- Rispain Camp
Rispain Camp is the remains of a fortified farmstead 1 mile west of
Whithorn ,Dumfries and Galloway ,Scotland . It is one of the majorIron Age archaeological sites in Scotland.Today it consists of two broad earth banks separated by a
ditch , originally almost six metres deep surrounding an enclosure of almost half ahectare .Its defences are so well preserved that until the mid 1970s archaeologists believed the site to be either a
Roman fort ormediaeval farmstead. However excavations in the early 1980s provided evidence that it was inhabited between the 100 BC and 200 AD by local Celtic farmers.Radiocarbon dating has provided evidence that the site was definitely occupied around 60 BC. [Gifford, John (1996) "The Buildings of Scotland : Dumfries and Galloway", Penguin]The name Rispain may derive from a local equivalent of the Old Welsh word "rhwospen" meaning 'the chief of the cultivated country', a name certainly appropriate to as prestigious a farm as this.
Excavation revealed traces of a timber gateway to the north east, which would probably have been connected to a timber
stockade running along the top of the innerrampart . There was also evidence of large timberroundhouse s inside the enclosure, one of which is thirteen and a half metres in diameter. In the ditch's south eastern corner excavation uncovered a square pit, possibly acistern .Cattle ,sheep andpig s were kept and hunting in the surrounding countryside providedvenison .Barley andwheat may not just have been used as foodstuffs but also, in the case of barley, used in thebrewing ofalcohol .The property is in the care of
Historic Scotland . Access is through a farm off the B7021Port William road.References
External links
* [http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=10320 Rispain Camp at the Megalithic Portal]
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