Colour photograph, 2000
Survey by RCAHMS
The prehistoric fort of Woden Law lies on the summit of the Cheviot Hills. This image of the hill fort was taken by one of RCAHMS aerial photographers during a winter flight in the Borders. The team were just returning to Edinburgh airport as the evening sun caught Woden Law. The light dusting of snow across the ground has defined the fort’s features, revealing its ramparts and ditches.
The ramparts enclosing the fort were built over various phases of construction, beginning in the Iron Age. The innermost rampart surrounds the remains of several timber roundhouses that would have once provided shelter to the occupants of the fort. Evidence of prehistoric farming on the lower slopes is also revealed by an extensive swathe of narrow cultivation ridges.