Mr. JeiFrey on Jedburgh. 355 



hold. He could not have chosen a more heautiful and secure 

 retreat. " On the east is a precipitous rock of about 100 feet 

 high, washed at its base by the Jed ; on the north a deep 

 ravine runs up from the Jed to the table land betv^^een the 

 Jed and the Rule ; on the south a deep glen winds from the 

 river Jed to the Sueney Moor, which about 3 or 400 yards 

 from the river sends off a deep branch in the direction of the 

 ravine on the north, and approaching so near as to leave only 

 a neck of land between them. To the east of this neck, and 

 surrounded by the Jed and the two ravines, is an open space 

 of ground, and upon it the Douglas built a house for himself 

 and huts for his men . The house of the chief occupied the site of 

 the modern cottage between the ridges on the west and the pre- 

 cipice."* Part of the defences are still to be seen, and consist 

 of two ridges running across the point from the ravine on the 

 north to the bank of the Jed on the south. Several imagine 

 that the works belong to the Roman period, but there are no 

 good grounds for such a view. They bear no resemblance 

 to works executed by the Romans. It is known for certain 

 that Douglas built a house for himself and huts for his soldiers 

 here, and there can be as little doubt that he occupied this 

 place, while Arundel was the English warden, to which oiRce 

 he was appointed on November 20, 1316. f It is probable 

 that Lyntalee was the place in the forest where the armies of 

 Scotland had long rendezvoused when danger threatened the 

 Borders, or when intending a hostile expedition into England. 

 While Douglas lay in this retreat, Thomas de Richmont ad- 

 vanced to the Jed with 10,000 men armed with woodmen's 

 axes to hew down the forest, but they were met by the 

 Douglas within one of the narrow defiles of the Jed, who slew 

 with his own hand the English leader and routed his troops. 

 In the precipitous banks of the Jed at this place are a 

 number of Caves worthy of examination. A difference of 

 opinion exists as to the origin of this class of antiquities, but I 

 am satisfied that they owe their formation to the Caledonian 

 people and to the period of Border warfare. They are to be 

 met with in almost every district of Scotland, and in every 

 part of the world. No doubt they would be used as hiding 

 places during times of Border strife, and even down to our 

 own day part of these caves have been used for farm purposes. 

 About three years ago an accidental discovery was made of a 

 number of caves in the face of the left bank of the Oxnam at 



* Antiquities of Roxburghshire, vol. ii. pp. 224, 225. 

 t Rotuli Scotise, -vol. ii. p. 166. 



