Featured: Current Archaeology Book of the Year 2019!

Current Archaeology Book of the Year 2019!

Random Image


Ffynnoncattwg

A New Dimension to Ancient Measures - from many years of research and fieldwork

A New Dimension to Ancient Measures - from many years of research and fieldwork

Who's Online

There are currently, 357 guests and 2 members online.

You are a guest. To join in, please register for free by clicking here

Sponsors

More Choices

Contribute to our running costs
Webrings
News Feeds
Megalithic Mysteries
Our Online Shop

<< Our Photo Pages >> Droughduil Mote - Timber Circle in Scotland in Dumfries and Galloway

Submitted by andyturner on Thursday, 03 June 2004  Page Views: 9216

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Droughduil Mote
Country: Scotland County: Dumfries and Galloway Type: Timber Circle
Nearest Town: Stranraer  Nearest Village: Dunragit
Map Ref: NX14825687  Landranger Map Number: 82
Latitude: 54.872215N  Longitude: 4.887551W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
 4 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
 5 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
 5

Internal Links:
External Links:

I have visited· I would like to visit

JoyofDowsing would like to visit

macd visited on 28th Jul 2023 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 4 Annual visit - no change!

drolaf visited on 28th Sep 2018 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 3 Access: 4



Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 4 Ambience: 4 Access: 4

Droughduil Mote
Droughduil Mote submitted by andyturner : NX148567 Dunragit, by Stranraer, Dumfries & Galloway. Originally thought to be the earth mound of a 12th century castle, recent excavation has now shown the Mote to be contemporary with an adjacent system of three massive concentric timber circles dated approx 2500 BC. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Timber Circles and Earthwork in Dumfries & Galloway

Taken from the Dumfries & Galloway Museums pamphlet 'Discover Your Heritage Around Stranraer & Portpatrick'. Turn south off the A75 at Dunragit, cross over the railway line and park adjacent to the conifer plantation. The fields between Droughduil Mote and Dunragit contain one of the most important Stone Age sites in Scotland. Nothing can now be seen above ground but recent aerial photography (on display in Stranraer Museum) and archaeolgical excavation has revealed the remains of three massive concentric timber circles; the outer circle was 300 metres in diameter, almost six times the size of Stonehenge. Built around 2500 BC, this huge monument was a ceremonial centre and a meeting place for south-west Scotland's early farming communities. For a long time Droughduil Mote was thought to be the earth mound of a 12th century castle. Excavation has now shown that it was built at the same time as the prehistoric monument nearby.

For more information see Canmore ID 61278 which recorded that in 1952: "Watson erroneously places here the Fort of Rheged (the Mote of Drochdool is sometimes, incorrectly, called the Mote of Dunragit). The Mote of Drochdool is an Anglo-Norman structure of the 12th century." and from a 1986 entry says: "On level ground 1.2km ENE of Genoch Mains there is a prominent mound which is probably a motte. It appears to have been built on a natural knoll and now stands to a height of 10m on the NE; its roughly level summit measures about 12m in diameter. It is unlikely that a number of pits and gullies to the SE and E are related to the mound."

Since these entries there have been more updates - see the comments below.
You may be viewing yesterday's version of this page. To see the most up to date information please register for a free account.


Droughduil Mote
Droughduil Mote submitted by drolaf : mote from NW (Vote or comment on this photo)

Droughduil Mote
Droughduil Mote submitted by drolaf : view south to Drommore and the MUll of Galloway from just down the road from the mote-possibly similar to the view from the mote without the conifers (Vote or comment on this photo)

Droughduil Mote
Droughduil Mote submitted by drolaf : 'view' south-one day these conifers will be gone (Vote or comment on this photo)

Droughduil Mote
Droughduil Mote submitted by dodomad : Image of the A75 Dunragit bypass excavations. Photo credit: Historic Scotland (Vote or comment on this photo)

Droughduil Mote
Droughduil Mote submitted by dodomad

Droughduil Mote
Droughduil Mote submitted by andyturner : NX148567 Dunragit, by Stranraer, Dumfries & Galloway. Originally thought to be the earth mound of a 12th century castle, recent excavation has now shown the Mote to be contemporary with an adjacent system of three massive concentric timber circles dated approx 2500 BC.

Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.
Click here to see more info for this site

Nearby sites

Click here to view sites on an interactive OS map

Key: Red: member's photo, Blue: 3rd party photo, Yellow: other image, Green: no photo - please go there and take one, Grey: site destroyed

Download sites to:
KML (Google Earth)
GPX (GPS waypoints)
CSV (Garmin/Navman)
CSV (Excel)

To unlock full downloads you need to sign up as a Contributory Member. Otherwise downloads are limited to 50 sites.


Turn off the page maps and other distractions

Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 598m NNE 12° Dunragit Cursus* Cursus (NX14975745)
 1.1km N 358° Round Dounan* Hillfort (NX14835795)
 3.3km W 273° Inch Cursus Cursus (NX11555716)
 3.3km W 272° Inch Cursus Cursus (NX11505710)
 3.4km NE 39° Airyhemming W* Cairn (NX17055938)
 3.5km NE 41° Airyhemming E* Cairn (NX17265943)
 4.2km ENE 61° St Katherine's Well (Glenluce)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (NX18605873)
 4.3km NNE 33° Craig Fell N* Cairn (NX17296039)
 4.5km NW 320° Cults Loch* Crannog (NX12066047)
 4.9km E 80° St John's Well (Glenluce) Holy Well or Sacred Spring (NX19705752)
 5.1km N 352° Glenterrow White Cairn (Destroyed)* Cairn (NX14286199)
 5.5km NW 319° Black Loch Crannog* Crannog (NX11396118)
 5.5km NE 42° Mid Gleniron Stony Mounds* Cairn (NX1869460787)
 5.6km NE 41° Mid Gleniron 5* Cairn (NX1871460929)
 5.6km NE 41° Mid Gleniron 1* Chambered Cairn (NX18676100)
 5.6km NE 42° Mid Gleniron 3* Cairn (NX18766092)
 5.6km N 355° Glentirrow* Stone Circle (NX14536251)
 5.7km NE 42° Mid Gleniron 2* Chambered Cairn (NX18776093)
 5.7km N 354° Glenterrow Cairn* Cairn (NX14506256)
 5.8km NE 42° Mid Gleniron 4* Cairn (NX18856100)
 6.1km E 80° Lady Well (Glenluce) Holy Well or Sacred Spring (NX20845768)
 6.1km WNW 292° Galla Hill* Misc. Earthwork (NX09205941)
 6.2km NE 50° Camrie Fell* Cairn (NX19736060)
 6.2km NNE 28° Cruise Back Fell* Hillfort (NX17946219)
 6.3km NNE 20° Cairn McNeilie* Cairn (NX17246266)
View more nearby sites and additional images

<< Cefn Cribbwr

Tor of Craigoch >>

Please add your thoughts on this site

Contribute!

· NEW: I have visited
· I would like to visit
· Submit an Image
· Add a description
· Give accurate position
· Add a comment or news about this site

An Archaeology of Natural Places

An Archaeology of Natural Places

Sponsors

Auto-Translation (Google)

Translate from English into:

"Droughduil Mote" | Login/Create an Account | 3 News and Comments
  
Go back to top of page    Comments are owned by the poster. We aren't responsible for their content.
Re: Droughduil Mote by drolaf on Friday, 30 October 2020
(User Info | Send a Message)
the mound is a short walk from the roadside parking. Its flat so possible for wheelchair when dry.
[ Reply to This ]

Re: ‘Stunning’ Ancient Archaeological Finds on A75 at Dungragit by drolaf on Wednesday, 07 June 2017
(User Info | Send a Message)
This Neolithic mound was never a mote.

The Dunragit complex includes a post cursus, dated 3760-3630 BC, so spans from early Neolithic to early Bronze age. It sits in a wider area rich in cursuses, stone circles, standing stones, Clyde type cairns and rock carvings. Three timber circles are associated with a mound, with a linking avenue. Inside the inner ring was a ring ditch. Pots include grooved ware, and axes were from Antrim and Langdale, an indication of the sites location on long distance routes.

An inner circle of massive posts, with two outer rings of lighter construction. The two inner rings have the same number of large posts, about 57. The outer ring possible had about 250 posts.

Ring sizes:
Inner ring 105m diameter with very large posts 40-50cm diameter–southerly entrance
–linked to mound 400m away via an avenue. Possibly the avenue was a raised one as the timber circles and mound would have been separated by water.

Mound 60m diameter 10m high built in top of an existing natural dune- excessive excavation was not appropriate due to the sandy nature of the structure. Possibly it was covered with turf or timber originally. A round cairn 8m diameter was found on the western summit.

