Vestiges of the Castle of Dumfries. 363 



Thai in hy towart the town; 



And fillyt dykis hastily, 



Syne to the wall rycht hardely 



They went, with leddris that thai haid. 



Castledykes has, no doubt, been much altered. The Kelton 

 road skirts it on the north, and the road leading to the New Quay 

 on the south, cutting off the river bank and Kingholm; and a 

 house with its gardens covers the greater part of what was pro- 

 bably the Castle area. 



Towards the north there is a tabular elevation, named on the 

 O.M., on what authority I do not know, "Site of Comyn's Castle." 

 From it the ground falls in all directions, gently at some places, 

 but on the south and west quickly forming a steep and high bank. 

 From the foot of this bank southwards the area is comparatively 

 level, but still well elevated above the river. 



Part of a great open ditch or fosse is found on the north and 

 east sides of the plateau. It extends from the entrance gateway 

 off the Kelton road eastwards, parallel with the road and nearly 

 in a straight line, a length of eighty yards. At this point it 

 turns with a wide and shapely curve and runs southwards 60 

 yards, where trace of it is lost. Evidently the ditch has con- 

 tinued westwards from the gateway for about eighty yards and 

 thence southwards, thus covering the north, east, and west sides 

 of the plateau. The west ditch, and the part of the north ditch 

 west of the gateway, are filled with a large stone-built drain and 

 a deep covering of earth. The only evidence of a ditch on the 

 south side of the plateau is a longitudinal hollow at the west end. 

 The shape and direction of the hollow, taken with the probabilty 

 of such a ditch, may, I think, be accepted as sufficient proof. 

 The open part of the ditch measures 50 to 60 feet in width at the 

 top and 6 at the bottom, and the depths is 25 to 30 feet. 



Obviously these are vestiges of the ancient fortifications of 

 the Castle, encompassing the citadel, and judging by the parts 

 open they appear to be as large and formidable barriers of 

 defence as any of the ditches of military works reported in the 

 proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. 



Edward I. in the year 1300 greatly strengthened the castle. 

 According to calculations by Dr George Neilson, contained in 

 "Peel: Its Meaning and Derivation," ditchers to the number of 

 250, with some women helpers, worked on the fosses for a fort- 



