page_title: Montfode Castle
section_title: Archaeological notes
hierarchical_section_title: Montfode Castle / Archaeological notes
caption_attribution_description: English: Montfode Braes - East, Ardrossan, North Ayrshire, Scotland.
context_page_description: The remains of the old castle of Montfode or Monfode lie to the north-west of the town of Ardrossan and 1.5 miles south-west of West Kilbride in North Ayrshire, Scotland, above the Montfode Braes, in the old Barony of Kilbride. The remains of the 16th century tower are protected as a scheduled monument. The castle ruins are clearly visible from the A78 Ardrossan bypass.
context_section_description: A battle axe was ploughed up in 1864 on top of Montfode Braes (name NS 224 439) near the remains of several ancient forts. It is of grey stone, with a small boss on either side, and is 4.6 inches long.
  In 1965, a thumbnail scraper of yellow-brown flint was picked up in a ploughed field above Montfode Braes. It was retained by the finder.
  In 2002, at NS 228 441 an enclosure or cemetery was revealed at a previously unknown semi-circular enclosure with 60 cist and earth graves. The graves were concentrated in the south-east of the site near an entrance in the enclosure ditch.
  A group of five buried storage tanks associated with the old Shell-Mex petrol refinery at Ardrossan were located just north of Montfode Castle. The whole depot area has been surrounded by a perimeter fence and there are several buildings surviving. The depot has a rail connection on the west side.
  Five connected fish trap boulder alignments having a combined length of some 200 metres are located at the mouth of the Montfode Burn. The boulders rest on the beach in association with rock outcrops.
caption: Montfode Braes
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