Medieval Tower House

Driving in Borders country last week with Dritanje, we came across this ruined Tower House,
forlornly marking time in a hillside field.  Dritanje's blog .....RIVERTRAIN

Fortified Keeps or Tower Houses were a common form of architecture for landed families
in Scotland until late medieval times. Built for protection, they usually occupied
a prominent position overlooking surrounding countryside.
In times of danger brazier fires would be lit on rooftops across the area
to signal enemy approach.
The size of towers varied depending on wealth and status of the owners. 

Today the field is occupied by cows with calves, so we dare not investigate closer

Dry stone dykes surrounding the fields require a specialist to build and repair them.
 Built without mortar, this type of construction dates back to thousands of years BC
 

Roadside vegetation

Echoes of Richard Long sculpture!

This stone assemblage lying beside a path caught my eye. As we were close to a railway line
 it is most likely to be ballast stone used for laying the trackbed

Stone Circle by Richard Long  -   Scottish Gallery of Modern Art ..... HERE

Smailholm Tower near Melrose, now a museum, is an example of a renovated fortified tower.

I may come back to this later .....

Thank you for visiting


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