Eildon Hill

Infobox Mountain
Name = Eildon Hill
Photo = Eildon_Hill_North.jpg
Caption = Eildon Hill North, with Eildon Village in the foreground
Elevation = 422 m (1385 ft)
Location = Scottish Borders SCO
Range =
Prominence = "c." 164 m
Coordinates =
Topographic
OS "Landranger" 73
Type =
Age =
Last eruption =
First ascent =
Easiest route =
Grid_ref_UK = NT548322
Listing = Marilyn
Translation = possibly "Elves Hill"
Language = Old English
Pronunciation = Eeldun

"Not to be confused with Eldon Hill, England"

Eildon Hill lies just south of Melrose, Scotland in the Scottish Borders, overlooking the town. The name is sometimes pluralised into "the Eildons" or "Eildon Hills", because of its triple peak.

The north hilltop (of three peaks) is surrounded by over 5 km (3 miles) of ramparts, enclosing an area of about 16 ha (40 acres) in which at least 300 level platforms have been cut into the rock to provide bases for turf or timber-walled houses.

History

Excavations have found evidence that the hill fort was occupied by 1000 BC, in the Bronze age. The ramparts seem to have been built and rebuilt in three phases. At its peak the population of the hill could have been 3000 to 6000, the largest known in Scotland from this period. Evidence has not been found of a significant population in the immediate pre-Roman period. It was once widely believed that this Trimontium might be the Trimontium of the Selgovae that had been mentioned by the Roman geographer Ptolemy, but the source of the information was later discredited.

In the 1st century the Roman army built the massive fort of Trimontium, named after the three peaks, at the foot of the hill on the bank of the River Tweed. In association with it they constructed a signal tower with a tiled roof in an 11 m (36 ft) diameter enclosure built on the summit of the hill fort, which presumably had been abandoned. However, finds including Roman coins and pottery have suggested that some of the house platforms were again in use in the 2nd to 4th century.

According to Nuttall, the convert|1385|ft|m high "triple-crested eminence" overlooks Teviotdale to the South.

Folklore

Eildon is said to be a "hollow hill", and is mentioned in the legend of Thomas the Rhymer. Some believe Thomas went under the hill itself, and certainly part of the ballad occurs in the vicinity.

The volcanic rock was "said to have been cleft in three by the wizard Michael Scot when he was out of employment".

References

* Scotland Before History - Stuart Piggott, Edinburgh University Press 1982, ISBN 0748660674
* Scotland's Hidden History - Ian Armit, Tempus (in association with Historic Scotland) 1998, ISBN 0-85224-348-0