View this email in your browser

I hope that youll agree that a little bit of archaeology is a welcome distraction in theseuncertain times AppArch will certainly be doing its best to provide a regular supply of lightrelief over the coming months

This month we already have an excellent lecture lined up for you in the form of AaronWatsons account of the recent excavations around Copt Howe - the site (in GreatLangdale) of the most elaborate prehistoric rock art in our area The excavation revealedtraces of the methods used to create the engravings and Aaron has some interesting viewsabout their significance

Aprils talk on The pre-history of Dumfries and Galloway should then provide usefulbackground for our summer plans to revisit the little-known and seriously under-appreciatedarchaeology of southern Scotland More details to followElsewhere Appleby-basedmembers might like to know that the AppArch committee has been discussing AppArchsposition on the recent controversy over proposals to demolish the weir at Bongate Mill Wehave since told the Bongate Weir Group stated that we believe the weir should ideally bepreserved because of its historical associations It appears on Thompsons map of 1754and may have even earlier origins

The editor would like to remind you that he is always pleased to receive newslettersubmissions from members like the note on the Newton Stone included in this issue - infact they make his day Hersquos not looking for literary masterpieces - just a few paragraphsideally accompanied by photographs on any archaeologically-related subject that you thinkmight be of interest to other members With best wishes Martin Joyce

lsquoItrsquos not often you have the opportunity to sit with a severed head in your lapespecially one still bearing the scars from the spike on which it had beenmountedrsquo So said the Chairman of the Appleby Archaeology Group Martin Joycesumming up one of the highlights of the Grouprsquos most recent event held in ApplebyPublic Hall Supper Room

He spoke following the presentation by Rhys Williams Graduate Tutor in Science atTeesside Universityrsquos School of Science Engineering and Design The subject of MrWilliamsrsquos talk was lsquoVisualising Vindolanda ndash a Chemical and 3D Explorationrsquo Hisparticular interest was the use of modern 3D imaging and modelling techniques tolook at one of the biggest and most important sites on Hadrianrsquos Wall

With the enthusiasm of the dedicated academic who has both the funding and theopportunity to apply 3D technology on a world-famous site Mr Williams enumeratedthe advantages of 3D over more conventional techniques Although more expensivethan photography 3D imaging was rapid straightforward relatively cheap and riskfree way of capturing precise geometrical detail of archeological objects Anessential adjunct for this type of research is of course a 3D scanner - in this case apXRF (which can also take photographs) plus a 3D printer Such printers arebecoming increasingly accessible of often purchased by private individuals Likephotography 3D imaging can only reproduce the exterior of objects and CT scanningis required to illustrate internal spaces While 3D images can be reproduced as pie-charts a far more dramatic option are fully three dimensional objects using a 3Dprinter Such objects are usually reproduced in plastic as metal or ceramics areprohibitively expensive Life size reproductions of human and animal skulls providesgreater insights and understanding while preserving the precious and carefully-excavated originals in a safe place

Mr Williams brought presentation examples of 3D-printed plastic skulls withindentations of spikes (on which they had been mounted) and arrow holes shot byarchers for target practice all being faithfully reproduced lsquoThe Romans didnrsquot much

like archersrsquo said Mr Williams as he passed around the reproduction skulls Hesuggested the arrow holes were probably made by Syrian archers often used byRoman occupying forces

Referring to the Vindolanda site specifically Mr Williams said that the Romanapproach to construction had been one of lsquobuild demolish and rebuildrsquo on anadjacent part of the site This prompted the question of how archaeologicalexcavation could proceed without damaging or destroying shallower levels in orderto reach the lower earlier ones of perhaps equal if not greater interest It seems eachsignificant layer or level was often covered with clay On finding such barriers earlyexcavators tended to move laterally to areas where the clay layer was thin or absentbefore digging deeper This created a series of steps and preserved shallower morerecent levels

The Chairman thanked Mr Williams for his lively and informative presentation

Valerie Kendall

Every now and then the story behind a society presentation is at least as interestingas the subject of the talk itself Such was the case when the Appleby ArchaeologyGroup met to hear one of their members Richard McGregor tell them about anongoing dig he has been involved with on Tigh Mor an area above Loch Awe on thewest coast of Scotland historically part of the Clan MacGregorrsquos lands

In 1603 James I of England (and VI of Scotland) banned or lsquoproscribedrsquo the ClanMacGregor forbidding them to use the MacGregor name on pain of death orimprisonment He took this action because the MacGregors had massacred ahundred and forty members of a rival clan In taking this decision he was muchinfluenced by the Campbells who themselves proved no innocents by massacringmembers of the Clan MacDonald at Glencoe in 1695 For the next hundred andseventy years forbidden to use their clan name the MacGregors complied bychoosing other surnames ranging from Alpin to Willox Charles II repealed theproscription only for it to be reinstated by William of Orange when James II went intoexile and it only finally ended in the reign of George III It is no wonder that the ClanMacGregor were known as lsquoThe Children of the Mistrsquo reflecting their uncertainposition in a society of which they were far from illustrious members with serving asmercenaries and cattle-thieving among their accomplishments

Richardrsquos search for his ancestors began at Glenorchy Kirk where Clan Gregorburials are recorded and where the churchyard contains several fine medievalcarved stone coffin lids However finding little of interest attention moved on toidentifying the location of the family seat The obvious site was the modern Castles Farm high up on the slope north west ofDalmally where aerial photography had highlighted many interesting humps andbumps Unfortunately archaeological investigation wasnrsquot possible there because ofaccess problems so attention switched to

Bothan na Dige on the banks of the river Orchy the site of a possible fortifiedmanor house Disappointingly this found little of interest proving to be littlemore than a chance to practice archaeological techniquesand then much more productively to Tom na Tighe Mhoire (Hill of the BigHouse) on the slopes immediately to the north of Dalmally

