stirling-1963-vol-1/05_109

Transcription

No. 74 -- FORTS -- No. 74

[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 13. Fort, Braes (No. 74)

passage 2 ft. 6 in. in width and 30 ft. in length, over a
stretch of 8 ft. of which was the "original roof".
The structure formed by the funnel-shaped pit and
the low passage is identical with the type of corn-drying
kiln which was in use until recent times in Scotland and
elsewhere. ¹ The kiln is situated some 60 ft. N. of the
N. arc of the outer wall of the fort on the NE. slope of
the knoll. At the date of visit it was much overgrown with
rank vegetation, but enough of the structure was visible
to confirm the earlier descriptions.
The excavation of the kiln naturally threw no light
on the nature of the fort. And as the latter would be
likely to contain few relics or recognisable structures, it
may be supposed that the extensive excavation of the
interior, which is suggested by the mutilated surface of
the ground, led to no further discovery and so seemed
not to justify the projected further report.

822854 -- NS 88 NW ("Ancient Earthwork")
22 February 1954

74. Fort, Braes. This fort is situated at a distance of
140 yds. WNW. of Braes farmhouse on an isolated rocky
knoll, the summit of which is at a height of 400 ft. O.D.
and commands a wide view to SW., S. and SE. over the
valley of the River Carron. The W. slope of the knoll,
which rises steeply to an elevation of 55 ft. above the
level ground below, is marked by intermittent stretches
of vertical rock-face, but the other flanks are shorter and
less steep, that to the E. attaining a height of only 26 ft.
above the ground below. The fort is subrectangular on
plan (Fig. 13) and measures about 150 ft. in length from
N. to S. by about 85 ft. transversely within a ruinous
stone wall. The wall has been heavily damaged in the
course of planting and felling trees on the knoll, and has
been completely obliterated for a distance of 50 ft. on
the S. side; elsewhere, however, the circuit can still be
traced by means of the rubble core which in places forms
a low mound. Nothing can now be seen of the inner face,
but two stretches of the outer face appear in the SE.
sector embedded in the flank of the knoll. The more
northerly of these measures 14 ft. in length and stands
four courses in height; it has apparently been exposed
by a fall of the loamy earth which, with some tumbled
rubble, covers the upper levels of the the slopes of the knoll.
The stones are laid on bed and measure from 2 ft. to
2 ft. 6 in. in length and from 9 in. to 15 in. in height.
The height from the bottom of this exposed face to the
level of the present crest of the rubble core is 10 ft. in a
horizontal distance of 7 ft. 6 in. The steepness of the
remains at this point, and at some other points on the

1 P.S.A.S., xc (1956-7), 49.

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