Excavations at Kirkcudbright Castle. U'J 



ditches in the neighbouring fields, the conclusion must be 

 come to that it must have been a formidable pile, and practi- 

 cally impregnable. The defences of the outer bailey have 

 disappeared, but I presume they would be on the stockade 

 principle, and it is only natural that no trace can now be got 

 of them. Neither is there any trace of the draw-bridge, 

 although excavations in the moat at this point might reveal 

 traces of supports. Another important discovery would be 

 that of the well, which I conjecture to have been immediately 

 behind the north tower, but probably this may also be got 

 at some future time, and no doubt interesting relics will be 

 found in its depths. 



The following are the dimensions of the building, and 

 they form an interesting comparison with Caerlaverock : — 

 Length of building, including outer bailey, 214 feet; length of 

 building, excluding outer bailey, 154 feet; width of building 

 over portcullis towers and entrance gateway, 85 feet; width 

 of building over portcullis towers and entrance gateway, in- 

 cluding small tower to the rear of the north tower, 97 feet ; 

 width over keep and south tower, 107 feet; diameter of north, 

 east, and south towers, 36 feet 6 inches ; diameter of keep, 

 44 feet. 



The dimensions of Caerlaverock Castle are : — Width at 

 entrance towers and gateway, 64 feet; length along sides of 

 triangle, 152 feet; length on straight, 141 feet; diameter of 

 largest towers, 26 feet ; width at base of triangle, 171 feet. 



The ancient entrance, according to Ross and M'Gibbon, 

 was 1 1 feet in from the present entrance, making the length 

 at that period, on the straight, 130 feet. It will be thus seen 

 that the size of the King's Castle of Kirkcudbright compares 

 very favourably with that of Caerlaverock Castle. 



As before mentioned, a large number of interesting finds 

 have been made during the excavations, and these, with the 

 exception of a donation of pottery to your museum, by Captain 

 Hope, R.N., of St Mary's Isle, have found a resting place in 

 the Stewartry Museum at Kirkcudbright. The pottery, I 

 may say, has been identified as belonging principally to the 

 late thirteenth and early fourteenth century. 



The first entry we have regarding the castle is in the 



