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Stone Circle
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Clicking on the red wording above will reveal an invaluable image showing the three Slochmill sites. Paper copy adviseable for those interested. To locate the stone circle - or setting - first look a the structure to the right (south) of the lighthouse. This is a WW2 Coastguard lookout. The dark line heading up the image from adjacent to the lookout is a wire fence. It intersects with an inverted crescent shaped feature which crosses from one side of the photograph to another. This is a Galloway dyke. Moving from the intersection with the fence leftward around the dyke's circumference a gap is visible with a straight, possibly stone topped path or causeway leading outward and upward from the dyke. It leads directly to the stone circle, some component stones of which are visible as grey-white dots. The path to the circle looks to have degraded ditches either side not seen when fieldwalking, denoted by darker vegetation, and there seems to be the faint trace of a ditch surrounding the circle, once again not noticed when fieldwalking. Inward, or seaward, of the dyke there are a number of circular crop marks, if the image is studied closely. Most are close to the dyke, predominantly towards the centre of its curvature. That they may be hut circles would only be confirmed by excavation. As before, they were not apparent when walking to Crammag Head dun. If proven though, they could be contemporary with the stone circle. The three ramparts of the fort commence due left ie. North, of the circle and encircle the base of the gorsey outcrop. Construction of this may have been incomplete as there are terraces between each rampart, not ditches, and I found ramps between each terrace. A three terrace fort from the Iron Age exists at nearby Kirkmaiden - the Canmore name of that site is Core Hill - for which there are separate fieldnotes on TMA. The similar construction of Slochmill's fort may indicate it is of contemporary date. My gut feeling is that at least some of the hut circles, if that is what they are, are of earlier date, perhaps mid Bronze Age.
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Posted by spencer
23rd November 2015ce
Edited 20th December 2015ce
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