Pict's Knowe

Pict's Knowe (grid reference NX 9538 7213) is a henge monument in the parish of Troqueer, Dumfries and Galloway.[1] It is one of a small group of henge monuments around Dumfries which includes Broadlea henge near Annan.[2] Pict's Knowe is located 4 km SW of Dumfries on a small sandy bank in the peat covered valley of the Crooks Pow stream.[3]

Pict's Knowe
Pict's Knowe is located in Dumfries and Galloway
Pict's Knowe
Location of Pict's Knowe in Dumfries and Galloway
Coordinates55.032646°N 3.6383832°W / 55.032646; -3.6383832
Designated21 May 1928
Reference no.SM1092

The site has been badly damaged by livestock, rabbit burrowing and tree rooting.[1] The area around the monument had been occupied since the early Neolithic,[4] but the henge itself appears to date to the early Bronze Age, based on radiocarbon analysis.[5]

The monument has one entrance, making it a Class I henge.[6] It enclosed an area of 20-25m in diameter.[7] In the entrance to the henge, sherds of a carinated urn were found, and fragments of cremated bone, which may have been animal rather than human.[8]

During the Iron Age the henge's bank was added to and the ditch recut, with a timber platform built over it.[9]

The site was scheduled in 1928 as a prehistoric fort.[10][11] Richard Bradley identified the monument as a henge in 1990.[3] Although the site had been recognised as a henge some decades before, this information did not make its way into official records, and Pict's Knowe was classed as an 'earthwork' by the National Monuments Record of Scotland.[10] The site was excavated by Julian Thomas between 1994 and 1998.[12]

References
  1. "Pict's Knowe | Canmore". canmore.org.uk. Archived from the original on 17 November 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  2. Thomas, Julian (2007). "Part One: Introduction". In Thomas, Julian (ed.). Place and Memory: Excavations at The Pict's Knowe, Holywood and Holm Farm, Dumfries and Galloway, 1994-8. Oxford: Oxbow Books. pp. 4–5. ISBN 978-1-84217-247-6.
  3. Thomas, Julian (2007). "Part One: Introduction". In Thomas, Julian (ed.). Place and Memory: Excavations at The Pict's Knowe, Holywood and Holm Farm, Dumfries and Galloway, 1994-8. Oxford: Oxbow Books. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-84217-247-6.
  4. Thomas, Julian (2007). "The Pict's Knowe: discussion". In Thomas, Julian (ed.). Place and Memory: Excavations at The Pict's Knowe, Holywood and Holm Farm, Dumfries and Galloway, 1994-8. Oxford: Oxbow Books. p. 143. ISBN 978-1-84217-247-6.
  5. Thomas, Julian (2007). "The Pict's Knowe: discussion". In Thomas, Julian (ed.). Place and Memory: Excavations at The Pict's Knowe, Holywood and Holm Farm, Dumfries and Galloway, 1994-8. Oxford: Oxbow Books. p. 145. ISBN 978-1-84217-247-6.
  6. Barclay, G. J.; Fojut, N. (1990). "The Site at Pict's Knowe, Troqueer, near Dumfries: A south-western Henge Re-discovered" (PDF). Transactions of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society. 65: 70. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 July 2019.
  7. Younger, Rebecca Kirsty (2015). De-henging the henge: a biographical approach to Scotland's henge monuments. University of Glasgow (unpublished Phd thesis). p. 121.
  8. Thomas, Julian (2007). "The Pict's Knowe: discussion". In Thomas, Julian (ed.). Place and Memory: Excavations at The Pict's Knowe, Holywood and Holm Farm, Dumfries and Galloway, 1994-8. Oxford: Oxbow Books. p. 148. ISBN 978-1-84217-247-6.
  9. Younger, Rebecca Kirsty (2015). De-henging the henge: a biographical approach to Scotland's henge monuments. University of Glasgow (unpublished Phd thesis). p. 124.
  10. Barclay, G. J.; Fojut, N. (1990). "The Site at Pict's Knowe, Troqueer, near Dumfries: A south-western Henge Re-discovered" (PDF). Transactions of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society. 65: 69. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 July 2019.
  11. "Picts Knowe,fort (SM1092)". portal.historicenvironment.scot. Archived from the original on 20 November 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  12. Thomas, Julian, ed. (2007). Place and Memory: Excavations at The Pict's Knowe, Holywood and Holm Farm, Dumfries and Galloway, 1994-8. Oxford: Oxbow Books. ISBN 978-1-84217-247-6.
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