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Kerr's Knowe is a Iron Age fort located in Peeblesshire, Scotland. The monument occupies a defensive position on bedrock of the Shinnel and Glenlee Formations, ancient wacke deposits laid down in the Ashgill period. This geological foundation provided a stable platform for the fort's construction and would have offered natural advantages to its Iron Age builders.
The fort exemplifies the hillfort tradition of Iron Age Scotland, a period spanning roughly the first millennium BC. Forts of this type typically served as defended settlements, administrative centres, or refuges for surrounding communities. Kerr's Knowe's location in Peeblesshire places it within the broader landscape of Scottish Iron Age settlement, where such fortifications were concentrated in strategically important valleys and uplands.
The site is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under designation SM3059, recognising its archaeological significance and historical value. The monument survives as a tangible record of Iron Age settlement patterns in the southern Scottish Uplands, contributing to our understanding of Iron Age society, territorial organisation and land use in this region during the prehistoric period.
Kerr's Knowe, fort is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM3059. View the official record →
Kerr's Knowe is a Iron Age fort located in Peeblesshire, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM3059.
Kerr's Knowe, 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.
Kerr's Knowe, 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 SM3059.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Posso,tower & associated structures WNW of (5.6 km), Langhaugh,cairn 820m N of (6.9 km), Glenrathope,settlement 1300m WNW to 350m E of Glenrathope (7.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Kerr's Knowe, 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.
Kerr's Knowe, fort stands on Shinnel Formation And Glenlee Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Ashgill. The rock here is wacke.