238 Carlingwark Loch and its Crannogs. 



" causeway " was formed of rough stones secured by piles of oak. 

 This corresponds exactly with the usual " causeway " found at 

 nearly all other Crannogs, because it formed the basis of the gang- 

 way Avhich connected these dwellings with the shore. 



7. The same writer in the " Old Statistical Account " says 

 that in 1765, Avhen the loch was partially drained in order to dig 

 for marl, it was observed that one of the small islands — "The 

 Ash Island " — seemed to be artificial, having evidently been 

 formed bv strong piles of wood dri-\-en into the silt, or marl, on 

 which were placed large frames of black oak. This clearly points 

 to a Crannog, because that was the manner in which Crannogs 

 were built. 



Finally, I can corroborate this statement, because I have not 

 only seen the piles, but actually touched them. Whether they 

 belong to a Crannog or not it is impossible to say until they are 

 raised and the mortising marks examined. 



Taking all these things into consideration, a strong case has 

 been made out for the existence of a Crannog at one time on 

 Carlingwark Loch. The question, however, could soon be settled 

 if permission were given to raise a few of these piles or beams, 

 when their antiquity and identity could easily be established by 

 the mortising or chisel work. This is a matter which the Dum- 

 fries and Galloway Antiquarian Society should take up. The 

 expense would be very trifling, and to establish such a fact, or 

 rescue such a strange phase of human life from oblivion, would, 

 I venture to say. be another triumph for prehistoric archeeology. 

 Owing to the present level of the water, it would be very difficult 

 to dig for relics, unless permission were obtained from the pro- 

 prietors to lower the loch in the summer by taking out the dam at 

 the Buchan Bridge. This could easily be done, and when the 

 investigations were completed, the dam could be replaced without 

 in anv way injuring the loch . It has been clone before, and more- 

 over, the loch, especially on the Public Park side, would be all 

 the -better of being cleaned of the weeds which threaten to spoil 

 its beauty. And I am sure the knowledge thus to be gained of a 

 prehistoric people who lived and flourished more than nineteen 

 hundred years ago would more than compensate the proprietors 

 for the pemiission so given, because the longer the question is 

 left unsettled the proofs will become more and more indistinct. 



The sites of the supposed Crannogs are on the east side of 



