Mid Gleniron

Mid Gleniron
Mid Gleniron
	One of the six cairns
Coordinates	54°54′36″N4°49′43″W / 54.910121°N 4.828646°W ,
OS grid reference	NX 18769 60932
Scheduled monument
Designated	24/10/1924
Reference no.	SM1944
	Location of Mid Gleniron in Dumfries and Galloway

Last updated November 30, 2024

Mid Gleniron is a prehistoric site in Dumfries and Galloway used in the Neolithic and Bronze Age. The site is a scheduled ancient monument that comprises a group of six burial cairns.^[1] Two of the cairns, Mid Gleniron I^[2] and Mid Gleniron II^[3] are chambered cairns of the Clyde tradition. These are of historical importance because of their multi-stage construction which provides evidence for the development of Clyde cairns at the beginning of the Neolithic period.^[4]^[5]^[1]

Mid Gleniron I & II

The chamber cairns, Mid Gleniron I & II, were excavated by Corcoran between 1963 and 1966.^[6]^: 29 These excavations revealed a multi-period construction. Mid Gleniron I was revealed to have been originally two separate, small (5m diameter) rectangular cairns, each with entrances into single chambers. These cairns were set in the same direction, with their cambers aligned.^[7]^: 105 Thomas notes the close positioning of these two cairns implies that it was anticipated that they would be incorporated into a larger construction.^[5]^: 10 At a later date, these cairns were modified and subsumed into a large trapezoidal cairn. A third chamber was added as well as a forecourt, typical of Clyde cairns. The facade marking out the forecourt was made of standing stones measuring over eight meters across.^[7]^: 105

Mid Gleniron II also apparently began as a set of two smaller cairns.^[7]^: 105 Like at Mid Gleniron I, this site was transformed into a large trapezoidal cairn with a forecourt. However, only one of the cairns was subsumed and altered by the new monument. The forecourt led into a new chamber which was blocked centuries later in the early Bronze Age.^[7]^: 111

Historic Environment Scotland's Statement of National Importance for the site notes its potentially international significance for shedding light on "the sequence and development of funerary and ritual architecture during the Neolithic and early Bronze Age."^[1]

Excavation at Droughdool Mote between 1999 and 2002 revealed a round cairn at the top of the mound, similar in construction to Mid Gleniron A.^[8]^[9]

Related Research Articles

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Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was an administrative county used for local government. Since 1975 the area has formed part of Dumfries and Galloway for local government purposes. Wigtownshire continues to be used as a territory for land registration, being a registration county. The historic county is all within the slightly larger Wigtown Area, which is one of the lieutenancy areas of Scotland and was used in local government as the Wigtown District from 1975 to 1996.

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Droughdool Mote is a Neolithic round mound in the parish of Old Luce, Wigtownshire, Dumfries and Galloway. The mound is oval in plan, measuring 60m by 50m at its base and rises to 10m in height. It is located 400m south of the late neolithic palisaded enclosure at Dunragit. It has been suggested that the mound may have been used as a viewing platform for activities at Dunragit complex of monuments. The most well known parallel the site has is Silbury Hill in Wiltshire, but is closer in size to the less well known sites at Conquer Barrow, Willy Howe and Wold Newton. The mound was originally built with stepped sides on top of a sand dune. Excavation between 1999-2002 revealed a round cairn at the top of the mound, similar to the nearby Mid Gleniron A.

Cairnderry chambered cairn is a chambered cairn in Dumfries and Galloway. It is a Bargrennan cairn, a type of Neolithic or early Bronze Age monument only found in south west Scotland.

Huntersquoy chambered cairn is a Neolithic chambered cairn located on the island of Eday, in Orkney, Scotland. The monument dates from the 3rd millennium BC and is an Orkney–Cromarty type chambered cairn. Huntersquoy is a distinctive two-story burial monument with overlapping chambers. Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 1936.

Braeside chambered cairn is a Neolithic burial monument located on the island of Eday in Orkney, Scotland. It is an Orkney-Cromarty type stalled cairn, similar in construction to the Midhowe Chambered Cairn on the island of Rousay. Because of prior robbing, the Braeside cairn has been reduced to a few upright stones at the ground level, covered with turf and heather. The cairn is located on the Eday Heritage Trail.

