Scheduled MonumentsScotlandEaster Hill,fort
Iron Age · Fort

Easter Hill,fort

Scotland
HES SM2159
Period
Iron Age
Site type
Fort
Nation
Scotland
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic Environment Scotland

Overview

History & significance

Easter Hill fort is an Iron Age hillfort located in Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders. The monument sits upon bedrock of the Hawick Group, a wacke formation dating to the Wenlock epoch, which provides a foundation of hard sedimentary rock typical of this region. The fort is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2159.

Hillforts of this type were constructed during the Iron Age as defended settlements, their elevated positions offering natural advantages for surveillance and defence. The Hawick Group geology underlying Easter Hill would have presented both opportunities and challenges to the fort's builders, with the wacke bedrock providing stability but requiring substantial effort to excavate and level for construction purposes.

Easter Hill represents an important element of the Iron Age settlement pattern across the Scottish Borders, a landscape that contains numerous such defended sites. The monument preserves evidence of prehistoric occupation and defensive strategy in this upland region, contributing to understanding of how Iron Age communities organised their settlements across the varied terrain of south-eastern Scotland.

Easter Hill,fort is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2159. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Easter Hill,fort?

Easter Hill fort is an Iron Age hillfort located in Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2159.

What period does Easter Hill,fort date from?

Easter Hill,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.

Who is responsible for protecting Easter Hill,fort?

Easter Hill,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 SM2159.

What other scheduled monuments are near Easter Hill,fort?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Newstead Roman military complex, 660m WSW of Broomhill Farm (1.8 km), Old Melrose,linear earthwork 300m W of (2 km), Old Melrose, St Cuthbert's Chapel & monastery site (2.2 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Easter Hill,fort

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Easter Hill,fort's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Stat Accounts
The parish Statistical Accounts of the 1790s and 1830s, describing life, work and population here.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Easter Hill,fort

Easter Hill,fort stands on Hawick Group, bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is wacke.