Earlier lidar surveys had indicated the presence of at least three structures in thisarea Permission to excavate was easily obtained as it is an open ndash indeed seriouslyairy location overlooking Kilchurn Castle and the north-eastern arm of Loch Awe ndashand work began in 2015 Unfortunately the results were rather disappointing

Careful excavation of several trenches uncovered few items of interest ndash splash-

glazed red-ware pottery bones (passed on to Glasgow University for furtherexamination but now mysteriously lost) a dead horse (dating circa 1968) a Victorianhalfpenny and a live bullet Some slag was also found but in small quantitiessuggesting a very local smelting operation for local useage perhaps reliant peatextracted nearby rather than large scale mining The pottery would appear to betypical of the Scottish Redware industry active between 1200 to 1400 and somatches the dates obtained for the bloomery waste of between 1200 and 1300

Despite having only found material of both earlier and later origin than the period ofinterest Richard and his supporters are still keen to resume their quest once theweather is more favourable Their efforts are being funded in part by a flourishingMacGregor Society in America

Valerie Kendall and Martin Joyce

The following is a note by long-standing member Mark Newbrook about a mysteriousPictish inscription from Aberdeenshire We dont see Mark very often as he lives inBarrow but it turns out that he has a deep interest in ancient languages and regularlycontributes to ldquoThe Skeptical Intelligencerrdquo where he acts as their linguisticsconsultant He writes as follows lsquoThe Newton Stonersquo (Language On The Fringe 46 in The Skeptical Intelligencer 223 2019)

A genuine genuinely mysterious inscription is known from mainland northernScotland The Newton Stone is a pillar found by chance in Aberdeenshire in1804 bearing two texts The first text probably inscribed in Late Antiquity iswritten in the Ogham script first used in Ireland in C4 CE and later transplantedfrom Ireland to Scotland it consists of words which mostly seem to bepersonal names (there is apparently no grammar the text is presumably anunstructured list) The second text is in a script which has never beenauthoritatively identified It appears that this second text was added to thestone after the first text according to some (see below) as recently as C18-19 Many different decipherments and theories concerning the second text havebeen advanced since the discovery of the Stone mostly by fringe writers Inmid-C19 when linguistic scholarship was still in its infancy there wasdiscussion of proposed links with the Phoenician abjadic script Phoenicianwas again invoked as late as the 1920s by the arch-diffusionist LaurenceWaddell (who was taken to task for this notion) But readings in other scriptsand interpretations of the text as representing Gaelic (Scots or Irish) GreekLatin etc were also offered Even Buddhist associations were proposedrecalling Laird Scrantonrsquos much more recent (but equally dubious) diffusionisttheories along these lines

In 1935 Stewart McAllister (best known for his work on Shelta the mysteriouslanguage of the Irish Travellers) declared the second text a modern forgery However in a series of papers and excursuses published over the next thirtyyears the archaeologists W Douglas Simpson and CA Gordon disputedMacalisters claim identifying the text as genuine ndash but not managing to offerdecipherments Then in 1984 in a book on the lsquosymbol stonesrsquo of Scotlandthe anthropologist Anthony Jackson urged a non-linguistic (numerical)

interpretation which would obviously obviate the need for linguistic exegesisbut would hardly locate the Stone within any known local tradition Jacksonsuggested Pictish provenance (not unreasonably given the location) but as Ihave stated before the known Pictish inscriptions cannot currently be reliablyread in linguistic or any other terms Mark Newbrook Readers who are interested in learning more about the controversy raised by thediscovery of the stone might like to check outhttpsenwikipediaorgwikiNewton_Stone For more general information aboutPictish symbology Mark suggests you should look at httpswwwancient-originsnetnews-history-archaeologypictish-symbols-0012310

Martin Joyce

Copt Howe Excavation Great LangdaleAaron WatsonThursday 12th March 2020

Copt Howe is a large boulder just off the road through Great Langdale Although thesite has long been popular with rock climbers it wasnt until 1999 that it was realisedthat the boulder is covered in the prehistoric rock art - possibly the most elaborate inour area In 2018 permission was obtained to investigate archaeologically - Aaron willdescribe what was found The pre-history of Dumfries and GallowayWarren BailieThursday 9th April 2020

Just over an hours drive to the north of Appleby lies a spectacular treasure trove ofenigmatic stone circles and multi-ditched hillforts A visit by the Society to theEskdalemuir Prehistoric Trail in the summer of 2019 opened the eyes of manymembers to the scale and quality of the archaeology to be found in SW ScotlandWarren Bailie will tell us about more of the rich prehistory of Dumfries and Gallowaythe regionrsquos chambered tombs cup-and-ring marks and stone circles the range ofsettlements from hillforts and duns to brochs and crannogs what survives above theground and what lies beneath

Mr Williams brought presentation examples of 3D-printed plastic skulls withindentations of spikes (on which they had been mounted) and arrow holes shot byarchers for target practice all being faithfully reproduced lsquoThe Romans didnrsquot much

like archersrsquo said Mr Williams as he passed around the reproduction skulls Hesuggested the arrow holes were probably made by Syrian archers often used byRoman occupying forces

Referring to the Vindolanda site specifically Mr Williams said that the Romanapproach to construction had been one of lsquobuild demolish and rebuildrsquo on anadjacent part of the site This prompted the question of how archaeologicalexcavation could proceed without damaging or destroying shallower levels in orderto reach the lower earlier ones of perhaps equal if not greater interest It seems eachsignificant layer or level was often covered with clay On finding such barriers earlyexcavators tended to move laterally to areas where the clay layer was thin or absentbefore digging deeper This created a series of steps and preserved shallower morerecent levels

The Chairman thanked Mr Williams for his lively and informative presentation

Valerie Kendall

Every now and then the story behind a society presentation is at least as interestingas the subject of the talk itself Such was the case when the Appleby ArchaeologyGroup met to hear one of their members Richard McGregor tell them about anongoing dig he has been involved with on Tigh Mor an area above Loch Awe on thewest coast of Scotland historically part of the Clan MacGregorrsquos lands

