Julian Thomas - A Neolithic Ceremonial Complex in Galloway: Excavations at Dunragit and Droughduil, 1999–2002

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Front cover: Reconstruction of the Late Neolithic palisaded enclosure at Dunragit, looking toward the Droughduil mound. Image by Aaron Watson

CONTENTS

Julian Thomas

Julian Thomas

Julian Thomas and Matthew Leivers

Julian Thomas, David Sanderson and Colin Kerr

Richard Tipping, David Smith and Jason Jordan

Matthew Leivers with Julian Thomas

Elizabeth Healey

Jacqueline I. McKinley

Helen Lewis

Derek Hamilton and Julian Thomas

Julian Thomas

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES

List of Figures

List of Tables

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

DEREK HAMILTON

Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre

Rankine Avenue

Scottish Enterprise Technology Park

East Kilbride

G75 0QF

ELIZABETH HEALEY

School of Arts, Languages and Cultures

University of Manchester

Oxford Road

Manchester

M13 9PL

JASON JORDAN

Geography, Environment and Disaster Management

Coventry University

Priory Street

Coventry

CV1 5FB

COLIN KERR

Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre

Rankine Avenue

Scottish Enterprise Technology Park

East Kilbride

G75 0QF

MATTHEW LEIVERS

Wessex Archaeology

Portway House

Old Sarum Park

Salisbury

SP4 6EB

HELEN LEWIS

UCD School of Archaeology

Newman Building

University College Dublin

Belfield, Dublin 4

JACQUELINE MCKINLEY

Wessex Archaeology

Portway House

Old Sarum Park

Salisbury

SP4 6EB

DAVID SANDERSON

Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre

Rankine Avenue

Scottish Enterprise Technology Park

East Kilbride

G75 0QF

DAVID SMITH

Oxford University Centre for the Environment

South Parks Road

Oxford

OX1 3QY

JULIAN THOMAS

School of Arts, Languages and Cultures

University of Manchester

Oxford Road

Manchester

M13 9PL

RICHARD TIPPING

Biological and Environmental Sciences

University of Stirling

Stirling

FK9 4LA

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I should like to thank the landowners at Dunragit, Mr and Mrs J. McKie for their generosity in allowing the excavation to take place. Forest Enterprise kindly allowed investigation to take place on the Droughduil mound. The funding for the project was generously provided by Historic Scotland, the University of Southampton and the University of Manchester, and the former also contributed support for a period of teaching buyout, during which a substantial part of the writing of this report was completed. At Historic Scotland, Patrick Ashmore, Gordon Barclay, Deirdre Cameron and Rod McCullagh provided invaluable assistance and advice. In the years since the fieldwork concluded, Rod has contributed unstinting support, and answered innumerable questions. John Pickin of Stranraer Museum helped us out with computing and communications facilities, and access to collections during our time in the field. Jane Brann, Dumfries and Galloway regional archaeologist, gave support and information. Marilyn Brown and Kenny Brophy, then of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historic Monuments of Scotland, gave advice, and assistance both on site and above it. Trevor Cowie turned a welcome critical eye onto our ceramic assemblage. Dave Webb constructed and maintained the project website, and brought us to the attention of the international archaeological community. Julia Roberts cooked for the multitudes on site, and Rick Peterson managed the project and kept things from falling apart. David Aspden, Ange Brennan, Chris Fowler, and Matthew Leivers supervised the excavation, and generally kept order. Thanks are finally owed to the students from Southampton, Manchester and other universities, and the other volunteers and drivers who did all the hard work.

The site plans and maps were drawn by Jo Wright and Julian Thomas, the sections by Nick Overton, Jo Wright and Julian Thomas, often on the basis of pen and ink originals drawn by Matthew Leivers. The cover illustration was created by Aaron Watson.

This volume is published with the support of a subvention from Historic Scotland, which is gratefully acknowledged.

INTRODUCTION

Julian Thomas

Location, topography and geology

The modern village of Dunragit lies between Stranraer and Glenluce in Western Galloway, immediately to the north of Luce Bay (at approximately NGR NX 150576). The major road between Stranraer and Newton Stewart, the A75, runs ESE-WNW through the village, parallel with the railway that links Girvan with the ferry port at Stranraer. Both of these exploit the expanse of flat ground that lies at the foot of Challoch Hill, which borders on the sand dunes of Torrs Warren to the south. The road has been established since at least the eighteenth century, when it was constructed to serve the port of Portpatrick (MacHaffie 2001). The level ground is narrowest immediately to the east of Dunragit, at East Challoch, where Challoch Hill overlooks Luce Sands. Dunragit is thus located on a natural routeway, where the north-south axis of the Water of Luce turns westward to the isthmus between Loch Ryan and Luce Bay. Further west, the country opens up onto the Rhins of Galloway, while to the east the coast skirts the low uplands of the Machars. North beyond Challoch Hill, the land rises toward Cairnscarrow and Cairnerzean Fell. Overall, then, the location of Dunragit represents an area of gently rolling lowland sandwiched between the uplands to the north and Luce Bay to the south.

South from the village, the large mound of Droughduil Mote stands on the border of Torrs Warren sands. This is a major dune system covering an area of 1200 hectares, with a coastal frontage of approximately 7 kilometres (Cowie 1996: 14). The uplands to the north and west of Dunragit, and the northern part of the Rhins of Galloway are composed of Ordovecian sedimentary rocks, while the southern Rhins and the country south of Glenluce are Silurian rocks of the Llandovery series. A broad strip running southward from Loch Ryan, however, is composed of more recent sediments, principally alluvium and glacial outwash gravel. This provides the subsoil at Dunragit itself. The place-name Dunragit may be derived from Din Rheged, meaning the fort of Rheged, which would refer to the Dark Age kingdom. This name probably does not relate to the prehistoric sites, but to Round Dounan, a fort located on a natural rock outcrop overlooking Dunragit village. The fort is stone built, with a containing wall and an entrance passage. It has been argued to be of fifth or sixth century AD date (Reid 1952).