References

1 2 3 "Mid Gleniron, chambered cairns and cairns (SM1944)". portal.historicenvironment.scot. Archived from the original on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
↑ "Mid Gleniron | Canmore". canmore.org.uk. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
↑ "Mid Gleniron | Canmore". canmore.org.uk. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
↑ Stell, Geoffrey (1996). Dumfries and Galloway. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (2nd ed.). Edinburgh: The Stationery Office. p. 172. ISBN 0-11-495294-9. OCLC 36079767.
1 2 Thomas, Julian (2015). "Context: The Prehistory of Luce Bay". In Thomas, Julian (ed.). A Neolithic Complex in Galloway: Excavations at Dunragit and Droughduil, 1999-2002. Oxford & Philadelphia: Oxbow Books. pp. 8–16. ISBN 978-1-78297-970-8.
↑ Corcoran, J. X. W. P. (1969). "Excavation of Two Chambered Cairns at Mid Gleniron Farm, Glenluce, Wigtownshire" (PDF). Transactions of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society. Third Series. XLVI [46]: 29–90. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 July 2019.
1 2 3 4 Noble, Gordon (2006). Neolithic Scotland: Timber, Stone, Earth and Fire. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 0-7486-2698-0. OCLC 71000487.
↑ Thomas, Julian; Sanderson, David; Kerr, Colin (2015). "Droughduil Mote". In Thomas, Julian (ed.). A Neolithic Complex in Galloway: Excavations at Dunragit and Droughduil, 1999-2002. Oxford & Philadelphia: Oxbow Books. p. 97. ISBN 978-1-78297-970-8.
↑ Thomas, Julian (2015). "Discussion". In Thomas, Julian (ed.). A Neolithic Complex in Galloway: Excavations at Dunragit and Droughduil, 1999-2002. Oxford & Philadelphia: Oxbow Books. pp. 172–173. ISBN 978-1-78297-970-8.

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[:0-1] 1 2 3 "Mid Gleniron, chambered cairns and cairns (SM1944)". portal.historicenvironment.scot. Archived from the original on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2020.

[2] "Mid Gleniron | Canmore". canmore.org.uk. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.

[3] "Mid Gleniron | Canmore". canmore.org.uk. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.

[4] Stell, Geoffrey (1996). Dumfries and Galloway. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (2nd ed.). Edinburgh: The Stationery Office. p. 172. ISBN 0-11-495294-9. OCLC 36079767.

[:1-5] 1 2 Thomas, Julian (2015). "Context: The Prehistory of Luce Bay". In Thomas, Julian (ed.). A Neolithic Complex in Galloway: Excavations at Dunragit and Droughduil, 1999-2002. Oxford & Philadelphia: Oxbow Books. pp. 8–16. ISBN 978-1-78297-970-8.

[6] Corcoran, J. X. W. P. (1969). "Excavation of Two Chambered Cairns at Mid Gleniron Farm, Glenluce, Wigtownshire" (PDF). Transactions of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society. Third Series. XLVI [46]: 29–90. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 July 2019.

[:2-7] 1 2 3 4 Noble, Gordon (2006). Neolithic Scotland: Timber, Stone, Earth and Fire. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 0-7486-2698-0. OCLC 71000487.

[8] Thomas, Julian; Sanderson, David; Kerr, Colin (2015). "Droughduil Mote". In Thomas, Julian (ed.). A Neolithic Complex in Galloway: Excavations at Dunragit and Droughduil, 1999-2002. Oxford & Philadelphia: Oxbow Books. p. 97. ISBN 978-1-78297-970-8.

[9] Thomas, Julian (2015). "Discussion". In Thomas, Julian (ed.). A Neolithic Complex in Galloway: Excavations at Dunragit and Droughduil, 1999-2002. Oxford & Philadelphia: Oxbow Books. pp. 172–173. ISBN 978-1-78297-970-8.

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