In 1603 James I of England (and VI of Scotland) banned or lsquoproscribedrsquo the ClanMacGregor forbidding them to use the MacGregor name on pain of death orimprisonment He took this action because the MacGregors had massacred ahundred and forty members of a rival clan In taking this decision he was muchinfluenced by the Campbells who themselves proved no innocents by massacringmembers of the Clan MacDonald at Glencoe in 1695 For the next hundred andseventy years forbidden to use their clan name the MacGregors complied bychoosing other surnames ranging from Alpin to Willox Charles II repealed theproscription only for it to be reinstated by William of Orange when James II went intoexile and it only finally ended in the reign of George III It is no wonder that the ClanMacGregor were known as lsquoThe Children of the Mistrsquo reflecting their uncertainposition in a society of which they were far from illustrious members with serving asmercenaries and cattle-thieving among their accomplishments

Richardrsquos search for his ancestors began at Glenorchy Kirk where Clan Gregorburials are recorded and where the churchyard contains several fine medievalcarved stone coffin lids However finding little of interest attention moved on toidentifying the location of the family seat The obvious site was the modern Castles Farm high up on the slope north west ofDalmally where aerial photography had highlighted many interesting humps andbumps Unfortunately archaeological investigation wasnrsquot possible there because ofaccess problems so attention switched to

Bothan na Dige on the banks of the river Orchy the site of a possible fortifiedmanor house Disappointingly this found little of interest proving to be littlemore than a chance to practice archaeological techniquesand then much more productively to Tom na Tighe Mhoire (Hill of the BigHouse) on the slopes immediately to the north of Dalmally

Earlier lidar surveys had indicated the presence of at least three structures in thisarea Permission to excavate was easily obtained as it is an open ndash indeed seriouslyairy location overlooking Kilchurn Castle and the north-eastern arm of Loch Awe ndashand work began in 2015 Unfortunately the results were rather disappointing

Careful excavation of several trenches uncovered few items of interest ndash splash-

glazed red-ware pottery bones (passed on to Glasgow University for furtherexamination but now mysteriously lost) a dead horse (dating circa 1968) a Victorianhalfpenny and a live bullet Some slag was also found but in small quantitiessuggesting a very local smelting operation for local useage perhaps reliant peatextracted nearby rather than large scale mining The pottery would appear to betypical of the Scottish Redware industry active between 1200 to 1400 and somatches the dates obtained for the bloomery waste of between 1200 and 1300

Despite having only found material of both earlier and later origin than the period ofinterest Richard and his supporters are still keen to resume their quest once theweather is more favourable Their efforts are being funded in part by a flourishingMacGregor Society in America

Valerie Kendall and Martin Joyce

The following is a note by long-standing member Mark Newbrook about a mysteriousPictish inscription from Aberdeenshire We dont see Mark very often as he lives inBarrow but it turns out that he has a deep interest in ancient languages and regularlycontributes to ldquoThe Skeptical Intelligencerrdquo where he acts as their linguisticsconsultant He writes as follows lsquoThe Newton Stonersquo (Language On The Fringe 46 in The Skeptical Intelligencer 223 2019)

A genuine genuinely mysterious inscription is known from mainland northernScotland The Newton Stone is a pillar found by chance in Aberdeenshire in1804 bearing two texts The first text probably inscribed in Late Antiquity iswritten in the Ogham script first used in Ireland in C4 CE and later transplantedfrom Ireland to Scotland it consists of words which mostly seem to bepersonal names (there is apparently no grammar the text is presumably anunstructured list) The second text is in a script which has never beenauthoritatively identified It appears that this second text was added to thestone after the first text according to some (see below) as recently as C18-19 Many different decipherments and theories concerning the second text havebeen advanced since the discovery of the Stone mostly by fringe writers Inmid-C19 when linguistic scholarship was still in its infancy there wasdiscussion of proposed links with the Phoenician abjadic script Phoenicianwas again invoked as late as the 1920s by the arch-diffusionist LaurenceWaddell (who was taken to task for this notion) But readings in other scriptsand interpretations of the text as representing Gaelic (Scots or Irish) GreekLatin etc were also offered Even Buddhist associations were proposedrecalling Laird Scrantonrsquos much more recent (but equally dubious) diffusionisttheories along these lines

In 1935 Stewart McAllister (best known for his work on Shelta the mysteriouslanguage of the Irish Travellers) declared the second text a modern forgery However in a series of papers and excursuses published over the next thirtyyears the archaeologists W Douglas Simpson and CA Gordon disputedMacalisters claim identifying the text as genuine ndash but not managing to offerdecipherments Then in 1984 in a book on the lsquosymbol stonesrsquo of Scotlandthe anthropologist Anthony Jackson urged a non-linguistic (numerical)

interpretation which would obviously obviate the need for linguistic exegesisbut would hardly locate the Stone within any known local tradition Jacksonsuggested Pictish provenance (not unreasonably given the location) but as Ihave stated before the known Pictish inscriptions cannot currently be reliablyread in linguistic or any other terms Mark Newbrook Readers who are interested in learning more about the controversy raised by thediscovery of the stone might like to check outhttpsenwikipediaorgwikiNewton_Stone For more general information aboutPictish symbology Mark suggests you should look at httpswwwancient-originsnetnews-history-archaeologypictish-symbols-0012310

Martin Joyce

Copt Howe Excavation Great LangdaleAaron WatsonThursday 12th March 2020

Copt Howe is a large boulder just off the road through Great Langdale Although thesite has long been popular with rock climbers it wasnt until 1999 that it was realisedthat the boulder is covered in the prehistoric rock art - possibly the most elaborate inour area In 2018 permission was obtained to investigate archaeologically - Aaron willdescribe what was found The pre-history of Dumfries and GallowayWarren BailieThursday 9th April 2020

