Scheduled Monument
Maiden Castle, fortSM813
Status: Designated
Documents
Where documents include maps, the use of this data is subject to terms and conditions (https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/termsandconditions).
The legal document available for download below constitutes the formal designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The additional details provided on this page are provided for information purposes only and do not form part of the designation. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within this additional information.
Summary
- Date Added
- 15/06/1936
- Last Date Amended
- 11/12/2002
- Type
- Prehistoric domestic and defensive: fort (includes hill fort and promontory fort)
- Local Authority
- Fife
- Parish
- Falkland
- NGR
- NO 22190 6886
- Coordinates
- 322190, 706886
Description
The monument comprises an impressive prehistoric fort, traditionally known as 'Maiden Castle', which lies on the summit of an oval knoll at about 300m OD, by Bracks Plantation in the Lomond Hills. The monument was first scheduled in 1936, but an inadequate area was included to protect all of the archaeological remains: the present re-scheduling rectifies this.
The fort is defined by a single earthen rampart and inner ditch, which together enclose an elongated oval area, some 140m ESE-WNW by 35m NNE-SSW, on the relatively flat summit of the steep-sided knoll. The ground surrounding the knoll is boggy and about 20m lower than the summit plateau. Within the fort on the summit, a number of platforms (possible house or hut sites) are discernible.
The enclosing ditch, on average 4m wide, is well preserved around the long N and S sides of the fort; while slight terracing around the SW and NE sides of the knoll may represent the line of an incomplete ditch. A well-defined approach, some 4m wide, leads through the entrance at the W end of the fort. At the E end, where access is relatively easy, a 5m-wide causeway affords access to the interior, while a second smaller causeway crosses the ditch about 20m further to the SE. At the eastern end of the fort, both the rampart and ditch are less pronounced.
The area to be scheduled is an irregular oval shape in plan, with maximum dimensions of 307m E-W by 238m N-S. It includes the whole knoll and an area beyond in which evidence for the construction and use of the fort may be expected to survive, as marked in red on the accompanying map. The area is bounded to the N and S by small unnamed burns. The ruined drystone dyke which passes to the W of the knoll is excluded from the scheduling to allow for its repair.
References
Bibliography
No Bibliography entries for this designation
About Scheduled Monuments
Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.
We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.
Scheduling is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for monuments and archaeological sites of national importance as set out in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.
We schedule sites and monuments that are found to be of national importance using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)
Scheduled monument records provide an indication of the national importance of the
scheduled monument which has been identified by the description and map. The description and map (see ‘legal documents’ above) showing the scheduled area is the designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The statement of national importance and additional information provided are supplementary and provided for general information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within the statement of national importance or additional information. These records are not definitive historical or archaeological accounts or a complete description of the monument(s).
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