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Lintalee earthworks is a prehistoric or early historic defensive settlement located in Roxburghshire, south-east Scotland. The site comprises substantial earthen banks and ditches that once enclosed and protected a hilltop settlement, taking advantage of the natural topography to create a fortified position. The monument lies upon bedrock of the Stratheden Group, formed during the Late Devonian period, which consists of interbedded sandstone and conglomerate. This geology would have presented both challenges and opportunities for the construction of the earthwork defences, with the underlying stone structure influencing how the banks were built and how they have survived to the present day.
The earthworks exemplify the type of defensive settlement common throughout Scotland during the Iron Age and early medieval periods, when hillforts and other enclosed settlements provided protection and a focal point for community life. The scale and form of the site's surviving banks and ditches indicate it was a substantial settlement of some importance, commanding views across the surrounding landscape of the Borders region.
Lintalee earthworks is protected as a Scheduled Monument under Historic Environment Scotland reference SM2890, ensuring its preservation for future study and public understanding of Scotland's early defensive settlement patterns.
Lintalee,earthworks is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2890. View the official record →
Lintalee earthworks is a prehistoric or early historic defensive settlement located in Roxburghshire, south-east Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2890.
Lintalee,earthworks 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 SM2890.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Mervinslaw Tower (7 km), Bonchester Hill,earthworks (8 km), Bonchester Hill,fort (8.3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Lintalee,earthworks'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.
Lintalee,earthworks stands on Stratheden Group, bedrock that formed in the Late Devonian. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.