Castlehill Wood (re-)Dun: Reinterpreting a Stirling Oddity

This paper reinterprets Feachem’s 1950s excavation of Castlehill Wood dun, revealing a roofed pre‑Roman structure with cells and galleries linked to wider Iron Age architectural and ritual traditions. It also republishes artefact reviews from West Plean Homestead and Gallow Hill, clarifying Stirling’s complex settlement history.

This volume reinterprets Richard Feachem’s 1950s excavation of Castlehill Wood dun, Stirling via key‑hole excavation of in situ baulks and re-analysis of the object assemblage, placing the results in context. The works transform our understanding of the site from a simple enclosure to a roofed structure with an awareness of architectural trends across Scotland. The site is demonstrated to have been built prior to the Roman invasion and suggests a complex settlement pattern that should not be viewed solely in the light of the Roman incursions. Finally, the structure contains a series of small cells and galleries that find parallels across Scotland and might be linked to Iron Age ritual practices. The opportunity has also been taken to publish reviews of the artefacts from two other older excavations from the Stirling area: West Plean Homestead and Gallow Hill lava quern. In each case a proposed fieldwork phase never happened due to circumstances beyond the control of the author.

Introduction

Location and Background

Results

Discussion

Conclusion

Acknowledgments

Appendix 1: A Re-Assessment of Artefacts from West Plean Homestead – Gemma Cruickshanks and Fraser Hunter

Appendix 2: A Roman Lava Quern from an Iron Age Site at Gallow Hill, Stirling – Fraser Hunter and Gemma Cruickshanks

References

• By (author) Murray Cook