Dalmahoy Hill Fort Ratho, City of Edinburgh Council Area, Scotland, UK

Scheduled Monument Description

© Crown Copyright text courtesy of Historic Environment Scotland, reprinted under the Open Government License.

The monument comprises a fort of prehistoric and early medieval date, visible as a series of upstanding earthworks and walls. It is being rescheduled in order to clarify and extend the protected area.

The monument occupies the summit and upper slopes of Dalmahoy Hill, an area of rough grassland with many rock outcrops, at around 235m OD. The site commands extensive views, particularly over the Firth of Forth to the N. On the summit of the hill is a heavily enclosed citadel visible as a ring-shaped mound of collapsed masonry. Surface finds from this area, as well as structural characteristics, indicate high-status occupation in the 6th-8th centuries AD.

The lower slopes of the hill are enclosed by numerous walls, some defensive and some probably enclosing areas of former cultivation. House platforms are visible in some areas, the most prominent being on the E end of the highest ridge. These are more likely to be of Iron Age date, and some of the ramparts may also date to that period.

The area proposed for scheduling comprises the remains described and an area around them within which related material may be expected to be found. It is irregular in shape with maximum dimensions of 650m between its N and S-most points, and 700m between its E and W-most points, as marked in red on the accompanying map extract.