Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 58

The roof or covering of the cist was peculiar when compared with the coverings of similar cists found in Aberdeenshire, in that, instead of its being formed of one layer of stones, it consisted of many such stones arranged in three layers. One of the stones in the upper layer had carved markings on its underside. The cist contained a crouched adult male skeleton aged upwards of forty years, an incomplete urn and a quartzite implement. A detailed report on the skeleton is included.

The castle, which was the seat of the Durwards is located next to the medieval church. A historical background with documentary records is presented. Erected comparatively early in the thirteenth century, the Castle of Coull belongs to the older type of stone fortress characterised by a single envelope and the presence of a donjon. The excavation is described in detail with many plans and illustrations. All of the surviving components of the castle have been revealed. The ruins are now in very poor condition. A detailed report on the pottery and other artefacts is included.

Fifty stone and over four hundred flint implements have been found; while flint chips, obviously struck off in the manufacture of tools, must be numbered by the thousand. Flint scrapers, arrowheads, saws, knives, gravers and borers were among the flint tools and there was a single knife of Arran pitchstone.

The robbed dun at Creag an Fhamhair is described and illustrated. Stone walls, an entrance and an outer earthwork have been identified. The ruin at Obhair Latha, meaning " The Day's Work." consists of four columns of rude, strong masonry with apertures and was a defensive structure. The vitrified fort at Gairloch is said to have been used as a stronghold by the Macbeaths, and subsequently the M'Leods.

A small cross and fragments of a chain were seen embedded in a mass of coins from Dumfries. Further cleaning revealed a complete brooch, portions of another three, and a small bow handle, all of silver. These items and the coins are described here. Other known finds from Scotland are catalogued and illustrated. Five distinct types of brooches are identified.

The Border hills offer only a limited number of direct passes through which roads can be taken, and while there are perhaps a dozen open passes between north and south,\r\nthere is only one really accessible highway between the east and the west '” the Tweed valley. This is the context in which the development of these ancient highways must be considered. Each is described in detail.

A grave was discovered within a cairn when stones were being removed to facilitate ploughing. The grave was off centre and lined with four stone slabs. A handful of human bones and a necklace of two triangular terminal plates and twenty-three beads was recovered, the plates being entirely devoid of ornamentation. Sixteen of the beads were\r\nbarrel-shaped and seven cylindrical.

During the early Bronze Age the site had proved attractive as two short cists of this period, each containing an urn of the food-vessel type, have now been discovered on it. A third and smaller cist filled with earth was also found between the others. Besides these a human skeleton without any enclosing structure was recently found, but there was nothing associated with it by which its period could be determined. In addition to the cists mentioned, another containing unburnt human remains and a food-vessel was unearthed at Cowdenhill about 300 yards to the west. The latest cist contained two skeletons and a complete urn. The skeletons were a young adult male and a child aged around seven years.

Of the original fittings and furnishings of Stirling Castle very little now remains. It is therefore of interest when fragments that have disappeared are recovered. Each of the fragments are described and illustrated. One formed part of a circular panel and is made of oak. it is decorated with the figure of a man. The second is a carving in native oak of the Scottish Lion marchant. The third and fourth are the doors of a French cabinet elaborately carved out of walnut, showing a subject in the centre framed in a heavy enriched moulding.

The upper portion of a small Celtic cross slab was discovered in the south gable of the south transept of the Cathedral. It is much weathered and the carving on one face is almost illegible. On the unworn face the sculpturing is clear and sharp. The upper limb of the cross and both arms are covered with a doublecord interlaced pattern. The compartments above the arms are filled with a zigzag fret. There is a double square recess in the angles at the intersection of the arms. On one side there is a spiral and fret pattern; and on the other side a more open but more weathered one. The other fragment was found in the eastern cemetery. The ornament on one face is mainly spiral, but there is some fret as well. The other face shows part of the shaft of a cross and part of the left arm, which are covered with interlaced work. part of a coped-coffin cover was removed from the Abbey wall. The seventeenth-century tombstone commemorates a Margaret Taylor who died in 1636.