Hownam Law Hillfort View all content for Hownam Law

I'm not posting this as fieldnotes as I didn't actually get to the top. However, the Hownam Law merits a mention, not as much because of the IA fort, as because of the striking nature of the hill upon which the fort sits. When approached from the north, it looks quite unremarkable, yet when approached from the south, it looks totally forbidding and conspicuous. The aspect it presents from The Shearers stone row suggests it may have been significant in the decision to place The Shearers where they are. From a distance, no earthworks can be seen, but a stone wall is clearly visible, running the entir breadth of the southern side. If there are earthworks surrounding the plateau on the summit, they must be some of the most extensive in the borders. But it would make a darn good fort, even without earthworks, the scarps around the summit would have made it an easily defensible place. The Kale valley has some very clear cultivation terraces, and those at the foot of Hownam Law are the clearest, and most extensive. Some of which look like they are starting to erode.

Posted by Hob 29th March 2004ce

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