Just over an hours drive to the north of Appleby lies a spectacular treasure trove ofenigmatic stone circles and multi-ditched hillforts A visit by the Society to theEskdalemuir Prehistoric Trail in the summer of 2019 opened the eyes of manymembers to the scale and quality of the archaeology to be found in SW ScotlandWarren Bailie will tell us about more of the rich prehistory of Dumfries and Gallowaythe regionrsquos chambered tombs cup-and-ring marks and stone circles the range ofsettlements from hillforts and duns to brochs and crannogs what survives above theground and what lies beneath

like archersrsquo said Mr Williams as he passed around the reproduction skulls Hesuggested the arrow holes were probably made by Syrian archers often used byRoman occupying forces

Referring to the Vindolanda site specifically Mr Williams said that the Romanapproach to construction had been one of lsquobuild demolish and rebuildrsquo on anadjacent part of the site This prompted the question of how archaeologicalexcavation could proceed without damaging or destroying shallower levels in orderto reach the lower earlier ones of perhaps equal if not greater interest It seems eachsignificant layer or level was often covered with clay On finding such barriers earlyexcavators tended to move laterally to areas where the clay layer was thin or absentbefore digging deeper This created a series of steps and preserved shallower morerecent levels

The Chairman thanked Mr Williams for his lively and informative presentation

Valerie Kendall

Every now and then the story behind a society presentation is at least as interestingas the subject of the talk itself Such was the case when the Appleby ArchaeologyGroup met to hear one of their members Richard McGregor tell them about anongoing dig he has been involved with on Tigh Mor an area above Loch Awe on thewest coast of Scotland historically part of the Clan MacGregorrsquos lands

In 1603 James I of England (and VI of Scotland) banned or lsquoproscribedrsquo the ClanMacGregor forbidding them to use the MacGregor name on pain of death orimprisonment He took this action because the MacGregors had massacred ahundred and forty members of a rival clan In taking this decision he was muchinfluenced by the Campbells who themselves proved no innocents by massacringmembers of the Clan MacDonald at Glencoe in 1695 For the next hundred andseventy years forbidden to use their clan name the MacGregors complied bychoosing other surnames ranging from Alpin to Willox Charles II repealed theproscription only for it to be reinstated by William of Orange when James II went intoexile and it only finally ended in the reign of George III It is no wonder that the ClanMacGregor were known as lsquoThe Children of the Mistrsquo reflecting their uncertainposition in a society of which they were far from illustrious members with serving asmercenaries and cattle-thieving among their accomplishments

Richardrsquos search for his ancestors began at Glenorchy Kirk where Clan Gregorburials are recorded and where the churchyard contains several fine medievalcarved stone coffin lids However finding little of interest attention moved on toidentifying the location of the family seat The obvious site was the modern Castles Farm high up on the slope north west ofDalmally where aerial photography had highlighted many interesting humps andbumps Unfortunately archaeological investigation wasnrsquot possible there because ofaccess problems so attention switched to

Bothan na Dige on the banks of the river Orchy the site of a possible fortifiedmanor house Disappointingly this found little of interest proving to be littlemore than a chance to practice archaeological techniquesand then much more productively to Tom na Tighe Mhoire (Hill of the BigHouse) on the slopes immediately to the north of Dalmally

Earlier lidar surveys had indicated the presence of at least three structures in thisarea Permission to excavate was easily obtained as it is an open ndash indeed seriouslyairy location overlooking Kilchurn Castle and the north-eastern arm of Loch Awe ndashand work began in 2015 Unfortunately the results were rather disappointing

Careful excavation of several trenches uncovered few items of interest ndash splash-

glazed red-ware pottery bones (passed on to Glasgow University for furtherexamination but now mysteriously lost) a dead horse (dating circa 1968) a Victorianhalfpenny and a live bullet Some slag was also found but in small quantitiessuggesting a very local smelting operation for local useage perhaps reliant peatextracted nearby rather than large scale mining The pottery would appear to betypical of the Scottish Redware industry active between 1200 to 1400 and somatches the dates obtained for the bloomery waste of between 1200 and 1300

Despite having only found material of both earlier and later origin than the period ofinterest Richard and his supporters are still keen to resume their quest once theweather is more favourable Their efforts are being funded in part by a flourishingMacGregor Society in America

Valerie Kendall and Martin Joyce

The following is a note by long-standing member Mark Newbrook about a mysteriousPictish inscription from Aberdeenshire We dont see Mark very often as he lives inBarrow but it turns out that he has a deep interest in ancient languages and regularlycontributes to ldquoThe Skeptical Intelligencerrdquo where he acts as their linguisticsconsultant He writes as follows lsquoThe Newton Stonersquo (Language On The Fringe 46 in The Skeptical Intelligencer 223 2019)

A genuine genuinely mysterious inscription is known from mainland northernScotland The Newton Stone is a pillar found by chance in Aberdeenshire in1804 bearing two texts The first text probably inscribed in Late Antiquity iswritten in the Ogham script first used in Ireland in C4 CE and later transplantedfrom Ireland to Scotland it consists of words which mostly seem to bepersonal names (there is apparently no grammar the text is presumably anunstructured list) The second text is in a script which has never beenauthoritatively identified It appears that this second text was added to thestone after the first text according to some (see below) as recently as C18-19 Many different decipherments and theories concerning the second text havebeen advanced since the discovery of the Stone mostly by fringe writers Inmid-C19 when linguistic scholarship was still in its infancy there wasdiscussion of proposed links with the Phoenician abjadic script Phoenicianwas again invoked as late as the 1920s by the arch-diffusionist LaurenceWaddell (who was taken to task for this notion) But readings in other scriptsand interpretations of the text as representing Gaelic (Scots or Irish) GreekLatin etc were also offered Even Buddhist associations were proposedrecalling Laird Scrantonrsquos much more recent (but equally dubious) diffusionisttheories along these lines

