14 Address of the Vice-President. 



iugly been held by many that the Celts in the two divisions 

 of the Gymry and the Gael were the earliest inhabitants. 

 Yet a more extended examination into the names of hills, 

 rivers, and other permanent objects of nature may shew a 

 pre-Celtic people to have been here. 



One of these early remains, and probably the most exten- 

 sive in the district, is 



The Devil's Dyke. 



This appellation, Fosbrooke says, is indicative of fortifica- 

 tion lines ; for the term Devil's Wall is applied to one of 

 the E,omans, on the left bank of the Danube. Yet here, 

 perhaps, the name may be taken to express our ignorance of 

 the present structure, its builders, and its purpose. 



The course of the Dyke appears to have been first traced 

 by Mr Train, the antiquarian correspondent of Sir Walter 

 Scott, — and a detailed account of it, furnished by Mr Train, 

 is given in Nicolson's History of Galloway.* 



Generally the Dyke appears built of stone, but where a 

 supply of stones could not be had it was composed of stone 

 and turf Like other ramparts of a like kind, it had a fosse 

 on one side, and probably a path to facilitate communication 

 on the other. The remains of this ancient work have been 

 traced from Loch Ryan to the N.E. border of the Stewartry 

 — the whole length of its devious course through Galloway 

 being upwards of 50 miles. After leaving the Stewartry it 

 enters Dumfriesshire, and passing through a part of that 

 county joins the Briton Wall in the parish of Annan. It 

 afterwards runs into the Solway nearly opposite to Bowness, 

 in Cumberland. 



The original height of the wall cannot now be ascertained. 

 At its base its breadth is 8 feet, and on the N. or inland side 

 is the fosse, which takes sometimes a circuitous direction, 

 apparently to include fertile or cultivated lands. From this 



■» Vol, 1, p. 99 and 141, and the Appendix, Note B. 



