Site of the Monastery of Dumfries. 255 



We found no buildings or human remains north of Nos. 

 2 and 6 on plan, but in every other part there were a great 

 number of skeletons. 



On going down from three to four feet we came on a 

 rectangular foundation, 9 ft. 2 in. long by 3 ft. 5 in. broad, 

 stretching N. to S. It consisted of well set foundations, with 

 a few of what had formed a running course of hewn stones, as 

 marked No. i on plan. These were 5 inches deep, with a 

 facing slope of 3 inches and a straight face of 2^ inches. 

 This was quite detached from any other foundation, and just 

 where we were told to expect the altar stones to the east of 

 this, 9 feet distant, was the foundations of a wall of the same 

 kind of sandstone as the one discovered. 



These foundations were not quite continuous, as here and 

 there they had been broken into for drainage purposes for the 

 buildings just removed. 



These are marked red on plan, and show a measurement 

 of 45 feet north to south, with walls running west from them 

 in the direction of Greyfriars' Street. The excavators could 

 not fix the length of these, as the operations did not include 

 the houses in Greyfriars' Street, but it is known that the roadway 

 in that street stands on old vaults, and that the houses in both 

 Greyfriars' and St David Streets did at one time form part of the 

 buildings. 



At the altar we found nine skeletons, with their heads 

 against it and their feet to the east, and according to the 

 custom of the period, probably ecclesiastics. On the south we 

 found only two. These had their heads to the west and feet 

 to the east. On the north and west there were no interments at 

 the altar. 



All the skeletons had fine sets of teeth, the wisdom ones 

 being well developed, and in no case did we see any decay. 

 The only other bones we could handle were the larger leg ones; 

 the others, if they were visible, crumbled when exposed to 

 the air. 



South of the altar we came on traces of the earth having 

 been disturbed at a much lower level than at any other point, 

 and on digging down we found at the depth of nine feet from 

 the surface a culvert of flat sandstones with a channel six inches 

 broad, and three deep, covered with sandstone flags. On 



