A summit with a hill-fort on a ridge which overlooks the Vale of Leven to the east in West Dunbartonshire, Carman Hill rises to 244m (800 feet) 1¼ miles (2 km) west southwest of Alexandria. The hill-fort was discovered as recently as 1954, first observed on aerial photographs, and is one of the largest in Western Scotland. It comprises a large fortification with stone ramparts, ditches, and sunken approach roads. There are two tiers of defence; an inner enclosure or citadel, and an outer enclosure containing up to twelve hut circles, extending to around 180m (590 feet) x 140m (459 feet). The structure is thought to date from the post-Roman period. The poet Blind Harry (c.1440-92) suggests that freedom-fighter William Wallace (1274 - 1305) evaded the English using a tunnel into Carman Hill.
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