In 1935 Stewart McAllister (best known for his work on Shelta the mysteriouslanguage of the Irish Travellers) declared the second text a modern forgery However in a series of papers and excursuses published over the next thirtyyears the archaeologists W Douglas Simpson and CA Gordon disputedMacalisters claim identifying the text as genuine ndash but not managing to offerdecipherments Then in 1984 in a book on the lsquosymbol stonesrsquo of Scotlandthe anthropologist Anthony Jackson urged a non-linguistic (numerical)

interpretation which would obviously obviate the need for linguistic exegesisbut would hardly locate the Stone within any known local tradition Jacksonsuggested Pictish provenance (not unreasonably given the location) but as Ihave stated before the known Pictish inscriptions cannot currently be reliablyread in linguistic or any other terms Mark Newbrook Readers who are interested in learning more about the controversy raised by thediscovery of the stone might like to check outhttpsenwikipediaorgwikiNewton_Stone For more general information aboutPictish symbology Mark suggests you should look at httpswwwancient-originsnetnews-history-archaeologypictish-symbols-0012310

Martin Joyce

Copt Howe Excavation Great LangdaleAaron WatsonThursday 12th March 2020

Copt Howe is a large boulder just off the road through Great Langdale Although thesite has long been popular with rock climbers it wasnt until 1999 that it was realisedthat the boulder is covered in the prehistoric rock art - possibly the most elaborate inour area In 2018 permission was obtained to investigate archaeologically - Aaron willdescribe what was found The pre-history of Dumfries and GallowayWarren BailieThursday 9th April 2020

Just over an hours drive to the north of Appleby lies a spectacular treasure trove ofenigmatic stone circles and multi-ditched hillforts A visit by the Society to theEskdalemuir Prehistoric Trail in the summer of 2019 opened the eyes of manymembers to the scale and quality of the archaeology to be found in SW ScotlandWarren Bailie will tell us about more of the rich prehistory of Dumfries and Gallowaythe regionrsquos chambered tombs cup-and-ring marks and stone circles the range ofsettlements from hillforts and duns to brochs and crannogs what survives above theground and what lies beneath

Richardrsquos search for his ancestors began at Glenorchy Kirk where Clan Gregorburials are recorded and where the churchyard contains several fine medievalcarved stone coffin lids However finding little of interest attention moved on toidentifying the location of the family seat The obvious site was the modern Castles Farm high up on the slope north west ofDalmally where aerial photography had highlighted many interesting humps andbumps Unfortunately archaeological investigation wasnrsquot possible there because ofaccess problems so attention switched to

Bothan na Dige on the banks of the river Orchy the site of a possible fortifiedmanor house Disappointingly this found little of interest proving to be littlemore than a chance to practice archaeological techniquesand then much more productively to Tom na Tighe Mhoire (Hill of the BigHouse) on the slopes immediately to the north of Dalmally

Earlier lidar surveys had indicated the presence of at least three structures in thisarea Permission to excavate was easily obtained as it is an open ndash indeed seriouslyairy location overlooking Kilchurn Castle and the north-eastern arm of Loch Awe ndashand work began in 2015 Unfortunately the results were rather disappointing

Careful excavation of several trenches uncovered few items of interest ndash splash-

glazed red-ware pottery bones (passed on to Glasgow University for furtherexamination but now mysteriously lost) a dead horse (dating circa 1968) a Victorianhalfpenny and a live bullet Some slag was also found but in small quantitiessuggesting a very local smelting operation for local useage perhaps reliant peatextracted nearby rather than large scale mining The pottery would appear to betypical of the Scottish Redware industry active between 1200 to 1400 and somatches the dates obtained for the bloomery waste of between 1200 and 1300

Despite having only found material of both earlier and later origin than the period ofinterest Richard and his supporters are still keen to resume their quest once theweather is more favourable Their efforts are being funded in part by a flourishingMacGregor Society in America

Valerie Kendall and Martin Joyce

The following is a note by long-standing member Mark Newbrook about a mysteriousPictish inscription from Aberdeenshire We dont see Mark very often as he lives inBarrow but it turns out that he has a deep interest in ancient languages and regularlycontributes to ldquoThe Skeptical Intelligencerrdquo where he acts as their linguisticsconsultant He writes as follows lsquoThe Newton Stonersquo (Language On The Fringe 46 in The Skeptical Intelligencer 223 2019)

A genuine genuinely mysterious inscription is known from mainland northernScotland The Newton Stone is a pillar found by chance in Aberdeenshire in1804 bearing two texts The first text probably inscribed in Late Antiquity iswritten in the Ogham script first used in Ireland in C4 CE and later transplantedfrom Ireland to Scotland it consists of words which mostly seem to bepersonal names (there is apparently no grammar the text is presumably anunstructured list) The second text is in a script which has never beenauthoritatively identified It appears that this second text was added to thestone after the first text according to some (see below) as recently as C18-19 Many different decipherments and theories concerning the second text havebeen advanced since the discovery of the Stone mostly by fringe writers Inmid-C19 when linguistic scholarship was still in its infancy there wasdiscussion of proposed links with the Phoenician abjadic script Phoenicianwas again invoked as late as the 1920s by the arch-diffusionist LaurenceWaddell (who was taken to task for this notion) But readings in other scriptsand interpretations of the text as representing Gaelic (Scots or Irish) GreekLatin etc were also offered Even Buddhist associations were proposedrecalling Laird Scrantonrsquos much more recent (but equally dubious) diffusionisttheories along these lines

