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Sourhope is an unenclosed platform settlement situated in Roxburghshire, in the Scottish Borders. The site consists of a series of levelled platforms cut into the sloping terrain, a characteristic settlement form of the late prehistoric and early medieval periods in upland Britain. The underlying bedrock comprises Silurian to Devonian extrusive rocks, primarily mafic lava and tuff formed during the Devonian period, which would have influenced the local landscape and the inhabitants' choice of settlement location.
Unenclosed platform settlements like Sourhope represent communities that constructed their dwellings without the surrounding defensive walls or ditches typical of more formally organised settlements. This architectural approach suggests a society organised along different principles, possibly reflecting less formalised territorial arrangements or different social structures. The platforms themselves would have served to level building surfaces on the naturally uneven hillside, allowing for more stable construction of roundhouses or other domestic structures.
The site is protected by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument under reference SM4889, reflecting its archaeological importance to understanding settlement patterns and land use in the Borders region. Such platform settlements contribute significantly to knowledge of how communities adapted to upland environments and managed their agricultural resources during periods when such areas were more intensively occupied than in later centuries.
Sourhope,unenclosed platform settlement 1400m N of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM4889. View the official record →
Sourhope is an unenclosed platform settlement situated in Roxburghshire, in the Scottish Borders. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM4889.
Sourhope,unenclosed platform settlement 1400m N 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 SM4889.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Windy Gyle,cairns 480m & 700m NE of summit of (6.3 km), Round cairn west of Windy Gyle, 680m WNW of Russell's Cairn (6.3 km), Russell's Cairn on Windy Gyle (6.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Sourhope,unenclosed platform settlement 1400m N of'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.
Sourhope,unenclosed platform settlement 1400m N of stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Silurian To Devonian, bedrock that formed in the Devonian. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.