Northshield Rings

Northshield Rings is a prehistoric site, a hillfort near the village of Eddleston and about 6 mi north of Peebles, in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It is a Scheduled Monument.

Description
The fort, on a rounded hill a short distance south of Portmore Loch, has well-preserved defences. There is an inner rampart, 73 m north-north-west to south-south-east by 64 m, enclosing an area of 0.35 ha. There are two ramparts outside this. There are three entrances, in the north-west, south and south-east. Within the inner enclosure, seven slight depressions have been found, of diameter 6 –, thought to be the sites of timber round-houses.

The inner rampart rises up to 0.5 m above the interior, and 1.5 m above an external ditch. The outer ramparts are more substantial, with external quarry-ditches, providing a defence up to 20 m deep. It is thought that there were at least two phases of construction; it has been supposed, since the space between the inner rampart and the outer defences is up to 8 m wide, which would not be there if defences had been strengthened working outwards, that the outer ramparts were built earlier.