In 1935 Stewart McAllister (best known for his work on Shelta the mysteriouslanguage of the Irish Travellers) declared the second text a modern forgery However in a series of papers and excursuses published over the next thirtyyears the archaeologists W Douglas Simpson and CA Gordon disputedMacalisters claim identifying the text as genuine ndash but not managing to offerdecipherments Then in 1984 in a book on the lsquosymbol stonesrsquo of Scotlandthe anthropologist Anthony Jackson urged a non-linguistic (numerical)

interpretation which would obviously obviate the need for linguistic exegesisbut would hardly locate the Stone within any known local tradition Jacksonsuggested Pictish provenance (not unreasonably given the location) but as Ihave stated before the known Pictish inscriptions cannot currently be reliablyread in linguistic or any other terms Mark Newbrook Readers who are interested in learning more about the controversy raised by thediscovery of the stone might like to check outhttpsenwikipediaorgwikiNewton_Stone For more general information aboutPictish symbology Mark suggests you should look at httpswwwancient-originsnetnews-history-archaeologypictish-symbols-0012310

Martin Joyce

Copt Howe Excavation Great LangdaleAaron WatsonThursday 12th March 2020

Copt Howe is a large boulder just off the road through Great Langdale Although thesite has long been popular with rock climbers it wasnt until 1999 that it was realisedthat the boulder is covered in the prehistoric rock art - possibly the most elaborate inour area In 2018 permission was obtained to investigate archaeologically - Aaron willdescribe what was found The pre-history of Dumfries and GallowayWarren BailieThursday 9th April 2020

Just over an hours drive to the north of Appleby lies a spectacular treasure trove ofenigmatic stone circles and multi-ditched hillforts A visit by the Society to theEskdalemuir Prehistoric Trail in the summer of 2019 opened the eyes of manymembers to the scale and quality of the archaeology to be found in SW ScotlandWarren Bailie will tell us about more of the rich prehistory of Dumfries and Gallowaythe regionrsquos chambered tombs cup-and-ring marks and stone circles the range ofsettlements from hillforts and duns to brochs and crannogs what survives above theground and what lies beneath

Earlier lidar surveys had indicated the presence of at least three structures in thisarea Permission to excavate was easily obtained as it is an open ndash indeed seriouslyairy location overlooking Kilchurn Castle and the north-eastern arm of Loch Awe ndashand work began in 2015 Unfortunately the results were rather disappointing

Careful excavation of several trenches uncovered few items of interest ndash splash-

glazed red-ware pottery bones (passed on to Glasgow University for furtherexamination but now mysteriously lost) a dead horse (dating circa 1968) a Victorianhalfpenny and a live bullet Some slag was also found but in small quantitiessuggesting a very local smelting operation for local useage perhaps reliant peatextracted nearby rather than large scale mining The pottery would appear to betypical of the Scottish Redware industry active between 1200 to 1400 and somatches the dates obtained for the bloomery waste of between 1200 and 1300

Despite having only found material of both earlier and later origin than the period ofinterest Richard and his supporters are still keen to resume their quest once theweather is more favourable Their efforts are being funded in part by a flourishingMacGregor Society in America

Valerie Kendall and Martin Joyce

The following is a note by long-standing member Mark Newbrook about a mysteriousPictish inscription from Aberdeenshire We dont see Mark very often as he lives inBarrow but it turns out that he has a deep interest in ancient languages and regularlycontributes to ldquoThe Skeptical Intelligencerrdquo where he acts as their linguisticsconsultant He writes as follows lsquoThe Newton Stonersquo (Language On The Fringe 46 in The Skeptical Intelligencer 223 2019)

A genuine genuinely mysterious inscription is known from mainland northernScotland The Newton Stone is a pillar found by chance in Aberdeenshire in1804 bearing two texts The first text probably inscribed in Late Antiquity iswritten in the Ogham script first used in Ireland in C4 CE and later transplantedfrom Ireland to Scotland it consists of words which mostly seem to bepersonal names (there is apparently no grammar the text is presumably anunstructured list) The second text is in a script which has never beenauthoritatively identified It appears that this second text was added to thestone after the first text according to some (see below) as recently as C18-19 Many different decipherments and theories concerning the second text havebeen advanced since the discovery of the Stone mostly by fringe writers Inmid-C19 when linguistic scholarship was still in its infancy there wasdiscussion of proposed links with the Phoenician abjadic script Phoenicianwas again invoked as late as the 1920s by the arch-diffusionist LaurenceWaddell (who was taken to task for this notion) But readings in other scriptsand interpretations of the text as representing Gaelic (Scots or Irish) GreekLatin etc were also offered Even Buddhist associations were proposedrecalling Laird Scrantonrsquos much more recent (but equally dubious) diffusionisttheories along these lines

In 1935 Stewart McAllister (best known for his work on Shelta the mysteriouslanguage of the Irish Travellers) declared the second text a modern forgery However in a series of papers and excursuses published over the next thirtyyears the archaeologists W Douglas Simpson and CA Gordon disputedMacalisters claim identifying the text as genuine ndash but not managing to offerdecipherments Then in 1984 in a book on the lsquosymbol stonesrsquo of Scotlandthe anthropologist Anthony Jackson urged a non-linguistic (numerical)

interpretation which would obviously obviate the need for linguistic exegesisbut would hardly locate the Stone within any known local tradition Jacksonsuggested Pictish provenance (not unreasonably given the location) but as Ihave stated before the known Pictish inscriptions cannot currently be reliablyread in linguistic or any other terms Mark Newbrook Readers who are interested in learning more about the controversy raised by thediscovery of the stone might like to check outhttpsenwikipediaorgwikiNewton_Stone For more general information aboutPictish symbology Mark suggests you should look at httpswwwancient-originsnetnews-history-archaeologypictish-symbols-0012310

Martin Joyce

Copt Howe Excavation Great LangdaleAaron WatsonThursday 12th March 2020

Copt Howe is a large boulder just off the road through Great Langdale Although thesite has long been popular with rock climbers it wasnt until 1999 that it was realisedthat the boulder is covered in the prehistoric rock art - possibly the most elaborate inour area In 2018 permission was obtained to investigate archaeologically - Aaron willdescribe what was found The pre-history of Dumfries and GallowayWarren BailieThursday 9th April 2020

