© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic Environment Scotland
McNaughton fort is an Iron Age hillfort situated in Kirkcudbrightshire, south-western Scotland. The monument occupies a defensible position with natural advantages provided by the underlying Hawick Group wacke bedrock, which would have afforded solid foundations for its defensive structures. This durable stone formation, laid down during the Wenlock period of the Silurian, remains the geological bedrock across much of the region today.
Like other hillforts of its period, McNaughton would have served as a focal point for settlement, storage, and defence during the Iron Age. The site's topography and geology combined to make it a strategic location, with the wacke providing both a firm base and the potential for stone to be incorporated into fortification walls. The fort exemplifies the pattern of Iron Age settlement in south-western Scotland, where communities established defended positions to control territory and resources.
The monument is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under the scheduled monument reference SM1084, recognising its significance as an archaeological site and its place within Scotland's Iron Age heritage. Such forts remain important sources of evidence for understanding the social organisation, defensive strategies and settlement patterns of Iron Age communities in Scotland.
McNaugton,fort is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1084. View the official record →
McNaughton fort is an Iron Age hillfort situated in Kirkcudbrightshire, south-western Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1084.
McNaugton,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.
McNaugton,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 SM1084.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Hall Hill,fort (3.6 km), Burnside of Baltersan,ring ditch,pits and Roman camp 700m S of (4.7 km), East Hill Farmhouse,stone circle (6.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of McNaugton,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.
McNaugton,fort stands on Hawick Group, bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is wacke.