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Danes Camp is an Iron Age hill fort located in Camp Wood, Fife. The monument sits upon bedrock of mafic lava and mafic tuff dating to the Devonian period, stone that would have provided solid foundations for the defensive earthworks characteristic of such fortified settlements. The site is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under scheduled monument reference SM806.
Hill forts of this type, typically featuring ramparts and ditches, served as high-status settlements and refuges for Iron Age communities across Scotland. Their prominent positions afforded commanding views across the surrounding landscape, essential for both defence and territorial control. The geology of Camp Wood, with its volcanic geology, would have offered the defender natural advantages in construction and siting.
The fort's name suggests later Norse awareness or occupation, though the monument itself dates to the Iron Age. Such placenames are common across Scotland and often reflect Viking-age settlement patterns and trading networks. Today, Danes Camp remains an important archaeological resource for understanding Iron Age settlement patterns in Fife and the defensive strategies employed by communities during this period.
Danes Camp,fort,Camp Wood is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM806. View the official record →
Danes Camp is an Iron Age hill fort located in Camp Wood, Fife. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM806.
Danes Camp,fort,Camp Wood dates from the iron age period, and is classified as a fort,camp wood. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Danes Camp,fort,Camp Wood 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 SM806.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Wester Kinnear, bank barrow and ring ditch 325m W of (2.9 km), Southfield, unenclosed settlement W of (3.8 km), Southfield, cropmarks E and SE of (4.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Danes Camp,fort,Camp Wood'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.
Danes Camp,fort,Camp Wood stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Silurian To Devonian, bedrock that formed in the Devonian. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.