4. Moat, Gallows Law (fig. 3), is the next example, 3 m. E.N.E. from the last,m. N. of Gardyne Castle, m. S.S.E. of Guthrie Church, and about 200 ft. above the sea. It is conspicuously placed at the very W. end of a singular, narrow, artificial-looking but natural ridge which runs E. and W. on a field sloping gently from S. to N. This mound rises gradually from the E., with a gently-rounded crest and steep sides, 15 to 25 ft. high on the S. and 30 to 45 on the N. On nearing the W. end, after

a course of 70 yds., a trench cuts off the mote, which rises 8 ft. above the trench, has a flat top, 27 by 18 ft., and falls steeply about 20 feet to the S. and 40 to the N., upon the field. The W. face is quarried away (at b on the plan and section) and shows nothing but sand and rolled pebbles from top to bottom. The name Gallows Law seems not inappropriate, from the following abbreviated reference in the O.S. account: "Two artificial conical mounds called laws exist at Idvie and Gardyne. An old man told Thomas

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Lyel that he saw two Highlanders taken with stolen cattle, judged, condemned, and hanged on the Law of Gardyne" (early in the eighteenth century), but this is no reason for calling it also a Mont (Mute),

5. Passing now to the high tableland upon which the high road from Forfar to Brechin runs, we come on the Mote of Melgund of the O.M., the only instance, within our review, of the spelling mote in place of moat. The site is 17 m N.E. of Aberlemno Church on the broad summit of Angus Hill, 451 ft, above the sea. It is represented on the O.M. as a very small, shapeless mound, and was probably then undergoing a gradual destruction, which seems to be now complete, as I could find no trace of it on the site in a field then under turnip

6. Scarcely 2 m. E. of this, m. S.S.E. of Aldbar Castle, and 2 m. S.W. of Brechin, Mont is marked on the O.M. on a gently sloping field 316 ft. above the sea, at a place called Chapel. The term here means a trench, but it must have disappeared, and I could see nothing but a cottage and garden beside a square enclosure, fenced by a low mound, on the top of which was a ruined wall, of which the N. side, 104 ft. long, and part of the E. and W. sides, 84 and 48 ft., remained. The site seems to have been of some importance formerly, as on the O.M., besides the names Chapel, and Priest Shed (apparently the name of a field close to Moat), there is a Court Law 200 yds, to the S. and Site of Church Barns 400 yds. S.W. I have retained this and the preceding No. 5 in this class, because they are marked Moat' on the O.M. But strictly they should have been relegated to the class with no existing remains.

7. The last occurrence of the word Moat (here signifying trench) on the O.M. is at Castlehill, Inshewan (fig. 12), which is situated on the N. lank of the South Esk, about 300 ft. above the sea, 2 m. W.S.W. of Tannadice Church, and 500 yds. W.N.W. of In-hewan House. The river here flows

between perpendicular cliffs, and the fortress is formed by cutting a deep trench landward, where there is a bend of the river, the land side of the long oval being protected by the trench, and the river side by the cliff 30 or 40 ft. in height, and the foaming river rushing along in its rocky bed below, The trench is remarkably deep and steep, and from the configuration of the ground the counterscarp is higher than the scarp in the proportion of 25 to 15 ft., where highest, about the middle. Eastward, however, from the natural fall in the landward ground, the height of the counter carp diminishes rapidly as it curves towards the river, and the entrance, C, 1× here, close to the stream. The nearly level and pretty reglarly oval interior measures about 150 by 100 ft. A slight banking up of the landward edge may be remains of a rampart. There are no signs of stone work and no stones lie about.

(c) EARTHWORK WITH SOME RESEMBLANCE TO MILITARY MOTES,
BUT NOT MARKED MOTE OR MOAT ON THE O.M.

The only earthwork remi ling a mote in the Highlinels of Perth is on the Torr Hil, { m. 8.8 W, ot Aberfooly, on the left bank of Moness Burn, 400 ft, above the sea, within 50 vd- of the puble roud to Crieff. Mr Hutcheson, from whose paper I take the plan tug 13), calls it a very distinct and wellmarked earthen fort, measuring internally 154 by 124 ft., rectangular in form,

with two trenches on the slope, varying from 24 to 36 ft. in width, and rising 40 to 45 ft. above the surrounding ground. He also states that, on the ascend

Fig. 13. Earthwork, Torr Hill, Aberfeldy. (Mr Hutcheson.)

ing slope of the hill on the S. of the fort, there are several other well-marked trenches, which may have been thrown up as outworks to protect the fort on that the most vulnerable side.

