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The Castles is an Iron Age fort situated in East Lothian, Scotland. The fort occupies a defensive position on bedrock of the Shinnel and Glenlee Formations, layers of wacke laid down in the Ashgill period that provide a naturally elevated and rocky foundation. This geological base would have afforded both physical strength to the fortification and clear sightlines across the surrounding landscape. The monument is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under scheduled monument reference SM746.
Iron Age forts of this type typically date between the 1st millennium BC and the Roman period. The Castles represents the settlement pattern common to Iron Age communities in south-eastern Scotland, where hillforts and defended enclosures served as focal points for local populations. The fort's survival on this particular bedrock geology has preserved evidence of how Iron Age builders adapted their defensive strategies to the local terrain.
The site remains an important record of Iron Age settlement in East Lothian, demonstrating the strategic placement of fortified structures within the region's distinctive landscape. The monument's protected status recognises its archaeological significance as a survival of this formative period in Scottish prehistory.
The Castles,fort is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM746. View the official record →
The Castles is an Iron Age fort situated in East Lothian, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM746.
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 SM746.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Tollishill,homestead 550m SW of (7 km), Tollishill Dod,homestead 250m SSW of (7.1 km), Dodcleugh,homestead and enclosure 300m E of (7.3 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 Shinnel Formation And Glenlee Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Ashgill. The rock here is wacke.