Tynron Doon

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} '''Tynron Doon''' is a multivallate Iron Age [[hill fort]] outside the village of [[Tynron]] in [[Dumfries and Galloway]], [[Scotland]]. It was occupied on and off from the 1st millennium BC until the 16th century, when an [[L-plan castle|L-shaped tower house]] stood there. Tynron Doon lies at the southern end of the [[Carsphairn and Scaur Hills|Scaur hills]].

==Description== The original site is thought to be a multivallate [[hill fort]] dating to the [[Iron Age]], of much the same plan as the modern (20th C.) remains.{{sfn|CANMORE|728679}}

The site is itself a spur hill of [[Auchengibbert Hill]], and reaches {{convert|289|m|ft}} in height. The summit has an approximately oval plateau, of {{convert|40|by|45|m}} in extent.{{sfn|CANMORE|1017429}} The fort was built in a natural defensive position defended by steep slopes on the north, south and east sides. The western approach was made defensive by the addition of three ditches and two ramparts, with some of the ditches rock-cut.{{sfn|CANMORE|728679}}

In the 15th century the hill was the site of one of nine beacons maintained by the Sheriffs of Nithsdale and Annandale.<ref>{{citation| url = https://archive.org/stream/ahistorydumfrie00unkngoog#page/n146/mode/2up| page = 127| title = A history of Dumfries and Galloway | last = Maxwell| first= Herbert Eustace| year = 1900}}</ref>

In the late medieval era (c. 16th C.) an L-shaped tower house was built in the northwest corner of the central area, with a floor plan of roughly {{convert|20|by|42|ft}}; a smaller {{convert|8|by|10|ft}} extension to the northwest is speculated to have been a tower stair.{{sfn|CANMORE|728679}}

The tower house is thought to have been demolished between 1700 and 1750, used to build the church in Tynron (Tynron Kirk) and a [[barmkin]] wall fortification enclosing the summit may have been added in around the same period.{{sfn|CANMORE|728679}}

A hut circle dating to the 18th/19th C. is thought to have been a shepherd's [[bothy]].{{sfn|CANMORE|728679}} [[Image:Tynron Doon with Nithsdale and Queensberry beyond.jpg|thumb|centre|600px|Tynron Doon (on the right) viewed from Auchengibbert Hill with the valley of the River Nith (Nithsdale) beyond and Queensberry Hill near the left side of the picture. The village of Penpont can be seen in the foreground and Thornhill lies beyond it.]]

==References== {{reflist|30em}}

===Sources===

*{{citation| title = Tynron Doon, Dumfriesshire: A History of the Site with Notes on the Finds 1924-67| first = James| last = Williams|pages = 106–120| journal = Transactions of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society| series = 3| year = 1971| volume = 48|url = http://www.dgnhas.org.uk/transonline/SerIII-Vol48.pdf }} *{{citation | url =https://canmore.org.uk/site/65300| title = Tynron Doon| work = [[Canmore (database)|CANMORE]] - National Record of the Historic Environment |number = 65300 | ref={{harvid|CANMORE}} }} **{{citation | url =https://canmore.org.uk/event/728679| title = Tynron Doon -Archeology Notes| work = [[Canmore (database)|CANMORE]]| number=728679 | ref={{harvid|CANMORE|728679}} }} **{{citation | url =https://canmore.org.uk/event/1017429| title = Tynron Doon - Publication Account| work = [[Canmore (database)|CANMORE]]| number=1017429 | ref={{harvid|CANMORE|1017429}} }}

==External links== {{commons category|Tynron Doon}}

*{{citation | url =https://canmore.org.uk/site/65306| title = Doon - Drumloff (track)| work = [[Canmore (database)|CANMORE]] - National Record of the Historic Environment }}

[[Category:Hillforts in Scotland]] [[Category:History of Dumfries and Galloway]] [[Category:Archaeological sites in Dumfries and Galloway]] [[Category:Scheduled monuments in Dumfries and Galloway]] [[Category:Dumfriesshire]]