Bonchester Hill
| Bonchester Hill | |||
| Roxburghshire | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Bonchester Hill | |||
| Range: | Cheviot Hills | ||
| Summit: | 1,059 feet NT594117 55°23’54"N, 2°38’29"W | ||
Bonchester Hill is a hill in the north of the Cheviot Hills, on the east side of the Rule Water in Roxburghshire. It looks down over Bonchester Bridge, half a mile away at the foot of its western slope.
The summit of the hill is crowned by an impressive set of earthworks of a hill fort, and below it signs of an ancient village. The local story is that the fort was occupied by the Romans and named Bonna Castra, or 'good camp'. In fact there is little or no evidence of occupation in the Roman period.
The hill has the Rule Water to the west and the Fodderlee Burn on the east, with steep slopes to both.
The earliest fortification has been dated to the pre-Roman Iron Age, including a stone wall built round the top of the summit enclosing an area of about 345 feet by 280 feet, composed of large, uncoursed stones, laced with timber. Further walls were built outside this first fortification.
Within the fort are the remains of the stone foundations of eight circular huts, and others outside the fort, so dating is uncertain
In the post-Roman period, further defences were added on the slopes beyond the base of the knoll, using earthworks and techniques common in structures of the Roman and post-Roman periods.[1]
