38 Transactions. 



.stream skirts the S side. The general contours and slopes are 

 remarkably smooth and soft, extremely unlike any other mote or 

 fort in the Stewartry. A section, 18 feet long N. and S. and 5 feet 

 deep at the centre of the mound, was made. This laid bare a long 

 strip of " wall," composed of granite boulders, which was traced 

 round the S., the E., and part of the N. sides ; the stones being 

 laid at an outward incline of about 25", and having an average 

 breadth of 6 feet. On the N. side there was a space of 75 feet 

 entirely free from stones, and no stones were found at any level on 

 the river {i.e., the west) side of the mound. The inside plumb- 

 depth of this " wall " of boulders reached three feet near the east 

 trench, There were no stones found anywhere on the outer scarp 

 of the trench. 



On the next day numbers of small, tube-like fragments of 

 " concretions of iron, taking curiously imitative forms," were found 

 in the blue clay near the centre of the mound. Dr Munro (one of 

 the Hon. Sees, of the Soc. Antiq. Scot. ) examined these on the spot, 

 and recognised them to be similar to fragments found in sandbeds 

 at Glenluce. 



A short section of 9 feet was subsequently made at right 

 angles to the main cutting, and the clay, at several points here, 

 probed to a depth of 9 feet. Nothing, however, was found of any 

 interest. 



Two days after, the excavation was stopped. In the face of 

 such a partial exploration scarcely any useful conclusions can be 

 drawn. To the majority of those present (including Dr Munro) 

 the mound seemed to be a mote or a fort, i.e., a place of defence. 

 This theory is based on the following arguments : 



1. That the boulder wall disclosed was partly a foundation, 

 originally nearly level, perhaps. 



2. That on this there may have been a turf or other wall, with 

 palisades of wood on the top of it. 



3. That if it were not a mere foundation this wall was a re- 

 taining wall. 



4. That the huge central mound was made for the sake of 

 height, and therefore strength and advantage above the river. 



As against this theory of the mound being a forte or mote, it 

 is to be noticed : — 



1. That the wall of boulders keeps a regular and uniform fall 

 of 1 in 2 at all points, that in some parts it is only 9 or 10 inches 



