Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 50

The investigation of early roads is hampered by the absence of early road maps, as the first of any real service were those of Adair, issued as late as 1680. At an earlier date information derives from travellers narratives and early documents, which identify their existence without specifying their position. The making of new roads in the last few hundred years has in many instances led to these old routes being abandoned. The article considers early maps and documentary references going back to the Roman period, the first surveys of Scotland, the military survey of Scotland, evidence for old population centres, Roman roads, the roads from Berwick, Kelso, Jedburgh, Hawick and Selkirk, Peeble, Biggar, Lanark, Hamilton and Glasgow in addition to the roads going out of Edinburgh.

The area enclosed within the main line of fortification amounts to about 32 acres and over at least a considerable portion of the hill there were four distinct periods of inhabitation during the Iron Age. It is suggested that the presence of a few Neolithic and Bronze Age artefacts but no pottery precludes occupation in those periods. The earliest Iron Age phase appears to to be the longest period of occupation. Finds include coins and large quantities of Roman pottery although a military presence is considered unlikely as the great majority of other artefacts are native in origin and there is no regular arrangement of buildings.

The cathedral is one of only two in Scotland with a surviving ancient timber roof. The work was necessary in order to prevent a total collapse of the building. There is no evidence that stone vaulting was originally contemplated for roofing. The poor condition of many of the surviving timbers meant that they could not safely be retained. Hidden steel was used to reinforce the roof. The weight of the roof was reduced considerably by the substitution of copper sheeting for lead or slate. Ancient oak was also re-used where possible.

The objects were found along with human bones by school children in a small sand mound. They comprised a pair of single-scaled brass oval brooches, eleven links of a brass chain, probably the connecting chain of the oval brooches, a circular ornament of bronze, a bronze strap, a penannular brooch of bronze of Celtic type, a buckle and belt-mounting of bronze, a fusiform bead of amber, a possible iron knife and portions of an iron socketed spearhead. The find is unusual as it combines Celtic and Scandinavian influences.

A group of seven Bronze Age short cist burials was discovered over a period of several months during quarrying. One of the cists contained a Food Vessel lying on its side, a very decayed skeleton and a necklace made of jet. It comprised seven plates and one hundred and seven beads. This is the third necklace to be recovered from the area. The position of the components within the cist has enabled a reconstruction. A detailed discussion of Bronze Age jet ornaments is presented along with a comprehensive list of all the examples from Scotland. Scottish jet necklaces fall into two broad groups, one composed of a single string of beads, and the other of a more elaborate arrangement of plates and beads, forming a crescentic pattern worked out on regular lines.

The article considers when whisky or its lineal ancestor became a common drink in Scotland. There is evidence to suggest that a grain distilled spirit of some sort was in fairly common use in the northern part of Europe by the end of the fifteenth century, and in Ireland by the beginning of the sixteenth century. However there is no evidence to support the belief that that such a spirit might also have been in common use in Scotland by 1500 although documentary references do appear in the Exchequer Rolls for 1494-95 to a malt distilled liquor. The term whisky appears to originate in the later sixteenth century.

A hoard of twenty eight very worn silver coins were discovered by workmen in the Eastern Lammermuirs. The majority could not be identified, however, there were a few coins of William III and George II. A second hoard found near Banff consisted of 215 silver and 172 bronze coins originally contained in a gin bottle. Many of these were also unidentifiable and it is argued both hoards reflect the poor state of Scotland's currency at the time.

The inscribed stone was discovered during grave digging in the old churchyard at Weem. The incised inscription is in two lines, separated from each other by a wide interval. The article attempts to interpret the inscription which is difficult to read and probably incomplete as a portion of the undressed stone has recently broken off. The inscription remains undated and undecipherable although a variety of possibilities are considered. The Perthshire place-name of Weem is believed to be derived from the Gaelic word uaim, a cave, there being in the face of the steep precipitous hill known as Weem Rock a cave, or rather there are two caves, one of\r\nthem traditionally having a connection with St Cuthbert. The connection of Cuthbert with Weem rests solely on the Irish Life of that saint.

Flakes and spalls are, as might perhaps have been expected, the most numerous relics. They exhibit considerable variation as regards size, material, and flaking, and a good many of them, as indicated by their blunted edges, appear to have been used as knives or scrapers without further chipping. The material is mostly flint, chert, or quartz, but it includes also one or two interesting examples of pitchstone. The main focus of the article is on those artefacts described as pigmy flints which are are remarkable and delicately manufactured implements of crescent, triangular, pointed, and rhomboidal form.

Earlier historical accounts of Raedykes are considered and accompanying illustrations reproduced including the work of Roy. These accounts demonstrate extraordinary differences between the various estimates that were formed regarding the superficial area of Raedykes. Small-scale excavation revealed that the engineers who constructed the camp had made use of two well-marked types of ditch and rampart,\r\nthe choice of type for each particular section being obviously determined by the nature of the ground that happened to lie immediately in front. The outline of the camp as a whole is described as quadrilateral and the writer attempts to explain the differences in area estimates. Antiquarian accounts of Glenmailen are also considered and a report on exploration of the ditch and rampart is presented along with a plan of the camp which is firmly identified as Roman.