Hownam Rings/ Hownam Law

About Hownam

With over 400 Bronze Age and Iron Age hillforts in the Scottish Borders, it is common to be able to see one stronghold from another. Not far from Woden Law is Hownam Rings, perched upon a raised plateau at over 1,100 feet above sea level.
The ‘Rings’ in Hownam Rings refer to the multiple layers of circular earthworks fortifying it, and to the circular bases of roundhouses found within it. Excavations in 1948 revealed at least four phases of occupation in the Iron Age. It began with a single wooden palisade, and later a stone wall enclosed the plateau. It was then remodelled and given three extra layers of ramparts, and finally a homestead was built atop the time-worn defences. Altogether, Hownam Rings was occupied for around 700 years.

Archaeological finds were relatively few, but they did include native pottery, Roman pottery, and even native imitations of Roman pottery. The Roman pottery dates from the late 3rd century AD, decades after the last major Roman invasion of Scotland. Was it acquired by trade with the south after the Romans withdrew, or could the people of Hownam Rings have been part of a mixed Romano-British culture?

Just south-east of Hownam Rings is a line of stones known as ‘The Shearers’. Eleven of the original twenty-eight stones are visible today. Once thought to be the remains of standing stones, they are in fact an ancient field boundary system made by the Iron Age inhabitants of Hownam Rings.

There's a nice literary connection to Hownam Law. Kelso-born poet William H Ogilvie knew this country well and admired the shepherds and their sheepdogs who herded on these hills. One day, spotting a collie in Kelso, he imagined where the dog would rather be and penned an affectionate poem to it, the first stanza of which is:

TO A COLLIE IN TOWN.
Where are you travelling, head on paw,
With big brown eyes a-dreaming ?
Leaving your bed in the barley straw
For the morning hill-mists cold and raw,
To gather the sheep on Hownam Law,
With the grey Kale under you streaming?
-- published in The Scotsman

NB: Postcode is closest available. For accurate location use what3words: potential.tidal.adopting or National Grid Reference: NT 79040 19390