TDGNHAS Series III, Volume 79

Rooks have nested in Dumfriesshire since time immemorial and their numbers have been surveyed since at least 1908. During the decade (1993-2003) they decreased dramatically by 30% and by a further 5% between 2003 and 2004. The climate and topography are c

Loch Skeen (or Skene, NT 171 165) is a moraine dammed loch lying in a NNW/SSE direction in an upland corrie basin. It lies within Grey Mare’s Tail SSSI, owned by the National Trust for Scotland. A description of the site is given by Mackinlay (2003). The

This paper examines the peopling of the Cree valley in the early-mid Neolithic as expressed in the monuments that they constructed. It endeavours to explore the chambered tombs, their location within and relationship to the landscape and geography of the

In January 2002, during the archaeological monitoring of topsoil stripping for the construction corridor of a 1.2km gas pipeline at Ross Bay, near Kirkcudbright, Dumfries and Galloway, previously unknown archaeological remains were recorded at three locat

Report on the flints found recovered during the Excavations of a Bronze Age Settlement Site at Ross Bay, Kirkcudbright

Report on the pottery found recovered during the Excavations of a Bronze Age Settlement Site at Ross Bay, Kirkcudbright

Report on the environmental remains recovered during the Excavations of a Bronze Age Settlement Site at Ross Bay, Kirkcudbright

Report on the slag remains recovered during the Excavations of a Bronze Age Settlement Site at Ross Bay, Kirkcudbright

Between April and July 2002 an archaeological watching brief was carried out during groundworks for the construction corridor of the Scotland to Ireland Second Gas Interconnector Project land pipeline between Beattock and Cluden in Dumfries and Galloway.

Specialist report on flint assemblage from Kerricks Farm, Duncow, excavations of a Bronze Age barrow

Specialist report on pottery assemblage from Kerricks Farm, Duncow, excavations of a Bronze Age barrow

Specialist report on stone assemblage from Kerricks Farm, Duncow, excavations of a Bronze Age barrow

Specialist report on cremated remains from Kerricks Farm, Duncow, excavations of a Bronze Age barrow

Specialist report on biological remains from Kerricks Farm, Duncow, excavations of a Bronze Age barrow

Cummertrees near Annan and Beltrees near Paisley have names of debated origin. Yet both seem linked to swift streams called Tres, with namesakes in Cornwall, Hampshire, and elsewhere in Scotland. The obscure name of Trevercarcou (Earlstoun, near New Gallo

Description and analysis of fragments of a mail garment found during the excavations at the mediaeval church of Barhobble, Wigtownshire

The youngest daughter of Alan, last of the lords of Galloway, may be best known for something she probably did not build: the bridge across the River Nith in Dumfries which bears her name, Dervorguilla. It is hardly surprising that the people of Dumfries

In 1946 a Miss Helen Selby brought into the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland a collection of artefacts gathered largely from local sources by her father, William McDowall Selby, and grandfather, Robert Bird Selby, who served successively as medi

Description of recent research on the lives of Helen and Isobell Walker from the parish of Kirkpatrick Irongray: Helen Walker was Sir Walter Scott's prototype for Jeannie Deans in his novel 'The Heart of Midlothian.' The research makes extensive use of o

The results of an archaeological evaluation of Annan burgh ditch presented in Volume 76 of the Transactions tentatively suggested that the late 16th century appeared the most likely date for the origin of the burgh ditch revealed at Butts Street, Annan. T

A survey of the entire county of Dumfriesshire in 1993 recorded a total of 25,489 rook nests. A repeat of the census in 2003 found only 17,853 nests, a decrease of 30%. This decline prompted a survey of a large part of the county in 2004, which confirmed

Summary of a lecture presented to the Society on 15th October 2004. Displays of prehistoric artefacts in the museums of Scotland include much material from Wigtownshire, mostly collected during the latter decades of the 19th century. George Wilson, Free

Summary of the Presidential address of Mrs E Toolis presented to the Society on 1st October 2004.
Gardening began in the Fertile Crescent with Sumeria, the first civilisation. Their gardens had sophisticated watering systems with new, imported plants and

Summary of a lecture delivered to the Society on 19th November 2004.
Originally a bare tract of crofts and a few trees, dominated by a Tower House, the environment at Culzean changed with the building of the mansion house by Robert Adam and the developme

Summary of a lecture delivered to the Society on 5th November 2004. The archaeology of the estate at Newbarns, Colvend, is a unique and mysterious monumental record dating back to the Neolithic era, with multi-settlement evidence of occupation through th

A summary of the Cormack Lecture for 2004 - delivered to the Society on 3rd December 2004 by Dr Richard Oram of Stirling University.
A great deal of myth has built up around Fergus of Galloway as there is little in the way of definite information about h

Summary of a lecture delivered to the Society on the occasion of Members' Night 4th March 2005.
A concise summary of the excavations at the Old Caerlaverock Castle was given. The talk coincided with the Society’s publication of the monograph ‘Excavations

Summary of a lecture delivered to the Society on 18th February 2005.
The project involves the generation of a computer database of Dumfries and Galloway artists throughout time to increase the awareness of art and artists in south-west Scotland and ther

Summary of a lecture delivered to the Society on 4th February 2005.
A study of the Library bequeathed to the Presbytery of Dumfries in 1712 by John Hutton MD MP, to which later gifts and purchases were added. Hutton, a native of Caerlaverock, studied in

Summary of a lecture delivered to the Society on 18th March 2005.
The factory constructed in Gretna to produce cordite (the Devil’s porridge) needed for the manufacture of munitions for World War I was part of a much larger site extending from Longtown t

Summary of a lecture delivered to the Society on the occasion Members' Night 4th March 2005.
The Dumfriesshire part of the route of the old coach road through Tinwald, Lochmaben, Beattock and Moffat to the county boundary was described in considerable de

Summary of a lecture delivered to the Society at its meeting of 26th March 2005 at Kirkcudbright.
A planned village was defined as a settlement that was founded or substantially rebuilt in the 18th and early to mid 19th centuries with the support or appr

Summary of a lecture delivered to the Society on 21st January 2005.
Red Kites were extinct in Scotland by the late 19th century. The first young birds, from Germany and the Chilterns, were released from cages on a private estate forestry site in Galloway