Beauly Firth from Craig Phadrig - geograph

Rock outcrop and pond, Peniel Heugh summit - geograph

Brig Jeanie Johnston south west of Dumbarton Rock - geograph

This article lists a few selected examples of

hill fort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

s in Scotland. The remains of at least 1,695 hillforts have been counted throughout the country as a whole, most predominantly on the Scottish mainland, and also including on some of the Scottish islands. One of the highest concentrations of historic hillforts in Europe, according to the Trimontium Trust, is in the Scottish Borders, including particularly in the historic county of

Berwickshire Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of t ...

. Hill forts in Scotland typically date from the Bronze and

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

s, but post-Roman inhabitation of many sites is also important. The remains today typically survive only as earthworks with occasional traces of structural stone in varying quantity. Remains of

vitrified fort Vitrified forts are stone enclosures whose walls have been subjected to vitrification through heat. It was long thought that these structures were unique to Scotland, but they have since been identified in several other parts of western and northe ...

s are also found throughout Scotland. __NOTOC__

Aberdeenshire

* Bennachie *

Dunnicaer Dunnicaer, or Dun-na-caer, is a precipitous sea stack just off the coast of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, between Dunnottar Castle and Stonehaven. Despite the unusual difficulty of access, in 1832 Pictish symbol stones were found on the summit and ...

* Dunnideer *

Tap o' Noth The Tap o' Noth is a hill and fort, 8 miles south of Huntly in Aberdeenshire, Scotland at grid reference NJ485293. It is the second highest fort in Scotland and its main feature is its well-preserved vitrified wall which encloses an area of ap ...

Angus

* The Caterthuns

Argyll and Bute

An Caisteal An Caisteal () is a mountain in the Breadalbane region of the Scottish Highlands, south of the village of Crianlarich. It is a Munro with a height of . Overview An Caisteal, which qualifies as a Munro, is located in a popular area for hill wa ...

Coll Coll (; gd, Cola; sco, Coll)Mac an Tàilleir (2003) p. 31 is an island located west of the Isle of Mull in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Coll is known for its sandy beaches, which rise to form large sand dunes, for its corncrakes, and ...

* Dùn Cholla,

Colonsay Colonsay (; gd, Colbhasa; sco, Colonsay) is an island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, located north of Islay and south of Mull. The ancestral home of Clan Macfie and the Colonsay branch of Clan MacNeil, it is in the council area of Argy ...

* Dùn Dubh, Coll * Dùn Eibhinn, Colonsay * Dùn Meadhonach, Colonsay * Dùn Morbhaidh, Coll *

Dunadd Dunadd (Scottish Gaelic ''Dún Ad'', "fort on the iverAdd") is a hillfort in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, dating from the Iron Age and early medieval period and is believed to be the capital of the ancient kingdom of Dál Riata. Dal Riata was a ki ...

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

Dun Skeig Dun Skeig is an oval Iron Age dun (fort) complex which is perched atop a rocky outcropping about above sea level overlooking West Loch Tarbert in Kintyre, Argyll and Bute, Scotland, about northwest of the village of Clachan. The dun site inclu ...

Kintyre Kintyre ( gd, Cinn Tìre, ) is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The peninsula stretches about , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south to East and West Loch Tarbert in the north. The region immediately nor ...

* The Doon (Drumadoon), Arran

Clackmannanshire

Dumfries and Galloway

* Doon of May * Grennan Hill *

Tynron Doon Tynron Doon is a multivallate Iron Age hill fort outside the village of Tynron in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It was occupied on and off from the 1st millennium BC until the 16th century, when an L shaped tower house stood there. Tynron Doo ...

East Lothian

* Black Castle * Blackcastle Hill * Chesters Hill Fort (Historic Scotland) * Kae Heughs, near Haddington * Kidlaw, near Dalkeith *

Traprain Law Traprain Law is a hill east of Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland, It is the site of a hill fort or possibly ''oppidum'', which covered at its maximum extent about . It is the site of the Traprain Law Treasure, the largest Roman silver hoard ...

* White Castle

City of Edinburgh

Arthur's Seat Arthur's Seat ( gd, Suidhe Artair, ) is an ancient volcano which is the main peak of the group of hills in Edinburgh, Scotland, which form most of Holyrood Park, described by Robert Louis Stevenson as "a hill for magnitude, a mountain in virtu ...

* Blackford Hill

Fife

* Clatchard Craig * Norman's Law

Highland

Dunearn Dunearn is a hill fort located south south east of Nairn in Highland, Scotland. It is situated on a steep-sided hill called Doune rising to approximately above ordnance datum just south of Dulsie Bridge (which provides a modern crossing of the ...

* Dun Cruinn *

Dun Evan Dun Evan or the Doune of Cawdor is a hill fort located south west of Cawdor in the Highland area of Scotland. It is situated on a rocky hill that rises to above ordnance datum between the valleys of the River Nairn and its tributary the Allt D ...

* Dun Ringill * Dun Skudiburgh *

Craig Phadrig Craig Phadrig (Scottish Gaelic: Creag Phàdraig, meaning Rock of Patrick) is a forested hill on the western edge of Inverness, Scotland. A hill fort on the summit is generally supposed to have been the base of the Pictish king Bridei mac Maelch ...

