stirling-1963-vol-1/05_213

Transcription

No. 187 -- HOMESTEAD MOATS -- No. 189
The central foundation consisted of nine post-holes
placed at the corners and on the sides of a square of
about 15 ft., with one in the middle. The post-holes
were oval on plan, measuring about 1 ft. 3 in. by 1 ft.
along the axes and 2 ft. 6 in. in depth. The system of
defences was in two distinct parts, one running along
the N., E. and S. sectors of the perimeter of the surface
of the promontory and the other along the W. sector
above the gully. The former consisted of two parallel
trenches (A and B), 4 ft. apart, each about 100 ft. long,
3 ft. deep and 2 ft. wide. They were packed with large
stones and boulders, many of them on edge, as if they
had held stout wooden stockades. They terminated at
the points where the low, stony mounds (S) began. The
defences of the W. sector had been disturbed by the
quarrying, but excavation revealed that while a single
stockade (A1), corresponding to the outer one (A) of the
pair described above, continued close to the edge of the
plateau, the inner one was here replaced by a substantial
drystone wall (D) measuring 2 ft. 6 in. in thickness and
standing to a height of 2 ft. 10 in. The wall was exposed
only at one place, and it is therefore impossible to say
whether it formed merely a simple curtain or whether
any structure such as a guard-chamber was involved.
No sign of an entrance was found, and the possibility
remains that access to the interior was gained by a ladder.
The scanty traces of a stone-packed ditch (C), often only
a shelf, were found outside the main lines of defence
at a level slightly below that of the present rim of
the plateau. This feature, which has clearly been con-
siderably denuded by the natural decay of the steep
flanks of the promontory, may originally have held
another stockade. A section cut in the gully between the
promontory and the adjacent land showed no sign that
this had ever been substantially deeper than at present.
One small circular post-hole (P), 6 in. in diameter and
1 ft. in depth, was found in this section near the bottom
of the flank of the mound.
The excavation thus revealed that the Keir Knowe of
Drum had been occupied by a square wooden building
defended by stockades and, in one sector, by a wall. The
dimensions of the building correspond with those of a
tower of the kind found upon mottes, while stockades
may also be expected at such a structure. ¹ Natural and
artificial mounds were alike used for mottes, according
to individual circumstances.
No relics were found which might have assisted in
suggesting a date for this motte more precise than the
early Middle Ages. Mention of "Drummys of Kippane"
is made in a document of 8th March 1501-2, ² where it
forms part of a gift to Johne Striveling of Craigbernard
(cf. No. 439); but if this indeed refers to Drum, there
can be little doubt that by the date mentioned the little
wooden tower and its stockades would long ago have
given place to a more capacious dwelling placed on a site
less inconvenient for domestic purposes.

636953 -- NS 69 NW ("Keir Knowe or (sic) Drum")
June 1957

188. Motte (probable), Watling Lodge (Site). The
artificial mound which formerly stood on the N. side of
the ditch of the Antonine Wall, immediately W. of the
entrance through which the Roman road ran to the fort
at Camelon (cf. p. 100), was obliterated in 1894, when
Watling Lodge was built upon it. It is said ³ to have been
constructed of earth, and to have been reduced in height
by about 6 ft. when the house was built. No record of its
precise measurements has been found, but from the
appearance of the terrace underlying Watling Lodge its
summit area may have been about 70 ft. in length from
E. to W. by about 40 ft. transversely. The mound, known
locally as Maiden Castle, was probably a motte, compar-
able with the one at Bonnybridge (No. 180).

862798 -- NS 87 NE (unnoted) -- 16 July 1957

HOMESTEAD MOATS

189. Homestead Moat, Peel of Gartfarren. One of
the best-preserved homestead moats in Scotland is the
earthwork known as the "Peel of Gartfarren" which is
situated on low-lying ground on the W. edge of Flanders
Moss, half a mile E. of East Gartfarren. It consists of a
trapezoidal area (Fig. 69), measuring approximately
150 ft. internally along both the N. to S. and E. to W.
axes, which is enclosed by a broad, flat-bottomed ditch
with upcast banks on either lip. Apart from short breaks
at the NE. and SW. corners, the ditch is still traceable
throughout its entire length; it measures from 25 ft. to
40 ft. in width at the top, from 10 ft. to 20 ft. in width at
the bottom and up to 9 ft. in depth. The upcast banks
on the other hand are less distinct, and in some places
have been completely obliterated. Except on the N. side
of the entrance, where it is spread to a width of 34 ft.,
the inner bank is about 18 ft. wide and its maximum
height above the interior is 3 ft. It is capped here and
there by some slight remains of a later drystone enclosure
wall. The surviving portions of the outer bank are from
15 ft. to 20 ft. in width and its maximum height above
the ground outside is 4 ft. The original entrance is
situated near the centre of the W. side, the ditch being
interrupted at this point by an unexcavated causeway
15 ft. in width. Other gaps in the inner bank are clearly
secondary and are said to have been deliberately made
in comparatively recent times to admit the passage of
carts. ⁴
The interior shows the marks of plough-rigs and has
been planted with trees. No traces of buildings are there-
fore visible, but a piece of pottery dateable to the late
13th or early 14th century was found on the site at the
date of the visit.

1 Archaeological Journal, cvii (1950), 15 ff.
2 Reg. Sec. Sig. i, No. 778.
3 R.W.S., 344.
4 Ordnance Survey Name Book, Drymen parish, 35.

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