This work seems to be altogether of rather a unique kind. It is so in the first place because earthen forts are exceedingly rare in the Scottish Highlands; but it is also remarkable for its rectangular form. It will be observed from Mr Hutcheson's plan that, although the interior is rectangular with rounded angles, the trenches assume a more circular form. In these respects it resembles the Roman Post of Kaims Castle between Ardoch and Strageath, and no other work with which I am acquainted. On paper the Torhill work is somewhat suggestive of a terraced mote, and what with that and its position so near to a low lying inhabited site, it seems not unlikely that it may be a work of the mote period.

·

9. Dundee Law. This conspicuous green eminence rises on the N.W. side of the town of Dundee to a height of 572 ft. above the sea, the last 100 ft. being haan

very steep all round, but particularly on the N. The summit is nearly level but with a gentle incline to the S. and E., and the fort (fig. 14), measuring 260 by 170 ft. over all, occupies the whole of it. The work is peculiar for a hill site, being strictly rectilinear, except for a rounded annex at the N. end, which is outside the main rampart and follows the contour of the hill top there. The miner area measures about 140 by so ft.; and the northern part, A, for a breadth of 36 ft., is very slightly raised above the southern part, B, and has a

comparatively rough surface. The whole area is enclosed by a rectilinear mound 24 to 30 ft. across and with a flat top 6 to 10 ft. wide, which rises only a foot or two above the area, and 3 to 6 above the outside. On the N. side this rampart gives on the little level space, C, 33 ft. wide, with a rounded head, spoken of above, which shows slight remains of a stone wall, not necessarily ancient, at the rounded edge. The other three sides have a second and lesser mound a little in front of the inner one at the edge of the descent. In connection with these chief mounds or ramparts, the N. one is prolonged eastward, partly naturally perhaps, to the edge of the hill and down the hill to D, so as to bar the approach which skirts up the eastern flank of the hill to the rounded head. This limb, D, also flanks a possible zig-zag entrance, E, F. The S. rampart is similarly prolonged, flanking a direct entrance, F, from the east, and it also gives off short branches at either end towards the outer ramparts. The work seems to be of earth; at least I saw few little stones and no big ones lying about except at the rounded head, which lies beyond the main work. The rectangular form of the work gives it some claim to a Roman origin, but there is no proved Roman fort perched on a similar site in Scotland. The rectangular form, and the greater elevation, slight though it be, of one end, are also suggestive of a mote, and are not characteristics of a hill fort; the position, on the other hand, is much more that of the hill forts than of the motes. That it may be mediaval is also possible, although history is silent about it. Altogether this is an anomalous and puzzling work.

10. Castleton.-8 m. along the high road from Forfar to Perth, and 3 m. E.N.E. of Meigle, 180 ft. above the sea, is a nearly square fortress, raised considerably above the surrounding country on three sides, but less so on the S.E., where the entrance is directly from the high road by an ascending broad ramp, either modern or modernised as the approach to a house and garden in the interior (fig. 4, which omits the western part, broken down for the site of the house and garden). The wide trench on the N.E. side has a scarp, steep and straight, 12 to 14 ft. high, crowned by an earthen parapet 3 ft. high to the interior. The counterscarp is only 4 to 6 ft. high, so that the interior has a great command. The fortification on the S.E. side is much the same, but the trench is not quite so deep. The S.W. side now shows only a rather easy slope, but the construction of the house and garden no doubt caused great alterations and the destruction of the defences there. On the N.W. the steep scarp again appears, but without the trench. A small burn runs at the foot of the S.W. side and there are signs of another little watercourse on the N.W. side. The dimensions of the interior on the O.M. are about 300 by 200 ft. and the width of the rampart and trench varies from 35 to 80 ft. in a straight line. An intelligent man told me there was no tradition of a mediæval castle, but he spoke of the trench as 'the moat,' and this may perhaps have been the traditional name of the whole fortress. It must also be the work said by Dr James Playfair to have been formed by the English in the reign of Edward I., as its position, dimensions, and structure correspond exactly with his description. He gives no authority for his statement, but as far as it goes it confirms the mote theory. If not a mote it must be regarded as a Roman work rather than a native fort, although it has marvellously escaped being dubbed 'Roman Camp.'

1 Picture of Scotland, James Playfair, D.D., i. 433.