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The Castles is an Iron Age fort located in Roxburghshire, Scotland. The fort is situated on bedrock composed of mafic lava and mafic tuff of Devonian age, which forms part of the unnamed extrusive rock sequence of the region. This volcanic geology would have provided a naturally elevated and defensible position, commanding views across the surrounding landscape. The site is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1691.
Iron Age forts of this type typically comprise one or more ramparts with associated ditches, constructed to enclose settlement areas and livestock. The volcanic bedrock at The Castles would have offered both challenges and advantages for construction; whilst the hard rock required substantial effort to cut ditches, it also provided stable foundations for defensive structures and may have furnished stone for building purposes.
The fort represents a significant phase of settlement and territorial control in southern Scotland during the Iron Age period. Its protection as a scheduled monument reflects the archaeological importance of the site for understanding Iron Age society and settlement patterns in the Borders region, where forts like this served as focal points for communities and their agricultural resources.
The Castles,fort is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1691. View the official record →
The Castles is an Iron Age fort located in Roxburghshire, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1691.
The Castles,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.
The Castles,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 SM1691.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Palisaded settlement on Trows Law (6.3 km), Romano-British farmstead, 700m north east of Trows (6.8 km), Iron Age and Romano-British settlements on Ward Law (6.9 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of The Castles,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.
The Castles,fort stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Silurian To Devonian, bedrock that formed in the Devonian. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.