Just over an hours drive to the north of Appleby lies a spectacular treasure trove ofenigmatic stone circles and multi-ditched hillforts A visit by the Society to theEskdalemuir Prehistoric Trail in the summer of 2019 opened the eyes of manymembers to the scale and quality of the archaeology to be found in SW ScotlandWarren Bailie will tell us about more of the rich prehistory of Dumfries and Gallowaythe regionrsquos chambered tombs cup-and-ring marks and stone circles the range ofsettlements from hillforts and duns to brochs and crannogs what survives above theground and what lies beneath

glazed red-ware pottery bones (passed on to Glasgow University for furtherexamination but now mysteriously lost) a dead horse (dating circa 1968) a Victorianhalfpenny and a live bullet Some slag was also found but in small quantitiessuggesting a very local smelting operation for local useage perhaps reliant peatextracted nearby rather than large scale mining The pottery would appear to betypical of the Scottish Redware industry active between 1200 to 1400 and somatches the dates obtained for the bloomery waste of between 1200 and 1300

Despite having only found material of both earlier and later origin than the period ofinterest Richard and his supporters are still keen to resume their quest once theweather is more favourable Their efforts are being funded in part by a flourishingMacGregor Society in America

Valerie Kendall and Martin Joyce

The following is a note by long-standing member Mark Newbrook about a mysteriousPictish inscription from Aberdeenshire We dont see Mark very often as he lives inBarrow but it turns out that he has a deep interest in ancient languages and regularlycontributes to ldquoThe Skeptical Intelligencerrdquo where he acts as their linguisticsconsultant He writes as follows lsquoThe Newton Stonersquo (Language On The Fringe 46 in The Skeptical Intelligencer 223 2019)

A genuine genuinely mysterious inscription is known from mainland northernScotland The Newton Stone is a pillar found by chance in Aberdeenshire in1804 bearing two texts The first text probably inscribed in Late Antiquity iswritten in the Ogham script first used in Ireland in C4 CE and later transplantedfrom Ireland to Scotland it consists of words which mostly seem to bepersonal names (there is apparently no grammar the text is presumably anunstructured list) The second text is in a script which has never beenauthoritatively identified It appears that this second text was added to thestone after the first text according to some (see below) as recently as C18-19 Many different decipherments and theories concerning the second text havebeen advanced since the discovery of the Stone mostly by fringe writers Inmid-C19 when linguistic scholarship was still in its infancy there wasdiscussion of proposed links with the Phoenician abjadic script Phoenicianwas again invoked as late as the 1920s by the arch-diffusionist LaurenceWaddell (who was taken to task for this notion) But readings in other scriptsand interpretations of the text as representing Gaelic (Scots or Irish) GreekLatin etc were also offered Even Buddhist associations were proposedrecalling Laird Scrantonrsquos much more recent (but equally dubious) diffusionisttheories along these lines

In 1935 Stewart McAllister (best known for his work on Shelta the mysteriouslanguage of the Irish Travellers) declared the second text a modern forgery However in a series of papers and excursuses published over the next thirtyyears the archaeologists W Douglas Simpson and CA Gordon disputedMacalisters claim identifying the text as genuine ndash but not managing to offerdecipherments Then in 1984 in a book on the lsquosymbol stonesrsquo of Scotlandthe anthropologist Anthony Jackson urged a non-linguistic (numerical)

interpretation which would obviously obviate the need for linguistic exegesisbut would hardly locate the Stone within any known local tradition Jacksonsuggested Pictish provenance (not unreasonably given the location) but as Ihave stated before the known Pictish inscriptions cannot currently be reliablyread in linguistic or any other terms Mark Newbrook Readers who are interested in learning more about the controversy raised by thediscovery of the stone might like to check outhttpsenwikipediaorgwikiNewton_Stone For more general information aboutPictish symbology Mark suggests you should look at httpswwwancient-originsnetnews-history-archaeologypictish-symbols-0012310

Martin Joyce

Copt Howe Excavation Great LangdaleAaron WatsonThursday 12th March 2020

Copt Howe is a large boulder just off the road through Great Langdale Although thesite has long been popular with rock climbers it wasnt until 1999 that it was realisedthat the boulder is covered in the prehistoric rock art - possibly the most elaborate inour area In 2018 permission was obtained to investigate archaeologically - Aaron willdescribe what was found The pre-history of Dumfries and GallowayWarren BailieThursday 9th April 2020

Just over an hours drive to the north of Appleby lies a spectacular treasure trove ofenigmatic stone circles and multi-ditched hillforts A visit by the Society to theEskdalemuir Prehistoric Trail in the summer of 2019 opened the eyes of manymembers to the scale and quality of the archaeology to be found in SW ScotlandWarren Bailie will tell us about more of the rich prehistory of Dumfries and Gallowaythe regionrsquos chambered tombs cup-and-ring marks and stone circles the range ofsettlements from hillforts and duns to brochs and crannogs what survives above theground and what lies beneath

A genuine genuinely mysterious inscription is known from mainland northernScotland The Newton Stone is a pillar found by chance in Aberdeenshire in1804 bearing two texts The first text probably inscribed in Late Antiquity iswritten in the Ogham script first used in Ireland in C4 CE and later transplantedfrom Ireland to Scotland it consists of words which mostly seem to bepersonal names (there is apparently no grammar the text is presumably anunstructured list) The second text is in a script which has never beenauthoritatively identified It appears that this second text was added to thestone after the first text according to some (see below) as recently as C18-19 Many different decipherments and theories concerning the second text havebeen advanced since the discovery of the Stone mostly by fringe writers Inmid-C19 when linguistic scholarship was still in its infancy there wasdiscussion of proposed links with the Phoenician abjadic script Phoenicianwas again invoked as late as the 1920s by the arch-diffusionist LaurenceWaddell (who was taken to task for this notion) But readings in other scriptsand interpretations of the text as representing Gaelic (Scots or Irish) GreekLatin etc were also offered Even Buddhist associations were proposedrecalling Laird Scrantonrsquos much more recent (but equally dubious) diffusionisttheories along these lines

