© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic Environment Scotland
Castlehill Wood is a Iron Age dun situated 780 metres south of Touch Mollar in Stirlingshire, Scotland. This small defensive settlement represents a characteristic form of fortified domestic architecture common across Scotland during the Iron Age period. Duns were typically occupied by a single family or small community and served both as residence and refuge, their circular or oval stone-built structures designed to afford protection on the landscape.
The dun is constructed upon bedrock formed from mafic lava and tuff of Dinantian age, part of the Mississippian volcanic sequence that underlies much of central Scotland. This volcanic geology would have influenced both the building materials available to Iron Age inhabitants and the defensive properties of the site. The monument's position in the landscape reflects the strategic considerations of Iron Age settlement, occupying terrain that afforded views across the surrounding countryside.
The site is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under scheduled monument reference SM177, recognising its archaeological and historical significance as evidence of Iron Age settlement patterns and building practices in Stirlingshire. The dun contributes to our understanding of domestic life and social organisation in pre-Roman Scotland.
Castlehill Wood, dun 780m S of Touch Mollar is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM177. View the official record →
Castlehill Wood is a Iron Age dun situated 780 metres south of Touch Mollar in Stirlingshire, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM177.
Castlehill Wood, dun 780m S of Touch Mollar dates from the iron age period, and is classified as a dun 780m s of touch mollar. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Castlehill Wood, dun 780m S of Touch Mollar 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 SM177.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Castlehill, hut circle 350m S of (1 km), Murrayshall Farm, dun 200m SE of (1.5 km), Wester Craigend, dun 300m W of (1.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Castlehill Wood, dun 780m S of Touch Mollar'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.
Castlehill Wood, dun 780m S of Touch Mollar stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Dinantian, bedrock that formed in the Mississippian. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.