Address of the Vice-President. 13 



We have now gone over in a rapid way two of the 

 three points to which I requested attention — namely, 



1. The relationship or connexion between Archaeology 

 and the other objects of the Society, and 



2. What is comprehended under Archaeology or the study 

 of antiquities. 



We, are now to advance to the remaining — which is also 

 the most interesting branch of the subject ; and that is, the 

 area or district of the Society's operations, and the different 

 objects of interest discovered within its bounds. 



The area or district of the Society is expressed in the 

 name or title of the Society — Dumfries and Galloway. This 

 district is well defined, — having on the N. and E. ranges of 

 hills, and on the S. and W. the Solway and the Irish Sea. 

 It is computed to extend to about 130 miles from E to 

 W. 



This space is intersected by rivers, which divide it into 

 dales, — the Esk, the Annan, the Nith, the Dee, and the 

 Cree. And it has numerous lochs, morasses, and mosses, 

 which must have made the district in former times very dif- 

 ferent from what it is now. 



The earliest inhabitants of the district of whom we 

 obtain definite and detailed information were Celtse or 

 Gauls — two tribes of whom inhabited the district, the 

 Novantes in Wigtownshire and the Selgovos in Kirkcudbright 

 and Dumfriesshire. These we accordingly reckon the earli- 

 est inhabitants, and all early remains in the district, of which 

 no farther account can be had, we denominate Celtic remains. 

 We use this general language because our information is 

 vague and general. 



Our historical records begin, in a manner, with the Roman 

 writers, and at the time of the Roman invasion the popula- 

 tion was mainly Celtic, and of the same people that inhab- 

 ited Gaul. Both had the same customs, the same language, 

 and the same names of places and persons. It has accord- 



