Stone Circle (destroyed): OS Grid Reference – NX 693 709
Archaeology & History
In March 1844, Rev. W.G. Crosbie in his survey of the parish of Parton, mentioned the mediaeval earthworks, or motte, above the west side of the Borland Glen:
“At a short distance from this,” he wrote, “are the remains of a small Druidical circle.”
This “Druidical circle” was subsequently described in Fred Coles’ (1895) megalithic survey of Kirkcudbrightshire, where he added that the circle was “some two hundred yards distant” from the motte—but it had already been destroyed when he wrote about it and its exact location seems to have been forgotten. Logic suggests that the circle would have been on the lands immediately west of the motte, where the land is relatively level and possesses several small hillocks, which would be perfect for megalithic siting. (the grid-reference cited above is an approximation)
References:
- Burl, Aubrey, The Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany, Yale University Press 2000.
- Coles, Fred, “The Stone Circles of the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright”, in Proceedings Society Antiquaries, Scotland, volume 29, 1895.
- Crosbie, W.G., “Parish of Parton,” in New Statistical Account of Scotland – volume 4, William Blackwood: Edinburgh 1845.
© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian
