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Caddonlee fort is an Iron Age hillfort situated in Selkirkshire in the Scottish Borders. The monument occupies a naturally commanding position where the bedrock geology of Gala Group wacke, formed during the Telychian period, provides a stable foundation for the defensive earthworks. This stone-rich geology would have supplied material for the construction and reinforcement of the fort's defences.
The fort is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2497, reflecting its significance as a prehistoric defensive settlement. Its location in the rolling landscape of Selkirkshire places it within a region that shows evidence of substantial Iron Age settlement and territorial control. The fort would have served its Iron Age community as both a practical refuge and a visible assertion of power over the surrounding landscape.
The site preserves a record of Iron Age life in the Borders, a period when such hillforts were central to settlement patterns and social organisation across Britain. The survival of Caddonlee's earthworks allows archaeologists and historians to understand the scale and sophistication of Iron Age communities in this part of Scotland, and the local geology has played a crucial role in the fort's preservation and initial construction.
Caddonlee,fort is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2497. View the official record →
Caddonlee fort is an Iron Age hillfort situated in Selkirkshire in the Scottish Borders. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2497.
Caddonlee,fort dates from the iron age period, and is classified as a fort. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Caddonlee,fort is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM2497.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Long Philip Burn,earthwork (5.8 km), Linglie,fort (6 km), Corby Linn,earthwork (6.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Caddonlee,fort's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Caddonlee,fort stands on Gala Group, bedrock that formed in the Telychian. The rock here is wacke.