stone wall, measuring about 40m x 40m.
Radiocarbon dates suggest this was probably built in the 9th century BC, and destroyed and vitrified sometime in the 7th century BC.

The builders of the second, larger HillFort re-used this stone and also made use of the natural terraces of the Basalt summit, that fall away steeply on all sides except on the NE, to produce an enclosure containing several smaller enclosures (The central part of the HillFort seems to have been the summit of the hill - the area enclosed by the earlier timber-framed Dun) measuring 80m x 45m. Directly below this on the Southern side was a lower, triangular, enclosure with a gateway visible in its East wall. Excavated in 1893 by the 'Helensburgh Nat Hist Soc', it was then known as Ardconnel Hill Fort.

Archaeologist "Dr. Euan W. MacKie" is the foremost expert on the Neolithic to Iron Age sites located around Auchentorlie. His records of Sheep HillFort and the Greenland Cup & Ring carvings show this area has been inhabited for at least 5,000 years, and suggests the inhabitants of the Dun/Fort quarried the Sandstone Raft that had the Original Cup & Ring Carvings, and 'Re-Placed' them with newer, fresher ones. He studied the HillFort over many decades, and found pottery remains, Jet bracelets and a Blue glass bead during excavations in 1975.

For more detailed information direct from : E.W. Mackie and also see Canmore ID 43388.
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Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
NS4374 : Sheep Hill by Lairich Rig
by Lairich Rig
©2013(licence)
NS4374 : The summit of Sheep Hill by Lairich Rig
by Lairich Rig
©2017(licence)
NS4374 : Quarrying at Sheep Hill by Lairich Rig
by Lairich Rig
©2019(licence)
NS4374 : Auchentorlie Wood, nr Milton, Dunbartonshire by Andrew McEwan
by Andrew McEwan
©2005(licence)
NS4374 : View to Firth of Clyde from Milton Hills by Stephen Sweeney
by Stephen Sweeney
©2007(licence)

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 204m NNW 347° Greenland 1 Rock Art (NS43447460)
 220m N 358° Greenland 2 Rock Art (NS43487462)
 1.3km E 88° Hill of Dun* Hillfort (NS44807439)
 1.5km WNW 299° Dumbuie Dun* Hillfort (NS42187517)
 2.0km WSW 254° Dumbuck Crannog* Crannog (NS41577392)
 2.0km SSW 198° Longhaugh Point Menhir* Standing Stone (Menhir) (NS4279972498)
 2.5km SE 125° Erskine Bridge Crannog Crannog (NS4548272901)
 3.0km SE 134° Erskine Park* Ancient Village or Settlement (NS45607220)
 3.2km WSW 245° Langbank Crannog (East)* Crannog (NS4049773171)
 3.6km W 268° Dumbarton Hilllfort* Hillfort (NS399744)
 3.8km SE 124° Kilpatrick Crannog Crannog (NS4658172121)
 5.4km W 259° Langbank Crannog (West)* Crannog (NS3813073550)
 6.1km SSW 206° Barochan Hillfort Hillfort (NS40566902)
 6.2km ESE 103° Antonine Wall remains below Golden Hill* Stone Fort or Dun (NS49467274)
 6.3km ESE 104° Golden Hill Roman Fort* Stone Fort or Dun (NS49517265)
 6.6km E 95° Auchnacraig 5* Rock Art (NS501736)
 6.7km NNE 19° Shiels of Gartlea* Chambered Cairn (NS459807)
 6.8km E 94° Auchnacraig 1* Rock Art (NS50287365)
 6.8km E 94° Auchnacraig 4* Rock Art (NS50297362)
 6.9km E 92° Auchnacraig Stone Circle* Stone Circle (NS50347391)
 7.0km E 92° The Cochno Stone* Rock Art (NS50457388)
 7.0km E 91° Cochno Crags* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature (NS50487401)
 7.3km SSW 209° Sewn Dun Hillfort (NS39766816)
 7.4km SW 221° St Fillan's Holy Well (Kilallan)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (NS38406899)
 7.4km SW 231° Elphinstone Fort Hillfort (NS37506995)
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"Ardconnel Hill Fort" | Login/Create an Account | 2 News and Comments
  
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Re: Ardconnel Hill Fort by Andy B on Friday, 22 January 2021
(User Info | Send a Message)
Thanks Coldrum, sorry I missed this last year. Some more background from March 2020

Councillors to discuss ancient Sheephill site quarry expansion next week
https://www.clydebankpost.co.uk/news/18852139.councillors-discuss-ancient-sheephill-site-quarry-expansion-next-week/

Bid to extend Sheephill Quarry delayed for further investigation
https://www.dumbartonreporter.co.uk/news/18310586.bid-extend-sheephill-quarry-delayed-investigation/

This has been rumbling on a long time!
The hill that’s going to be eaten away by a quarry
from Sunday Herald, 02 December 2012
https://www.robedwards.com/2012/12/the-hill-thats-going-to-be-eaten-away-by-a-quarry.html
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Ardconnel Hill Fort by coldrum on Sunday, 15 November 2020
(User Info | Send a Message)
This Hillfort is in danger of being quarried away.
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/campaigners-plea-stop-ancient-dumbarton-22950093
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