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Latitude: 55.9383 / 55°56'17"N
Longitude: -3.3376 / 3°20'15"W
OS Eastings: 316542
OS Northings: 672503
OS Grid: NT165725
Mapcode National: GBR 23.YS5S
Mapcode Global: WH6SQ.P0VF
Entry Name: Gogar Mains,fort,palisaded enclosure and field system 850m SSE of
Scheduled Date: 10 November 1988
Source: Historic Environment Scotland
Source ID: SM4573
Schedule Class: Cultural
Category: Prehistoric domestic and defensive: field or field system
Location: Edinburgh
County: City of Edinburgh
Electoral Ward: Almond
Traditional County: Midlothian
The monument comprises the remains of two enclosures, both visible from the air as cropmarks. They are located in an arable field adjacent to the A8 main road. The more substantial of the two is a fort of the Iron Age; on the aerial photographs two lines of defence (a pair of ditches) are visible; the area they enclose, which measures approximately 100m by 40m, is defined on the SE side by a steep drop to the valley of an un-named burn.
The ditches, which were probably accompanied by ramparts, cut off the easy approach from the NW. The enclosed area will contain the remains of timber houses and other structures. The other enclosure is defined by a palisade slot and measures 70m in diameter; from comparison with other known sites it is almost certainly a settlement of the early Iron Age. Once again the remains of structures will survive below the modern ploughsoil. Radiating out from this enclosure are other slots, probably representing the remains of prehistoric field divisions.
The area to be scheduled measures 390m E to W by 150m transversly, to include the two enclosures, the field divisions and an area around them in which traces of activities associated with their use will survive, as marked in red on the attached map.
Source: Historic Environment Scotland
The two enclosures which comprise this monument are of national importance as Iron Age settlements which have the potential, through excavation, to enhance considerably our understanding of prehistoric settlement and agriculture. In this part of Scotland very few unploughed forts and no unploughed palisaded enclosures are known.
Their importance is enhanced because of their proximity to each other; two separate phases of occupation are represented. The field boundary ditches contemporary with the palisaded enclosure are of particular importance because such features do not often survive. The examination of the relationship between the two settlements and the field system would considerably increase our knowledge of the development of the prehistoric landscape.
Source: Historic Environment Scotland
Bibliography
No Bibliography entries for this designation
Source: Historic Environment Scotland
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