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The Clyde Mystery, a Study in Forgeries and Folklore, a non-fiction book by Andrew Lang |
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IX - A GUESS AT THE POSSIBLE PURPOSE OF LANGBANK AND DUMBUCK |
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_ IX - A GUESS AT THE POSSIBLE PURPOSE OF LANGBANK AND DUMBUCK The Dumbuck structure, when occupied, adjoined and commanded a ford across the undeepened Clyde of uncommercial times. So Sir Arthur Mitchell informs us. {51a} The Langbank structure, as I understand, is opposite to that of Dumbuck on the southern side of the river. If two strongly built structures large enough for occupation exist on opposite sides of a ford, their purpose is evident: they guard the ford, like the two stone camps on each side of the narrows of the Avon at Clifton. Dr. Munro, on the other hand, says, "the smallness of the habitable area on both "sites" puts them out of the category of military forts." {51b} My suggestion is that the structure was so far "military" as is implied in its being occupied, with Langbank on the opposite bank of Clyde by keepers of the ford. In 1901 Dr. Munro wrote, "even the keepers of the watch-tower at the ford of Dumbuck had their quern, and ground their own corn." {52a} This idea has therefore passed through Dr. Munro's mind, though I did not know the fact till after I had come to the same hypothesis. The habitable area was therefore, adequate to the wants of these festive people. I conjecture that these "keepers of the watch-tower at the ford" were military "watchers of the ford," for that seems to me less improbable than that "a round tower with very thick walls, {52b} like the brochs and other forts of North Britain," was built in the interests of the navigation of Clyde at a very remote period. {52c} But really all this is of no importance to the argument. People lived in these sites, perhaps as early as 400 A.D. or earlier. Such places of safety were sadly needed during the intermittent and turbulent Roman occupation.
{51a} Proceedings Scot. Soc. Ant. vol. xxxiv. p. 462. {51b} Munro, p. 147. {52a} Proc. Soc. Ant. Scot. 1900-1901, p. 296. {52b} Munro, p. 138. {52c} These structures, of course, were of dry stone, without lime and mortar. By what name we call them, "towers," or "cairns," is indifferent to me. _ |
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