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<< Other Photo Pages >> Broxmouth Hill Fort - Hillfort in Scotland in East Lothian

Submitted by Andy B on Wednesday, 29 January 2014  Page Views: 10315

Iron Age and Later PrehistorySite Name: Broxmouth Hill Fort
Country: Scotland County: East Lothian Type: Hillfort
 Nearest Village: Dunbar
Map Ref: NT7011177388
Latitude: 55.988523N  Longitude: 2.480662W
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
Destroyed Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
no data 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.
no data 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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Broxmouth Hill Fort
Broxmouth Hill Fort submitted by dodomad : The Broxmouth site was first identified from aerial photographs Image copyright: RCAHMS (Vote or comment on this photo)
Broxmouth was a hill fort in East Lothian almost totally excavated during the 1970s prior to the construction of a cement works. The site was occupied from the early Iron Age through to its abandonment during the Roman occupation. Remarkably well-preserved roundhouses, elaborate hill fort entrances and an exceptionally rare Iron Age cemetery were discovered at the site.

The near-total excavation of the site marked one of the first major rescue projects in Scotland; it is now entirely gone, and like many projects of its time it remained unpublished until recently.

There is some evidence of human activity dating back to around 3000 BC. The early Iron Age structure was limited to a palisade trench and some fragmentary ditch elements. The major enclosure was built about 500 BC, and rebuilt several times over the next two hundred years. Eventually, the fort had at least four ramparts and ditches and a complex series of entrance gates.

For more information see Canmore ID 58800 which gives details of finds, usage of the site throughout the ages and the three defensive stages: "a palisade enclosing .25ha on the crown of the hill; a univallate defence with a single entrance enclosing .65ha; and a multivallate defence with entrances in the E and SW extending over 2ha."

Note: Excavations of the Broxmouth hillfort destroyed in the 1970s have been published, metal find is earliest use of steel in Britain and Ireland
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Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
NT7077 : Flooded Quarry Near Dunbar Cement Works, East Lothian by Richard West
by Richard West
©2010(licence)
NT7077 : Road and path from White Sands by Richard Webb
by Richard Webb
©2021(licence)
NT7077 : Quarry, Dunbar cement works. by Richard Webb
by Richard Webb
©2005(licence)
NT7077 : Flooded quarry by Richard Webb
by Richard Webb
©2016(licence)
NT6977 : Rough grassland and woodland near Broxburn by Mike Pennington
by Mike Pennington
©2019(licence)

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"Broxmouth Hill Fort" | Login/Create an Account | 4 News and Comments
  
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Re: Broxmouth Hill Fort by Anonymous on Wednesday, 14 September 2016
Dear Sir or Madam,

Regarding House 4 (which I read about Current Archaeology 307 Broxmouth Hillfort) I suggest that the roundhouse was used by a probably male chief and associated elders for religious/ shamanic ritual and perhaps decision-making. Each time the chief died the roundhouse was modified (explains the 25 to 40 year time span). It would have been easy to remember previous deposits and then link new deposits to these because most likely the new chief was the former chief's son, or at least someone within the selected circle able to enter the roundhouse via the special screening doorway. Looked at this way, it is not surprising the new walls had no structural function. They served to enclose successive generations of chiefs within the protection of the ancestors and were in no way redundant.

Based on the article there is no evidence for actual living in this roundhouse, and the laying of a paved floor does not necessarily signal a shift in use. The slice of skull could well have been taken from a murdered chief rather than hint at the taking of human trophies. The gaming pieces could have been just that, or associated with ritual forecasting. Interring items to do with food would seem to be obvious - it would have been the chief's fundamental role to ensure enough to eat through his activities and so animal remnants and querns symbolise this.

Cathy Rozel FARNWORTH
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Evidence of the earliest use of steel in Britain uncovered in East Lothian by Andy B on Thursday, 30 January 2014
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Archaeologists have identified examples of the earliest use of steel in the British Isles from a site in East Lothian. The site, an Iron Age hill fort known as Broxmouth, was excavated in the 1970s, however the discoveries are only now being published.

