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Note
Date 21 June 2019
Event ID 1100691
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Note
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1100691
At least five, possibly seven, artificial caves have been excavated into the steep face of the sandstone cliff that forms the left (north) bank of the Ale Water immediately NE of The Old Mill, Ancrum. The Statistical Account mentions fifteen caves along the banks of the Ale but these include others along the river to the west -- see NT62SW 4 (one cave) and NT62SW 14 (eight caves). Research by RCAHMS for the Roxburgh Inventory (1956) suggests that at least some of the caves were already in use by the middle of the 16th century. Few of the caves are now readily accessible and therefore the architectural features said to present in some, for example the vestiges of chimneys or fireplaces, cannot be easily confirmed. The caves opposite The Old Mill were visited by HES staff on 30 March 2017. None could be entered, and the following site descriptions are based on laser scan data obtained from the opposite bank of the river.
NT62SW 3.01 NT 63214 24872 Cave
NT62SW 3.02 NT 63220 24869 Cave (Possible)
NT62SW 3.03 NT 63225 24863 Cave
NT62SW 3.04 NT 63227 24860 Cave
NT62SW 3.05 NT 63231 24858 Cave (Possible)
NT62SW 3.06 NT 63249 24845 Cave
NT62SW 3.07 NT 63251 24844 Cave
Information from HES Survey and Recording (GLB) 21 June 2019.
