367 



PRESENTATIONS. 



16th October, 1914. — Rev. R. Neill Rae, minister of Lochmaben. — 

 A log of oak wood from the Castle Loch, Lochmaben. It is 

 10 feet long, roughly circular, tapering to a point ; at thick 

 end (11 inches diameter) it ha.s been hollowed, seemingly with 

 fire, to the depth of about 4 inches at right angles across 

 beam ; about the centre of the log are two hollowings, also 

 sliowing marks of fire, these run diagonally across the beam, 

 the one is further up tlian the other, the point of the latter 

 touching the centre of the former. In all three hollows are 

 pin holes, one in the centre of each, and there are three other 

 pin holes in the log. In the large hollow the pin is still in situ, 

 but easily removable. The following note is by the donor: — 

 " The Bruce Castle of Lochmaben was built by the second 

 Robert de Brus, Lord of Skelton, Yorkshire, shortly after his 

 comrade, David, Earl of Huntingdon, Prince of Cumbria, 

 became King of Scotland. The new King appointed Robert de 

 Brus Lord of Annandale, and he proceeded to build his castle 

 on a more defensible iwsition than the old one on the Castle- 

 hill. This must have been shortly after 1124 a.d. There is a 

 tradition that the stones of the old castle or fort, of whose 

 date and history nothing is known, were u.sed to build the new 

 one. and were conveyed over a tressel bridge stretching from 

 the Vendace Burn to the new site. It was on the traditional 

 line of this bridge that this log was raised many years ago 

 from the bottom of Vendace Bay, about half-way between the 

 Castle and Vendace Burn. The top cf the log shows the 

 shoulder into which the connecting bars of the platform were 

 fitted. There are stories of lake dwellings having been erected 

 in the loch long ago, but, although carefully searched for, no 

 certain traces have been found, and as the opening of the 

 Vallison many years ago has lowered the loch considerably, 

 the.se lake dwellings would probably have been expo.sed as 

 islets." 



J. M. Corrie, Newtown St. Boswells. — Specimen of Vitrified 

 Rock from Stroanfrcggan Fort, Dairy. 



23rd April, 191.5. — Colonel Thorburn of Abbeybank.— Memorial 

 Stone from St. Michael's Church, bearing the following in- 

 scription : — [Sacred] / To the Memory / Of / George 

 Mackenzie of Netherwood / Who / With a sound and well- 

 informed Understanding / Was no less eminently useful to the 

 Public / As an impiover of his Country / By / His judicious 

 Instructions and E.xaniples in Agriculture ' Than in private 

 Life / Distinguished and esteemed / By / His domestic 

 friendly and social Virtue** / He died 24th May, 1781 / In the 



