Archaeology InSites

Across the river Tweed from Kelso, there is a grassy field used for point-to-point racing. At its west end where the rivers Tweed and Teviot narrow to an isthmus 150m wide, there is a 100 foot high mound grown with oak trees on which may be seen a few lengths of ruinous wall. This is the royal castle of Marchmont or Roxburgh which David of Huntingdon founded in the early 12th century as the seat of his principality of Cumbria, which his brother, King Alexander, devolved on him. Later he erected a new burgh of Roxburgh on the haugh land beyond, now used for horse racing. The town grew to be one of the four most important burghs in Scotland in the 13th and 14th centuries and held an annual fair of St James on 25th July.

St Margaret’s Chapel, set on the summit of Edinburgh’s Castle Rock, is reputed to be the oldest building in the capital city. The dedication to Margaret of Wessex, Queen of Scotland from 1070 until 1093, appears to have replaced an original dedication to St Michael used at the time of her son David’s reign. Elements of the building seem to pre-date the early 12th century.