, Inverness

Midlothian

* Castle Law

Moray

Cluny Hill Cluny Hill is a hill on the East side of Forres, Scotland. At the top of Cluny Hill is Nelson's Tower, built in 1806 to commemorate Admiral Lord Nelson and his victory at Trafalgar. The Tower is open to the public. Writing in 1807 the antiquar ...

Doune of Relugas The Doune of Relugas is a hill fort located south south west of Forres in Moray, Scotland. It is situated on a rocky knoll rising to approximately above ordnance datum and forming the south east part of the promontory at the confluence of the ...

* Knock of Alves

Perth and Kinross

* Moredun Top hill fort, Moncreiffe Hill * Dundurn

Scottish Borders

According to the Trimontium Trust, the area of the Scottish Borders lays claim to as many as 408 identifiable hillfort sites, one of the highest concentrations in Europe. *

Addinston Addinston is a farming village, off the A697, close to the Carfraemill roundabout, with two hill forts and settlements, in Lauderdale in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, in the former Berwickshire. The Cleekhimin Burn joins the Leader Wa ...

* Black Meldon * Broxmouth (destroyed) * Bunkle Edge (Drakemire hillforts) series of linked hillforts running along a ridge north of the B6438 from Reston to Preston *

Chester Hill Chester Hill, a suburb of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown local government area, is located 19 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and is part of Western Sydney, Chester Hill ...

, Burnmouth * Cockburn Law * Colud's Fort, Kirk Hill (''Colodaesburg''), St Abb’s Head * Duns Law ("Covenanter’s Camp"),

Duns Duns may refer to: * Duns, Scottish Borders, a town in Berwickshire, Scotland ** Duns railway station ** Duns F.C., a football club ** Duns RFC, a rugby football club ** Battle of Duns, an engagement fought in 1372 * Duns Scotus ( 1265/66–1308 ...

* Earns Heugh *

Edin's Hall Broch Edin's Hall Broch (also Edinshall Broch; Odin's Hall Broch) is a 2nd-century broch near Duns in the Borders of Scotland. It is one of very few brochs found in southern Scotland. It is roughly 28 metres in diameter. Name In the late 18th centur ...

(

Historic Scotland Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment ...

) *

Eildon Hill Eildon Hill lies just south of Melrose, Scotland in the Scottish Borders, overlooking the town. The name is usually pluralised into "the Eildons" or "Eildon Hills", because of its triple peak. The high eminence overlooks Teviotdale to the South ...

* Fosterland Burn * Gordon Castle, Bogle Plantation,

Gordon Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gordon, ...

* Habchester, Bastleridge * Hirsel Law * Milkieston Rings * Mutiny Stones * Northshield Rings * Peniel Heugh * Primrose Hill Fort * Raecleugh Head * Tollis Hill * White Meldon

South Lanarkshire

* Black Hill (

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland ( gd, Urras Nàiseanta na h-Alba), is a Scottish conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organi ...

)

Stirling

* Castle Law,

Dumyat Dumyat or Dunmyat (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Mhèad) is a hill at the western extremity of the Ochil Hills in central Scotland. The name is thought to originate from ''Dun'' (hill fort) ''of the Maeatae''. Although relatively small (its height ...

Gillies Hill Gillies Hill is located west of Stirling and the M9, south of Cambusbarron, and north of the Bannock Burn in Central Scotland. Gillies Hill covers a crag and tail which rises from a height of at the Bannock Burn Bridge near Sauchie Craig t ...

West Dunbartonshire

Dumbarton Rock Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

West Lothian

Bowden Hill Bowden Hill is a village in Wiltshire, England, in Lacock parish about south of Chippenham and to the east of Lacock village. Bowden Hill has about 50 houses, a pub, and a small industrial estate. Origins of the name Bowden Hill was historica ...

, near

Linlithgow Linlithgow (; gd, Gleann Iucha, sco, Lithgae) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a ...

* Castlethorn, or Canniewell Slack,

Torphichen Torphichen ( ) is a historic small village located north of Bathgate in West Lothian, Scotland. The village is approximately 18 miles (20 km) west of Edinburgh, 7 miles (11 km) south-east of Falkirk and 4 miles (6 km) south-west of Linlithgow. ...

* Cockleroy *

Dechmont Law ''Disambiguation: the name Dechmont, and an associated "Dechmont Hill" are also places near Cambuslang in Scotland'' Dechmont Law is a hill in Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland. It lies around 700 yards southwest of the village of Dechmont, ...

, possible hill fort remains * Peace Knowe, by

Ochiltree Ochiltree is a conservation village in East Ayrshire, Scotland, near Auchinleck and Cumnock. It is one of the oldest villages in East Ayrshire, with archaeological remains indicating Stone Age and Bronze Age settlers. A cinerary urn was found in ...

Peace Knowe, Canmore ID 49312
Canmore, National Record of the Historic Environment

Western Isles

* Dùn Èistean

References

External links

West Lothian Archaeology Group
aerial photography of a number of hill forts in West Lothian
Hillforts Atlas Project
– a crowd-sourced project to map the hillforts of Britain and Ireland {{Hillforts

Hill forts in Scotland Hillforts in Scotland are earthworks, sometimes with wooden or stone enclosures, built on higher ground, which usually include a significant settlement, built within the modern boundaries of Scotland. They were first studied in the eighteenth ce ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...