<< Our Photo Pages >> Scots' Dike - Misc. Earthwork in Scotland in Scottish Borders
Submitted by Anne T on Thursday, 17 May 2018 Page Views: 1587
Multi-periodSite Name: Scots' Dike Alternative Name: ScotsdikeCountry: Scotland County: Scottish Borders Type: Misc. Earthwork
Nearest Town: Longtown / Gretna Nearest Village: Netherby
Map Ref: NY38507325
Latitude: 55.049921N Longitude: 2.964128W
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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Misc. Earthwork in Scottish Borders
This earthwork, called alternatively Scots' Dike or Scotsdike, runs along a section of the border between England and Scotland, between the River Esk and the River Sark. It now lies within dense woodland known as Scotsdike Plantation and is formed by a bank with ditches on either side.
Recorded as Canmore ID 67548, this linear earthwork runs between NY 3307 7367 to NY 3872 7319. Its eastern end now lies immediately adjacent to the busy, fast A7, so we headed off to its western end, parking at NY 33500 74017, in a small layby at the corner of the plantation and a gate into a lane. At this point, a deep ditch runs north east/south west, with a second ditch alongside the western end of the plantation. This being the English side, there was no formal access, although it was possible to hop over the wire fence.
Not much to see, but interesting to stop and observe. The ditch at this western end was around 3m wide, and the bank around 1 metre high. We originally thought this earthwork was contemporary with the Antonine Wall, but it appears this section of the border was defined as late as 1552. Canmore notes that there seems to have been shifts in the course of the monument over time, indicating an earlier structure in place to mark an earlier boundary, which hs now been ploughed out. The terminal points used to be marked by boundary stones bearing the royal arms or England and Scotland.
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