As part of the re-examination of the findings at Broxmouth, new analysis of some iron artefacts has found that they can be dated to 490-375BC. Made from high-carbon steel which had been deliberately heated and quenched in water, the artefacts are the earliest evidence of sophisticated blacksmithing skills in Britain.

Experts are heralding the discovery as particularly significant for the insight it offers into not only the early development of such advanced manufacturing skills, but what it may tell us about social organisation at this time.

Technical skills at this level would only be achievable by specialist metalworkers who devoted their lives to perfecting and developing their craft – some might say the first example of a Scottish ‘knowledge economy’.

Such specialisation could only have happened with the practical support of the wider community at Broxmouth and beyond. It is a poignant start to the story of steel manufacture in Scotland, one of the great industries of the 20th century.

Broxmouth was occupied from the early Iron Age right through to its abandonment during Roman occupation, nearly 1,000 years later. Remarkably well-preserved roundhouses, elaborate hill fort entrances and an exceptionally rare Iron Age cemetery are among the other exciting discoveries made at the site.

One of the most comprehensive excavations of any Iron Age hill fort in Britain, a generation of Scottish archaeologists learned their trade at Broxmouth. The near-total excavation of the site marked one of the first major rescue projects in Scotland; it is now entirely gone, with a cement works in its place. Like many projects of its time it remained unpublished until now.

In 2008 a new project was set up at the University of Bradford to write up the findings of the excavation. Published this month by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and funded by Historic Scotland and the Arts and Humanities Research Council, An Inherited Place: Broxmouth Hillfort and the South-East Scottish Iron Age by Ian Armit and Jo McKenzie sets out the full results of the Broxmouth project for the first time.

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs said: “Broxmouth has a special place in the history of Scottish archaeology, and of the many interesting discoveries to come out of it, evidence of the earliest use of steel in Britain is particularly exciting. The manufacture of steel is a complex and skilled process. That it was being produced in Scotland as early as 490BC serves to emphasise that this early community was sophisticated and highly skilled, and that those skills were passed down through the generations.”

Dr Gerry McDonnell, an expert in archaeological metals and a specialist involved in the project said: “The process of manufacturing steel requires extensive knowledge, skill and craftsmanship. It is far from straightforward, which is why such an early example of its production tells us so much about the people who once occupied this hill fort. It points to an advanced, organised community where complex skills were refined and passed on.”

An Inherited Place: Broxmouth Hillfort and the South-East Scottish Iron Age by Ian Armit and Jo McKenzie is available from the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland at http://www.socantscot.org for £35 and £30 to members of the Society.

Source: Historic Scotland
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Broxmouth find is earliest use of steel in Britain and Ireland by Andy B on Wednesday, 29 January 2014
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Archaeologists now believe artifacts recovered from the site of the Broxmouth Iron Age hill fort were made from high-carbon steel. This would have been deliberately heated and quenched in water, indicating "sophisticated blacksmithing skills".

Because of their condition, it has not been possible to say definitively if the objects were tools, weapons, or served some other purpose. The steel objects were manufactured in the years 490-375BC.

The new research was carried out on objects recovered in the 1970s and has been published by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland..

More at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-25734877
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Excavations of the Broxmouth hillfort destroyed in the 1970s have been published by Andy B on Wednesday, 29 January 2014
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Archaeologists have published the full analysis of a rescue dig carried out at an East Lothian hill fort in the 1970s. Broxmouth, east of Edinburgh, was excavated shortly before the site was destroyed by a cement works. The community lasted for almost 1,000 years before the area was abandoned when the Romans left.

Professor Ian Armit from the University of Bradford, who led the team investigating the site, said: "What we found has turned round preconceptions of the site.

"We've got a level of detail that would never have been possible before, because of the very large number of high quality radio carbon dates. They have given us a pretty fine grained chronology of the site."

The research was outlined in British Archaeology magazine.

More at BBC News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-23595236

see also
http://www.eastlothiancourier.com/news/dunbar/articles/2013/09/10/470554-broxmouth-hillfort-secrets-to-be-revealed/

http://archaeology.about.com/od/bterms/qt/Broxmouth-uk.htm

http://www.stravaiging.com/history/ancient/site/broxmouth
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