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 4km SW of Dumfries on a small sandy bank in the peat covered valley of the Crooks Pow stream.[3]

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 2019-11-17.
  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 2019-11-17.
  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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