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Gray Hill is a earthwork monument located in Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders. The site sits on bedrock belonging to the Hawick Group, a wacke formation dating to the Wenlock period of the Silurian, which gives the underlying geology its characteristic hard, fine-grained appearance. This ancient bedrock would have presented a formidable building challenge for those who constructed the earthwork, as wacke is notably difficult to excavate and shape.
The monument is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2148, reflecting its archaeological significance within the region's heritage landscape. Earthworks of this type in Roxburghshire typically date to the Iron Age or medieval period, though without further excavation or investigation, the precise date of Gray Hill's construction cannot be definitively determined from surface features alone.
The site's survival in this upland region of the Scottish Borders demonstrates the durability of earthwork monuments over centuries. The local geology has influenced both the form the monument took and its preservation, with the Hawick Group wacke providing stable ground conditions that have protected the earthwork from substantial degradation. The scheduled monument status ensures that this record of past settlement and activity in Roxburghshire is preserved for future study and understanding.
Gray Hill,earthwork is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2148. View the official record →
Gray Hill is a earthwork monument located in Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2148.
Gray Hill,earthwork 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 SM2148.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Dod,enclosure on Gray Coat,530m SW of (2.3 km), Dod,earthworks on Gray Coat 540m SSW of (2.4 km), Gray Coat,settlement 540m NE of Priesthaugh (2.5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Gray Hill,earthwork'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.
Gray Hill,earthwork stands on Hawick Group, bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is wacke.