Scheduled MonumentsScotlandNew Greenhill,fort
Iron Age · Fort

New Greenhill,fort

Scotland
HES SM2272
Period
Iron Age
Site type
Fort
Nation
Scotland
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

New Greenhill is a Iron Age fort located in Selkirkshire in the Scottish Borders. The monument occupies ground underlain by wacke bedrock of the Hawick Group, sedimentary rocks formed during the Wenlock period of the Silurian era. This hard stone would have presented considerable challenges to any Iron Age community seeking to construct defensive fortifications on the site, shaping both the engineering approach and the final form of the fort.

The fort's defensive design reflects the typical hill fort strategy of the period, commanding views across the surrounding landscape of the Selkirkshire hills. Iron Age communities in the Borders region constructed such forts as focal points for settlement, craft production and storage, as well as refuges during times of conflict. The fort's position within this rolling upland terrain would have provided both protection and control over local routes and resources.

New Greenhill fort is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2272, ensuring its preservation as an important archaeological record of Iron Age settlement in the Scottish Borders. The monument contributes to our understanding of prehistoric Scottish society during a period of significant social and economic development.

New Greenhill,fort is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2272. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is New Greenhill,fort?

New Greenhill is a Iron Age fort located in Selkirkshire in the Scottish Borders. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2272.

What period does New Greenhill,fort date from?

New Greenhill,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.

Who is responsible for protecting New Greenhill,fort?

New Greenhill,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 SM2272.

What other scheduled monuments are near New Greenhill,fort?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including North Synton,fort (2.1 km), Clerklands,fort (2.2 km), Campknowe Plantation,fort & enclosure (4.1 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about New Greenhill,fort

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of New Greenhill,fort'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 New Greenhill,fort

New Greenhill,fort stands on Hawick Group, bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is wacke.