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Thowliestane Hill is a hilltop fort dating to the Iron Age, situated in Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders. The site occupies a commanding position on bedrock composed of Devonian mafic lava and tuff, volcanic rocks that form part of the ancient geological foundation of this region. This naturally elevated and defensible location would have provided strategic advantage to its Iron Age occupants, offering panoramic views across the surrounding landscape.
The fort represents a form of settlement characteristic of Iron Age communities in southern Scotland, typically featuring defensive earthworks that exploit the natural topography. The volcanic bedrock upon which Thowliestane Hill stands reflects the region's distant geological history, when extensive volcanic activity shaped the landscape during the Devonian period, hundreds of millions of years before human occupation of the site.
Thowliestane Hill is designated as a scheduled monument, protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1705. This recognition ensures the preservation of this important archaeological site and its potential to contribute to our understanding of Iron Age settlement patterns and defensive strategies in the Scottish Borders region.
Thowliestane Hill,fort is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1705. View the official record →
Thowliestane Hill is a hilltop fort dating to the Iron Age, situated in Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1705.
Thowliestane Hill,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.
Thowliestane Hill,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 SM1705.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Dere Street,Roman road & earthworks,Tow Ford to Blackhall Hill (7 km), Loddan Hill North, palisaded settlement 800m NNE of summit (7.4 km), Blackhall Hill,cairns (7.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Thowliestane Hill,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.
Thowliestane Hill,fort stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Silurian To Devonian, bedrock that formed in the Devonian. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.