During the 2017 ‘Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology’, Historic Environment Scotland ran a project known as Archaeology InSites. The project aimed to celebrate and promote the lesser known, hidden treasures of Scotland’s archaeological past. Twice weekly (every Tuesday and Friday) a feature – written by a specialist in the subject – was released on to the Canmore website (now Trove). Each month featured a different archaeological ‘age’, running from deepest prehistory through to the modern day.
A total of 97 features were produced covering a wide geographical area, and included site types from throughout Scotland’s history and prehistory. Nine of these features were from the South West region.
Ballochmyle Cup and Ring marked rock – Mauchline, East Ayrshire
In 1986, while clearing vegetation, estate workers near Machline in Ayrshire discovered a rock face covered in cup and ring marks. It turned out to be one of the largest areas of rock art found in the UK so far. But what are these marks and what is their place in the wider archaeological context?
Holywood South Cursus monument – Dumfries and Galloway
From the beginning of the Neolithic period communities built monuments which enclosed space on a scale never before seen in Scotland. Amongst the earliest and largest are cursus monuments, so-called because when first identified in the 18th century they were thought to be Roman chariot racing arenas. It was not until the 20th century that excavation and dating showed them to be of Neolithic date. So what are these strange named monuments?
Glenlochar Roman Fort and camps – Dumfries and Galloway
Roman Scotland was on the periphery of a vast Empire which circled the Mediterranean, stretching from Scotland in the north to Libya in the south, and from Spain in the west to Syria in the east. Somehow, south-west Scotland appears to have been on the periphery of a periphery, but tantalising clues left behind demonstrate how strategically important this area was for the conquest of northern Britain. One such clue is the fort and camps at Glenlochar, on the east bank of the River Dee at Loch Ken in Galloway.
Burnswark Hill Roman camps and a Prehistoric hillfort – Ecclefechan, Dumfries and Galloway
From a distance, the appearance of the great flat-topped eminence of Burnswark Hill is striking. Lying approximately twenty miles north of the western end of Hadrian’s Wall and with its summit at almost 1000 ft it is easily seen from most of the Solway basin.
The Mote of Urr, Motte-and-Bailey Castle – Dumfries and Galloway
The Mote of Urr is the earthwork remains of a 12th century timber castle known as a motte-and-bailey. It lies 4km north of Dalbeatie in the valley of the Urr Water, and standing on the edge of an old river cliff dominating the haughland of the river it is a very visible feature in the landscape. The river now flows along the east side of the castle, but when it was built it almost certainly flowed along its west side. We know this because the parish boundary follows the course of the Urr Water, preserving its line when the boundary was settled, possibly around the time the castle was built.
Boyken Burn settlement, Fermtoun – Dumfries and Galloway
The fermtoun of Boyken Burn in the valley of the Dumfriesshire Esk is a remarkable survival of a complete farming settlement pre-dating the Agricultural Improvements that took place mainly from the middle of the 18th and into the early 19th centuries. In the Esk Valley the pattern and the names of the settlements are known from documents of the late 14th century and most of them continue as modern farms, probably on or close to the sites of their predecessors whose remains have been destroyed, but at Boyken Burn no modern farm has been established and the earlier remains survive, occupying a band of ground sandwiched between modern cultivation below and commercial forestry above.
Monkton Windmill – Whiteside, South Ayrshire
Travelling around the west of Scotland, one is struck by the large numbers of watermills, now often converted into coffee shops, galleries and even museums. Their ubiquity is testament to the damp climate and rugged terrain which characterises this part of the world. These structures were originally built in order to harness the energy in flowing water, powering the early stages of our agricultural and industrial revolutions. We find this energy source revisited today in the form of hydropower turbines; at the same time, we mustn’t forget the backbone of renewable energy, wind, which also has a historic origin – the windmill.
Tar Works – Muirkirk, Ayrshire
The Tar Works at Kames to the south west of the village of Muirkirk in Ayrshire was founded by the British Tar Company in 1786 to work Lord Dundonald’s patent for the manufacture of tar from coal. As a by-product of the manufacturing process, the Tarworks produced large quantities of coke that could be used as fuel, leading to the establishment of an Iron Works a year later and providing the catalyst for the industrial development of the moorland around the village.
Largs War Memorial, North Ayrshire
Standing by the shore at Largs is a statue of three men. It was erected by local people to the memory of those who lost their lives in conflicts throughout the world; and this, like many other war memorials across our country, still serves as a place of remembrance to this day.