Westwind, Dunragit, Dumfries & Galloway: Archaeological Mitigation Data Structure Report by Louise Turner issued 28th May 2010 Rathmell Archaeology Ltd RA10030 Westwind, Dunragit, Dumfries & Galloway – Archaeological Mitigation Quality Assurance This report covers works which have been undertaken in keeping with the issued brief as modified by the agreed programme of works. The report has been prepared in keeping with the guidance of Rathmell Archaeology Limited on the preparation of reports. All works reported on within this document have been undertaken in keeping with the Institute of Field Archaeology’s Standards and Policy Statements and Code of Conduct. Signed ……………………………….. Date ………………………..…. In keeping with the procedure of Rathmell Archaeology Limited this document and its findings have been reviewed and agreed by an appropriate colleague: Checked ……………………………….. Date ……………………………. Copyright Rathmell Archaeology Limited. All rights reserved. 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It should be noted and it is expressly stated that no independent verification of any of the documents or information supplied to Rathmell Archaeology Limited has been made. 2010 Rathmell Archaeology Ltd, Page 1 of 17 RA10030 Westwind, Dunragit, Dumfries & Galloway – Archaeological Mitigation Contents Introduction .................................................................................. 3 Archaeological and Historical Background..............................................................3 Project Works................................................................................ 7 Findings: Monitoring...................................................................... 7 Discussion ................................................................................... 10 Recommendations ....................................................................... 12 Conclusion ................................................................................... 12 References .................................................................................. 12 Appendix 1: Registers.................................................................. 13 Context Register ............................................................................................. 13 Photographic Register ...................................................................................... 14 Appendix 2: Discovery & Excavation in Scotland ......................... 16 Contact Details ............................................................................ 17 2010 Rathmell Archaeology Ltd, Page 2 of 17 RA10030 Westwind, Dunragit, Dumfries & Galloway – Archaeological Mitigation Introduction 1. A programme of archaeological works was required by Mr McCann, in respect to a proposed residential development at Westwind, Dunragit, Dumfries & Galloway. The archaeological works are designed to mitigate the impact on the archaeological remains within the development area to the agreement of Dumfries & Galloway Council Archaeology Service and Dumfries & Galloway Council. 2. The development site is situated to the rear of Westwind, a domestic property located in the village of Dunragit, Dumfries and Galloway (NX 152 573). It lies to the south of the Old Military Road, abutting the western edge of the site of the former creamery and its associated workers’ cottages. It is bounded on the south edge by the extant railway line which runs from Glasgow to Stranraer, on the eastern edge by a metalled road, and on the western edge by a grass-covered track. In recent times, it was occupied by a car park and also tennis courts. 3. Dumfries and Galloway Council required an archaeological watching brief to be undertaken as a condition of the granted planning consent (10/P/1/0004). Dumfries and Galloway Council Archaeology Service who advise the planning authority on archaeological matters has provided guidance on the structure of archaeological works required on this site. 4. Rathmell Archaeology Limited were appointed by Mr McCann to undertake the development and implementation of an archaeological watching brief during all groundbreaking works at Westwings, Dunragit, as par the terms of the agreed Method Statement (Matthews 2010). 5. This Data Structure Report presents the findings of the archaeological mitigation carried out on the 20th May 2010; the mitigation consisted of archaeological monitoring of all groundbreaking works. Archaeological and Historical Background 6. No archaeological features were known to exist within the development area. However, the site lies within an area which has revealed a range of archaeological remains, most of which are likely to date back to the later prehistoric period, and in particular, the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. The quality of these remains has been sufficiently high for them to be considered nationally significant and designated as Scheduled Monuments. 7. Three Scheduled Monuments lie in close proximity to the development area. These are protected under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979, administered by Historic Scotland. These include a series of enclosures and pit alignments, no longer surviving as upstanding remains but visible on aerial photographs, which are thought to represent the remains of a so-called ‘ritual landscape’ of the Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age. The stretch of ground now occupied by the field lying immediately to the west of development area has revealed a concentration of such features (now scheduled as SM No. 5852). Another similar concentration has been identified to the north-west of the development area at Drumflower Bridge (SM No. 5790). 8. These alignments and enclosures may have functioned as ceremonial routes and foci for ritual activities which drew together various communities throughout the wider area, and which in this particular instance may have focused upon the so-called ‘motte’ at Droughduil. While such features have long been assumed to be medieval in date, this interpretation is now being reassessed, with some academics suggesting that some artificial mounds may be of Neolithic origin, performing a similar role to that of the celebrated Silbury Hill in Wiltshire. Exploratory works by an excavation team from the University of Manchester between 1999-2002 aimed to test this hypothesis further, but the results proved inconclusive (see http://www.orgs.man.ac.uk/research/dunragit/ for further information). 2010 Rathmell Archaeology Ltd, Page 3 of 17 RA10030 Westwind, Dunragit, Dumfries & Galloway – Archaeological Mitigation 9. Further evidence of the importance of this area is offered by an unusually high concentration of finds of later prehistoric date. Two stone axeheads have been recorded as having been found in the vicinity (Canmore ID 61169 and 61171), along with a bronze dagger of early Bronze Age date (Canmore ID 61207). The axeheads are likely to represent special votive deposits of Neolithic date; the dagger may once have been associated with a Bronze Age burial, though it is also possible that once again it was deliberately discarded as a votive deposit. These finds of high status items reinforce once again how important the area was in the eyes of those who lived there during the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age periods. 10. While the nature of the monumental remains changes in the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age, there is still ample evidence of human occupation in the area around modern Dunragit at this time. Recent excavations at Whitecrook, to the south-east of Dunragit, revealed evidence for a Late Bronze Age occupation site (Gordon 2009), and the area around Torrs Warren and Luce Sands has revealed a dense concentration of pottery and other finds which suggest it was a focus for activity throughout the Bronze and Iron Age periods. 11. Roman activity in the area is attested by a Roman Road and associated quarry pits, identified on aerial photographs (Canmore ID 78931). The fort named Round Dounan, a Scheduled Monument located to the north of the development area (SM No. 1995), may date to the period immediately following the collapse of the Roman government in Britain, i.e. the Early Christian or Early Medieval period, once known as the ‘Dark Ages’, though it is possible that this feature represents instead a motte (i.e. an earth and timber castle) of medieval date. 12. Throughout much of the medieval period, the area occupied by the modern village of Dunragit appears to have been part of the lands associated with nearby Glenluce Abbey, a Cistercian abbey founded in 1190. It lies in the parish on Glenluce, which in 1646 was subdivided into two: Old Luce and New Luce. Dunragit lies within the bounds of the former. 13. After the