Journal of A O Curle (RCAHMS). Titled 'Caithness I'.

Description Journal of A O Curle (RCAHMS). Titled 'Caithness I'.

Date 22/5/1910 to 6/7/1910

Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu

Catalogue Number MS 36/17

Category Manuscripts

Scope and Content This contains a daily record and draft texts for the Inventory entries, indexed by Curle. He explains in this volume, page 7, that 'My rule this year is to write up my notes immediately after breakfast and set out for the day about 11.0.' Curle and 'J' (presumably Jocelyn, his second wife) resided at Thuster House outside Wick, and Curle hired a sixteen-year old boy (Alick, see p21) from the lodge at Stirkoke as his assistant in the field. There are also loose items from the journal, which are housed in a folder in the same box. 23 May (not in field notebook MS 36/11, which begins 24 May, see MS 36/16). p 2 St Cuthbert's Church; Cairn Hill, Old Stirkoke; broch at Farmach; p 3 Gansclet standing stone; Gansclet broch; Thrumster broch; p 4 Comment on Caithness crofters; p 5 Thrumster Little broch ; p 6 Hempriggs broch; 24 May p 6v Photograph of Castle of Old Wick; p 7 Stemster broch; Castle of Old Wick ; p 8v sketch plan of Castle of Old Wick; p 9 Old Wick cont, with note on primula scotica growing near castle; Hempriggs cairn; p 10 Humster broch; 25 May called on Mr Nicholson at Watten; p 10 chapel Old Hall of Dunn (Inv no 459); p 11 three broch mounds near Old Hall of Dunn, Watten (Inv nos 461-3) and two other broch mounds; p 12 standing stone near Old Hall of Dunn (Inv no 483) with tiny sketch; Green Hill broch with sketch plan of entrance on 12v; p 14 26 May stormy & wet, 'bicycling quite out of the question so footed it'. Bilbster cairn, sketch plan on 14v; p 15 Bilbster standing stone; p 16 site of St Mary's church; 27 May p 17 posible brochs (Inv nos 465-7); The Clow chapel (Inv no 460); p 18 Acharole broch (with profile and two photographs); p 19 Acharole stone circle; p 20 Watten broch; 28 May Curle and J drove into Wick to take the train to Thurso, in order to meet various people and to organise another house to stay in during August and September on the outskirts of Wick. p 21 old houses in Wick. Spent Sunday at Borrobal with the Sykes. 30 May p 21 Scottag broch; p 22 contents of boxes of finds from Cogle broch in possession of Mr Sutherland (with photograph); plan is for Sutherland to write up the excavation for PSAS; 31 May travelled on the engine of a train on the Lybster & Wick Railway; inspected 'font' in Stirkoke garden (Inv 569); 1 June p 24 Toddy Hillock cairn; Oslie cairn (with sketch plan); p 25 Grey Cairn, Lynegar; Stone Hone boulder; p 26 hand bell at Watten Manse, cast with inscription 1661(with two photographs of bell in folder); stony mound near Watten Manse; p 27 Gersa mound; jug at Gersa Fm (sketch in MS 36/11, 25v); p 28 comment about 'uncommon' words in use in area; Kirk o'Moss; 3 June p 30 visited Mr Donald Mackenzie from Bonar Bridge at Killimster, who had found flint knife nearby (photograph of Mackenzie and sketch of knife) (in folder is a chatty letter to Curle from Mackenzie inviting him to Bonar Bridge and mentioning a foot print stone); Skitten broch; p 32 Killimster 'Picts House'; p 33 Killimster Green Hill broch; 4 June p 34 Achingale broch; Strath cairn ; p 35 Carn Liath, Strath; Flex Hill (sketch plan of location of cairns in folder); 6 June p 36 North Yarrows excavated cairn; Battle Moss (with photograph); p 36v revisted Battle Moss on 17 June in order to count stones; p 37 Yarrows broch; p 39 South Yarrows long cairn; Yarrows hut circle (with photograph) (letter in folder to Curle from Joseph Anderson seeks to clarify the Yarrows cairns and his own excavation); p 40 South Yarrows south long cairn; 7 June p 42 Ackergill mound; kitchen middens and hut circle along shore N from Ackergill Tower excavated by Curle; Mrs Duff Dunbar's collection of Aberdeenshire flint arrowheads and Roman glass bottle found with beads (sketch of bottle), and 3 cinerary urns from Aberdeenshire; p 43 Ackergill Tower; 8 June p 45 