North Platt Hill

The much denuded North Platt Hill is located a quarter-mile (0.5 km) southwest of Norton House and a half-mile (0.8 km) northwest of Ratho in the west of the City of Edinburgh Council Area. Its summit reaches approximately 110m (360 feet) but the M8 motorway cuts through its southern slopes while its northwestern flank is lost to the enormous Hillwood Quarry. An ancient hill-fort has been recorded on the summit, comprising two concentric ditches. In 1796, an Early Bronze Age flat axe was found, while a detailed excavation undertaken in 1993 in preparation for the construction of the M8 motorway extension brought evidence for Neolithic, Bronze Age and Early Historic activity. Although the main occupation of the site seems to span from 400 BC to late 600 AD, several Neolithic pits containing fragments of carinated bowls and human remains were observed, while Bronze Age funerary remains were more extensive including a ring ditch that enclosed two cremations in cordoned urns. Burial cists were also excavated and a copper alloy pin was found along with a number of clay loom weights.


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