Middle ring 125m diameter-- large posts with smaller posts between them

Outer ring irregular 300m diameter sw entrance large posts with smaller posts between them

Information from
A Neolithic ceremonial complex in Galloway
Julian Thomas 2015

[ Reply to This ]

‘Stunning’ Ancient Archaeological Finds on A75 at Dungragit by Andy B on Wednesday, 04 June 2014
(User Info | Send a Message)
To mark the early opening of the new £17 million A75 Dunragit bypass in Wigtownshire, a stunning treasure trove of ancient artefacts found on the construction site, shedding light on land use and settlement in the area over the past 9000 years, has been unveiled.

Finds from across the Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages, include a rare and complete 130-piece jet bead necklace dating to around 2000 BC - the first of its kind ever discovered in south west Scotland, early Neolithic flint tools including a flint arrowhead, and over 13,500 Mesolithic flints.

Other fascinating finds include an Iron Age Village, a Romano-British brooch, a Bronze Age cemetery complex, cremation urns and pottery sherds.

Transport Minister Keith Brown marked the early completion of the bypass by viewing some of the archaeological finds described as ‘highly significant’ by the National Museum of Scotland and Historic Scotland.

Mr Brown said: “With the A75 Dunragit bypass already improving journey times and providing opportunities for business, leisure and tourism industries on this crucial route between Scotland, the rest of the UK and Europe - it is also helping shine a light on Scotland’s ancient past. The finds at Dunragit, which would have remained uncovered had the new bypass not been built, are truly remarkable and underline the importance of the value we place on meeting our environmental obligations as we plan and construct essential new infrastructure.

He added: “These are really exciting discoveries and tell us so much about our history in south west Scotland. The concentration of artefacts from the Mesolithic to post-medieval periods was highly unexpected, but gives an invaluable insight into the land use and settlement of southwest Scotland over the past 9,000 years. The necklaces are of particular interest because they are the first such necklaces to be uncovered in the south west of Scotland.”

Rod McCullagh, Senior Archaeology Manager at Historic Scotland: “Historic Scotland advised how best to carry out this project while addressing the disturbance of any unknown archaeological remains along the road line through archaeological excavation and analysis. The new bypass has been constructed while successfully avoiding the known archaeology, and an unforeseen wealth of archaeological information has been recovered.

“The team of archaeologists working on the dig have uncovered the remains of dwellings and burials spanning over 7000 years of prehistory. In addition, numerous smaller sites have been discovered which seem to relate to the use and exploitation of the land both through hunting and farming.

“These are exciting discoveries which offer a much richer understanding of the settlement of southwest Scotland over the past 9,000 years.”

The findings are currently being conserved and will undergo further analysis.

Following a programme of analysis of the excavation data, including the various artefacts, and a programme of conservation for the long term safe storage, a report by Historic Scotland will be produced to describe and explain what has been discovered along the roadline. Following on from the report and informed by it, a decision will be made on where the various collections will be stored and/or put on display.

Dr Alison Sheridan from National Museums Scotland identified the necklaces. She has confirmed that the necklaces were made in Whitby in North Yorkshire some 250 kilometres from where they were discovered.

Source: Historic Scotland
[ Reply to This ]

Your Name: Anonymous [ Register Now ]
Subject:


Add your comment or contribution to this page. Spam or offensive posts are deleted immediately, don't even bother

<<< What is five plus one as a number? (Please type the answer to this question in the little box on the left)
You can also embed videos and other things. For Youtube please copy and paste the 'embed code'.
For Google Street View please include Street View in the text.
Create a web link like this: <a href="https://www.megalithic.co.uk">This is a link</a>  

Allowed HTML is:
<p> <b> <i> <a> <img> <em> <br> <strong> <blockquote> <tt> <li> <ol> <ul> <object> <param> <embed> <iframe>
We would like to know more about this location. Please feel free to add a brief description and any relevant information in your own language.
Wir möchten mehr über diese Stätte erfahren. Bitte zögern Sie nicht, eine kurze Beschreibung und relevante Informationen in Deutsch hinzuzufügen.
Nous aimerions en savoir encore un peu sur les lieux. S'il vous plaît n'hesitez pas à ajouter une courte description et tous les renseignements pertinents dans votre propre langue.
Quisieramos informarnos un poco más de las lugares. No dude en añadir una breve descripción y otros datos relevantes en su propio idioma.