MHG3401 - Possible Fort, Corff House
Summary
No summary available.
Type and Period (2)
- FORT (Early Iron Age to Pictish - 550 BC to 900 AD)
- (Alternate Type) MOTTE (Medieval - 1058 AD? to 1559 AD?)
Protected Status
Full Description
Fort (NR)
OS 6"map, Inverness-shire, 2nd ed., (1906)
A double ditch enclosing an area measuring 188' N-S x 240' E-W. The outer ditch is 18' across, the inner, 32'. They are separated by ridges 5' wide and 6' high from the bottom of the ditch.
There is now no trace of any building. It is simply an earthen mound surrounded by two trenches. The drive to Beaufort through the wood has cut through the trenches on the N side. The height of the fort on the S side is about 25'.
T Wallace 1886 and 1921
The situation and structure of this fort are not incompatible with its identification as an early medieval monument (c/f NS 75 SW 10), but this does not rule out the possibility that it might be of Early Christian or prehistoric date.
Information from RCAHMS to OS; visited 1957
All that survives of this probably Iron Age fort is the N arc comprising c. 30.0m of the inner ditch, c. 6.0m wide and 1.2m deep, c. 20.0m of the outer ditch, c. 5.5m wide and 0.8m deep, and the medial rampart, c. 5.5m wide and 1.1m high. There is no trace of a rampart on the outer lip of the outer ditch as illustrated by Wallace, but there is an inner rampart c. 4.0m wide and 0.4m high, to the inner ditch. There is no trace of the defences continuing around the E slopes as illustrated by Wallace, though it is possible that later tracks have destroyed them. It seems likely, judging from the 1969 6" depiction and the present state of the site, that the fort has consisted of two semicircular ditches and ramparts in the N, W, and S, cutting off a near-level area defended by a natural escarpment in the E, but it is now too denuded to be certain. Visited by OS (A A) 13 January 1971.
Accepted as motte.
P A Yeoman 1988.
This site is included in the Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland online database. See link below for site entry. <1>
Meryl Marshall of NOSAS undertook a plan and photographs of the site in 2015. <2>
Sources/Archives (7)
- --- SHG1131 Text/Publication/Article: Yeoman, P A. 1988. 'Mottes in Northeast Scotland', Scot Archaeol Rev Vol. 5 1988, p.125-33. Scot Archaeol Rev. 125-33. 131, no. 94.
- --- SHG1192 Text/Publication/Article: Wallace, T. 1886. Notes on ancient remains in the Beauly Valley, Inverness-shire. Proc Soc Antiq Scot Volume 20. 340-55. 341.
- --- SHG195 Text/Publication/Article: Wallace, T. 1921. 'Archaeological notes', Trans Inverness Sci Soc Fld Club, Vol. 8 1912-18, p.87-136. 115-17; plan 116.
- --- SHG2673 Text/Report: RCAHMS. 1979. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. The archaeological sites and monuments of North-east Inverness, Inverness District, Highland Region. . 16, No. 92.
- --- SHG29179 Text/Correspondence: Marshall M. 2015. Photographs and plan of Possible Fort, Corff House. North of Scotland Archaeology Society (NOSAS). Digital.
- <1> SHG27950 Interactive Resource/Online Database: Lock, G. & Ralston, I.. 2017. Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland. SC2885.
- <2> SHG29179 Text/Correspondence: Marshall M. 2015. Photographs and plan of Possible Fort, Corff House. North of Scotland Archaeology Society (NOSAS). Digital.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred NH 5138 4479 (93m by 135m) (2 map features) |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | NH54SW |
| Civil Parish | KILMORACK |
| Geographical Area | INVERNESS |
Finds (0)
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Investigations/Events (0)
External Links (3)
- http://hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk/records/SC2885.html (Link to online Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland site entry)
- http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/SM3195 (Online designation description (Historic Environment Scotland))
- https://canmore.org.uk/site/12745 (View RCAHMS Canmore entry for this site)
Comments and Feedback
Do you have any more information about this record? Please feel free to comment with information and photographs, or ask any questions, using the "Disqus" tool below. Comments are moderated, and we aim to respond/publish as soon as possible.