Borrowston broch; p 47 McCole's Castle; Whiteleen standing stones (with photographs); p 49 Loch of Yarrows hut circles; p 50 cairns of Warehouse; p 53 Yarrows fort; 9 June p 54 Watten standing stone; 10 June lunched with Sir John Sinclair at Barrock and visited Wester broch (Castle Linglas); 11 June p 55 'Ring of Killimster'; Mr Mackenzie's flints and 18th cent wine glasses with white spirals in the stems (sketch of one), which Curle purchased some years later in a sale; p 56 Wester broch (Castle Linglas); p 57 possible broch mound near Wester broch; Curle joined Cree who was excavating a hut circle near Ackergill, Mrs Duff Dunbar finds a bone pin with a T-shaped head; 13 June p 58 broch mound at Bilbster; p 59 Fairy Hillock N of Wick; Hempriggs House; p 60 font and qernstones in garden of Tombank Villa; 14 June p 61 Keiss broch; p 63 Whitegate broch; p 64 Keiss 'Road broch'; p 68 Keiss Castle; p 69 Curle meets John Nicholson and is lent sketches of graves exposed by Tress Barry on Ackergill Links, including square cairns. 15 June p 70 Dunbeath Castle (with tracing of sketch by Henderson, 1830); 16 June p 72 brochs at Spital Farm and Knockinglass; p 73 Halsary standing stone; p 74 Nybster broch; iron hand mill; 17 June p 74 Brounaban cairn; p 75 Ormiegill cairn; p 76 Ormiegill hut circles & mounds; 18 June p 78 Achanarras Hill cairns, stone circle (Inv no 141) (with sketch plan & photograph), broch ; p 79 Achanarras broch (with photograph); p 80 possible broch at Achanarras (Inv no 99); St Magnus Chapel, Banniskirk Mains; p 81 possible broch at Spittal Farm; 21 June p 81 Achlachan Moss hut circle ; p 82 Achlachan Moss broch (with photograph, both mounted in journal and loose); Cnoc Donn broch; p 83 Dale House doocot (with photograph); p 84 Dale House, shooting lodge and burial ground; called on the Rev Angus Mackay at Westerdale, sketched perforated axe; 22 June p 85 font in garden of Pulteney Manse (with sketch and notes glued in); old houses in Wick; 23 June p 86 Westerdale broch; p 88 mounds beside Thurso River at Westerdale (Inv nos 107, 143, 144) (with photograph in folder); p 89 St Trostan Chapel; Dale broch (Inv no 104); p 90 Pullyhour henge & standing stone; Achies broch; 24 June p 91 at Nybsterwith John Nicholson, seeing artefacts and drawings; p 92 Nybster broch (with photograph); p 94 Sgarbach fort; p 96 Sgarbach standing stone; p 96 Kirk Stones (with sketch plan & photograph); 25 June p 97v Thuster broch; 27 June p 98 Hillhead broch; Papigoe mound ; p 99 Elsay broch; called on Baillie Simpson in Wick to see brother's collection of artefacts including macehead from mouth of Wick River (with sketch); p 101 Camster broch and farmer's superstitions; 102 Stone Lud standing stone (with photograph - see CA 35) and cairn; Cairn of Heather; p 103 Bowertower broch; Halcro broch; p 104 doubts about the accuracy of John Nicholson's map; 29 June p 104 John o'Groats area; 30 June p 105 Flex Hill hut circles; p 107 Lower Camster broch; p 108 Lower Camster standing stones; Lower Camster hut circles; p 110 Camster broch; 2 July p 111 Shorelands Chapel of St Tear; Castles of Girniegoe and Sinclair; p 114 Noss Head cairn; 4 July p 115 cairn near Lyth School, Bower parish; Lyth Ring of Castle Hill (with photograph in journal and loose sketch plan); p 116 Lyth Gunn's Hillock; stone armorial from Keiss Castle at Barrock House; p 116v Hill of Works broch (sketch plan of entrance; 5 July p 118 At Nybster John Nicholson showed Curle a socketed bronze spearhead (sketch); cupmarked stones (photograph); p 119 Bucholly Castle; p 120 Ness broch; p 121 Freswick doocot; p 122 Freswick Bay middens; Sand broch (Freswick Links); p 123 rectangulsr building; p 124 Skirza Head broch; p 126 Everley broch; Warth Hill cairn; p 127 site of broch at Stemster; John o'Groats house; p 128 description of John Nicholson; 6 July p 129 Ulbster standing stone (photograph, both mounted and loose), broch, mound and st Martin's Chapel; p 130 Ulbster mausoleum for the Sinclairs of Ulbster(photograph);

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