Burnswark Hill

Burnswark Hill (also known as Birrenswark), to the east of the A74(M) between Ecclefechan and Lockerbie in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, is a prominent flat-topped hill, composed of basalt deposited some 300 million years ago as a local flow of lava. On this hill have been found an Iron Age hillfort enclosing some 7 hectares, Iron Age round houses within the fort, an earlier Bronze Age burial cairn, enclosures dated to the medieval period, a possible Civil War battery, and an Ordnance Survey triangulation station. Immediately adjacent to the base of the hill are two Roman camps, north and south of the fort, and a possible Roman fortlet (or pre-existing earthwork) within the South Camp.

Excavations have found evidence that the fortifications had collapsed or had been “deliberately felled” before about 140, when the site was bombarded by Roman sling bullets, arrows, and artillery missiles. While this was suggested to be evidence of Roman military training, it now seems likely that the missiles were left by a Roman assault, almost certainly as part of Quintus Lollius Urbicus' conquest of the Scottish Lowlands in about 140.

In November 1542, James V of Scotland rode from Lochmaben Castle to Burnwark Hill to watch fires started by the Scottish army. After learning of the defeat at the battle of Solway Moss, he returned to Stirling Castle.