Scheduled MonumentsScotlandMull Glen,fort,West Tarbet
Iron Age · Fort,west tarbet

Mull Glen,fort,West Tarbet

Scotland
HES SM1993
Period
Iron Age
Site type
Fort,west tarbet
Nation
Scotland
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

Mull Glen fort is an Iron Age fortified settlement located in West Tarbet, Wigtownshire, in the south-west of Scotland. The site sits upon bedrock of the Hawick Group, a sedimentary formation of wacke dating to the Wenlock period of the Silurian era. This underlying geology of hard, fine-grained rock would have provided a stable foundation for construction and, if exposed, offered natural defensibility to the settlement's builders.

The fort exemplifies the settlement patterns of Scotland's Iron Age communities, a period marked by the construction of defended enclosures across the landscape. Such forts typically served multiple purposes, functioning as centres of power, storage facilities and places of refuge. The choice of this particular location in West Tarbet reflects the strategic consideration given to site selection, balancing accessibility with the defensive advantages offered by the local terrain.

Mull Glen fort is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under the statutory monument designation SM1993, recognising its importance as a record of Iron Age settlement and social organisation in south-west Scotland. The site contributes to our understanding of how communities in this region organised themselves and responded to their environment during this significant period of Scottish prehistory.

Mull Glen,fort,West Tarbet is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1993. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Mull Glen,fort,West Tarbet?

Mull Glen fort is an Iron Age fortified settlement located in West Tarbet, Wigtownshire, in the south-west of Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1993.

What period does Mull Glen,fort,West Tarbet date from?

Mull Glen,fort,West Tarbet dates from the iron age period, and is classified as a fort,west tarbet. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Mull Glen,fort,West Tarbet?

Mull Glen,fort,West Tarbet 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 SM1993.

What other scheduled monuments are near Mull Glen,fort,West Tarbet?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including West Cairngaan,standing stone 860m SE of (0.5 km), Mull of Galloway, fortifications N & S ends of Isthmus (0.6 km), Two forts on Carrickcamrie and Dunorroch (0.7 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Mull Glen,fort,West Tarbet

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Mull Glen,fort,West Tarbet'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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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Mull Glen,fort,West Tarbet

Mull Glen,fort,West Tarbet stands on Hawick Group, bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is wacke.