White Castle, East Lothian, Iron Age hillfort in Garvald and Bara, Scotland.
White Castle is a hilltop fort ringed by three defensive ramparts arranged in nested ovals across a sloped landscape. The arrangement created multiple layers of protection for the settlement occupying the interior spaces.
The fort was established around 400 BC during the Early Iron Age. It continued to serve people for many centuries after, showing evidence of occupation across different periods.
The location served as a living settlement for hundreds of years, with people building homes and conducting daily activities within its boundaries. Multiple generations adapted and used the same hilltop space throughout different periods.
The site sits on a hilltop reached via local paths and requires some walking to access. The exposed terrain offers few shelters from wind and weather, so visitors should come prepared for changing conditions.
Geophysical surveys revealed that the ramparts were constructed using a clever method of layering soil and rubble between stone edges. This technique shows that builders understood advanced defensive engineering for their time.
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