Scheduled MonumentsScotlandLittle Float,fort 630m SW of
Iron Age · Fort

Little Float,fort 630m SW of

Scotland
HES SM4779
Period
Iron Age
Site type
Fort
Nation
Scotland
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

Little Float is an Iron Age fort located in Wigtownshire, south-west Scotland. The monument sits on bedrock of the Gala Group, a wacke formation dating to the Telychian period, which provides a firm foundation across this lowland landscape. The fort is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM4779.

Iron Age fortifications in Wigtownshire typically comprised one or more banks and ditches arranged concentrically or in linear fashion, serving both defensive and administrative purposes within the territories of regional communities. The geological bedrock of wacke—a hard, fine-grained sedimentary rock—would have presented substantial challenges for the construction of substantial earthworks, requiring careful engineering to create effective ditches and ramparts.

Little Float forms part of the wider Iron Age settlement pattern of south-west Scotland, a region with significant evidence of Iron Age occupation and fortified settlement. The fort's survival as an earthwork monument provides important evidence for understanding the distribution and character of defended sites in this region during the latter prehistoric period, when such forts served as focal points for communities during the first millennium before Christ.

Little Float,fort 630m SW of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM4779. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Little Float,fort 630m SW of?

Little Float is an Iron Age fort located in Wigtownshire, south-west Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM4779.

What period does Little Float,fort 630m SW of date from?

Little Float,fort 630m SW of 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 Little Float,fort 630m SW of?

Little Float,fort 630m SW of 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 SM4779.

What other scheduled monuments are near Little Float,fort 630m SW of?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Float Bay,fort SE of (0.8 km), Craigencroy,cairn 270m SSE of West Ringuinea (1.1 km), Float,hut circle and enclosure 1050m WSW of (1.5 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Little Float,fort 630m SW of

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Little Float,fort 630m SW of'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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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Little Float,fort 630m SW of

Little Float,fort 630m SW of stands on Gala Group, bedrock that formed in the Telychian. The rock here is wacke.