Cowhill

NX98SE 21 950 826.

A stone axe found in a field near Cowhill (NX 950 826) on 1st January 1910 is in the possession of Mr Matthew Smith, Bellfield, Holywood. (Bellfield: NX 947 828)

Trans Dumfriesshire Galloway Natur Hist Antiq Soc 1911

Two polished stone axes from Cowhill, Holywood, have been petrologically identified as attributable to Group VI, with likely origins in the group of factory sites at Great Langdale, Westmorland.

One, from Cowhill Moss (J Williams 1970), a thin-butted ground stone axe, without facetted sides, typically of Group VI, is in Dumfries Museum (Acc No: 1934-37). Its length is 7.3 ins, and breadth 3.3 ins; it seems to imitate metal flat axes in the thinness of the head and width of the cutting edge.

The other, an axe of light grey stone, from Bellfield farm, Cowhill

(J Williams 1970) is also in Dumfries Museum (Acc No: 1935-1). Its length is 12.6 ins, and breadth 2.5 ins. The facetted sites of this axe, together with its great length should relate it to Group VI, but its petrological attribution is uncertain.

Sections and records of both axes are preserved in the Hunterian Museum, Glasgow.

R G Livens 1961.

These two stone axes are on exhibition in Dumfries Museum.

Visited by OS (WDJ) 19 June 1964.

The axe from Fellfield Farm (Clough and Cummins, no. DMF 13) is held under accession number DUMFM 12/SA and has been tentatively attributed to petrological group VI. That from Cowhill Moss (Clough and CUmmins, no. DMF 15) is held under accession number DUMFM 11/SA and has been attributed to the same group. Group VI comprises objects of epidotized intermediate tuff of the Borrowdale Volcanic Series from the Great Langdale and Scafell areas of Cumbria.

T H McK Clough and W A Cummins 1988.