In 1935 Stewart McAllister (best known for his work on Shelta the mysteriouslanguage of the Irish Travellers) declared the second text a modern forgery However in a series of papers and excursuses published over the next thirtyyears the archaeologists W Douglas Simpson and CA Gordon disputedMacalisters claim identifying the text as genuine ndash but not managing to offerdecipherments Then in 1984 in a book on the lsquosymbol stonesrsquo of Scotlandthe anthropologist Anthony Jackson urged a non-linguistic (numerical)

interpretation which would obviously obviate the need for linguistic exegesisbut would hardly locate the Stone within any known local tradition Jacksonsuggested Pictish provenance (not unreasonably given the location) but as Ihave stated before the known Pictish inscriptions cannot currently be reliablyread in linguistic or any other terms Mark Newbrook Readers who are interested in learning more about the controversy raised by thediscovery of the stone might like to check outhttpsenwikipediaorgwikiNewton_Stone For more general information aboutPictish symbology Mark suggests you should look at httpswwwancient-originsnetnews-history-archaeologypictish-symbols-0012310

Martin Joyce

Copt Howe Excavation Great LangdaleAaron WatsonThursday 12th March 2020

Copt Howe is a large boulder just off the road through Great Langdale Although thesite has long been popular with rock climbers it wasnt until 1999 that it was realisedthat the boulder is covered in the prehistoric rock art - possibly the most elaborate inour area In 2018 permission was obtained to investigate archaeologically - Aaron willdescribe what was found The pre-history of Dumfries and GallowayWarren BailieThursday 9th April 2020

Just over an hours drive to the north of Appleby lies a spectacular treasure trove ofenigmatic stone circles and multi-ditched hillforts A visit by the Society to theEskdalemuir Prehistoric Trail in the summer of 2019 opened the eyes of manymembers to the scale and quality of the archaeology to be found in SW ScotlandWarren Bailie will tell us about more of the rich prehistory of Dumfries and Gallowaythe regionrsquos chambered tombs cup-and-ring marks and stone circles the range ofsettlements from hillforts and duns to brochs and crannogs what survives above theground and what lies beneath

In 1935 Stewart McAllister (best known for his work on Shelta the mysteriouslanguage of the Irish Travellers) declared the second text a modern forgery However in a series of papers and excursuses published over the next thirtyyears the archaeologists W Douglas Simpson and CA Gordon disputedMacalisters claim identifying the text as genuine ndash but not managing to offerdecipherments Then in 1984 in a book on the lsquosymbol stonesrsquo of Scotlandthe anthropologist Anthony Jackson urged a non-linguistic (numerical)

interpretation which would obviously obviate the need for linguistic exegesisbut would hardly locate the Stone within any known local tradition Jacksonsuggested Pictish provenance (not unreasonably given the location) but as Ihave stated before the known Pictish inscriptions cannot currently be reliablyread in linguistic or any other terms Mark Newbrook Readers who are interested in learning more about the controversy raised by thediscovery of the stone might like to check outhttpsenwikipediaorgwikiNewton_Stone For more general information aboutPictish symbology Mark suggests you should look at httpswwwancient-originsnetnews-history-archaeologypictish-symbols-0012310

Martin Joyce

Copt Howe Excavation Great LangdaleAaron WatsonThursday 12th March 2020

Copt Howe is a large boulder just off the road through Great Langdale Although thesite has long been popular with rock climbers it wasnt until 1999 that it was realisedthat the boulder is covered in the prehistoric rock art - possibly the most elaborate inour area In 2018 permission was obtained to investigate archaeologically - Aaron willdescribe what was found The pre-history of Dumfries and GallowayWarren BailieThursday 9th April 2020

Just over an hours drive to the north of Appleby lies a spectacular treasure trove ofenigmatic stone circles and multi-ditched hillforts A visit by the Society to theEskdalemuir Prehistoric Trail in the summer of 2019 opened the eyes of manymembers to the scale and quality of the archaeology to be found in SW ScotlandWarren Bailie will tell us about more of the rich prehistory of Dumfries and Gallowaythe regionrsquos chambered tombs cup-and-ring marks and stone circles the range ofsettlements from hillforts and duns to brochs and crannogs what survives above theground and what lies beneath

interpretation which would obviously obviate the need for linguistic exegesisbut would hardly locate the Stone within any known local tradition Jacksonsuggested Pictish provenance (not unreasonably given the location) but as Ihave stated before the known Pictish inscriptions cannot currently be reliablyread in linguistic or any other terms Mark Newbrook Readers who are interested in learning more about the controversy raised by thediscovery of the stone might like to check outhttpsenwikipediaorgwikiNewton_Stone For more general information aboutPictish symbology Mark suggests you should look at httpswwwancient-originsnetnews-history-archaeologypictish-symbols-0012310

Martin Joyce

Copt Howe Excavation Great LangdaleAaron WatsonThursday 12th March 2020

Copt Howe is a large boulder just off the road through Great Langdale Although thesite has long been popular with rock climbers it wasnt until 1999 that it was realisedthat the boulder is covered in the prehistoric rock art - possibly the most elaborate inour area In 2018 permission was obtained to investigate archaeologically - Aaron willdescribe what was found The pre-history of Dumfries and GallowayWarren BailieThursday 9th April 2020

Just over an hours drive to the north of Appleby lies a spectacular treasure trove ofenigmatic stone circles and multi-ditched hillforts A visit by the Society to theEskdalemuir Prehistoric Trail in the summer of 2019 opened the eyes of manymembers to the scale and quality of the archaeology to be found in SW ScotlandWarren Bailie will tell us about more of the rich prehistory of Dumfries and Gallowaythe regionrsquos chambered tombs cup-and-ring marks and stone circles the range ofsettlements from hillforts and duns to brochs and crannogs what survives above theground and what lies beneath