Gryfe Reservoir Number 2

Inhospitable moorland with conifer stand and pylon in the background.

Stone wall at southeast corner of forested area.

Looking towards Kilcreggan and Helensburgh from the summit of Corlick Hill

at the top of Auchenfoyle Road

Planting work is still in progress. Cairncurran Hill can be seen in the background.

See NS2973 : Lurg Moor Roman fortlet for a discussion of various other antiquities located nearby on the moor, with links to photographs. Compared to some of those sites, the remains shown in the present photograph are less conspicuous, but they are shown on the 1:25000 OS map. Several enclosures have been reported in the immediate vicinity of this one, but the remains shown in this photograph are the easiest to pick out visually. See Link (at Canmore) for further details; the subject of this photograph is structure "A" in that report, the D-shaped enclosure. Structures "A" and "B" together make up the enclosures that are depicted on the 1:25000 map. [See Link for an annotated satellite image (zoom out for other antiquities located nearby). The satellite view shows some other interesting details nearby: for example, only 60 metres ESE is another feature, the form of two overlapping circles: I examined that area on a later visit: NS3072 : Possible hut circles on Burnhead Moor.] The present photograph shows two ridges, both greener than the surrounding moor, but with some dark tussocks along their course. The nearer one is straight, and the more distant one is curved into a C-shape, with the open side toward the photographer, so that they are arranged (very roughly) as "C|". In the foreground, just below the centre of the photograph, part of the nearer (straight) ridge runs across the width of the image, sloping upwards to the right. Behind it is the other (curved) ridge. Only one half of its C-shape is seen in this view; the near end of that arm of the ridge is to the left of and slightly above the centre of the photograph. From there, the ridge can be followed to the right-hand edge of the picture. Providing confirmation of the view direction, Corlic Hill (called Corlick Hill on the OS map) appears centrally on the skyline.

For the origins of the road's name, see NS2974 : Auchmountain Road. Knocknairshill Reservoir can be seen on the right: NS3073 : Knocknairshill Reservoir / NS3073 : Knocknair'shill Reservoir, Greenock / NS3073 : Knocknairshill Reservoir. Visible directly beyond the far end of the road are the slopes of Creachan Hill (NS3389), with the taller Ben Lomond (NN3602) behind.

This photograph shows one of a pair of sluice gates located on the course of the Devol Burn. Just beyond the left-hand side of the sluice, another part of the burn can be seen joining this one from the right. The other sluice gate is located further up that part of the burn; compare NS3073 : Sluice gate on the Devol Burn. The foreground section of the burn had itself been diverted here by a wall that is located just 60m to the NNW, and which is shown in NS3073 : Old water valve beside the Devol Burn. See NS3073 : Auchmountain Road for a view along the section of road that can be seen in the background. [The first-edition OS map (c.1860) refers to the burn by its present name, Devol Burn, but earlier maps show some variation in the name. For example, John Ainslie's 1796 map shows the lower part of its course, the present-day NS3074 : Devol Glen, as "Divels Glen", while Roy's Military Survey of Scotland (1740s-50s) shows "Devils Glen".]

This photograph provides a closer view of the gate that is shown in NS3073 : Sluice gate on the Devol Burn; see that item for further details. The other sluice gate that is mentioned in that item can be seen in the background of the present photograph, on the right.

The valley of the Devol Burn is visible in the background; the burn flows eastwards there, but the photograph was taken at a point where the burn is, by means of the foreground wall, sharply diverted to the south, where it passes through a sluice gate: NS3073 : Sluice gate on the Devol Burn. Although the burn is redirected here, part of its flow is allowed to continue eastwards from this point, as controlled by the valve (another contributor's photograph, taken elsewhere, shows the top of what is clearly the same kind of valve: NS3433 : Water Valve). The valve is of cast iron, and can be dated by the lettering on its near side. The lighting conditions prevailing at the time mean that this writing is not evident in the photo, but it reads as follows: "LAIDLAW AND SON ENGINEERS GLASGOW 1903." According to Link (at Canmore), R. Laidlaw and Son were based at the Alliance Foundry, Broomhill, Glasgow, from 1853-1923.

[Update: on the nature of what is shown here, the following comments refer to a field visit made by professional archaeologists in 2012: "It is possible that both features ... are the remains of hut platforms, but they are equally likely to be the result of geology and natural vegetation cover". One of the main reasons for my submitting possible finds is so that they can be properly assessed, and I am glad that this has occurred.] A number of hut circles and ancient enclosures have already been reported from these moors. The majority of these discoveries were made by the Renfrewshire archaeologist Frank Newall. Three such sites are known from the immediate vicinity of the area shown in this photograph; for those reports, see (1) Link (2) Link (3) Link (all at Canmore). The first of those reports corresponds to NS3072 : Remains of enclosures; the other two are about sites just to the north and west of those enclosures. However, the rather faint feature that is shown in this photograph lies about 65 metres to the east of the enclosures; it seems, therefore, that this particular site had not been reported until now. It is noticeable on some satellite imagery (although to what extent very much depends on when those images were taken); see the link in the end-note for a satellite view centred on this feature. The NW circle of the pair is shown here at the centre of the photograph, and it fills most of the width of the image. For a view from a different angle, see NS3072 : Possible hut circles on Burnhead Moor. The area is flat, and falls away at its northern rocky edge. In both photographs, traces of a low circular ridge can be seen on the elevated upper surface (most notably at the link just cited). These circular features might be hut circles (the conventional name given to the remains of roundhouses – circular dwellings of various kinds – dating from the late Bronze Age or early Iron Age); if this interpretation is correct, then the overlapping circles indicate that a later building was erected on almost the same spot as an earlier one (a good location was likely to be re-used). As mentioned above, several rather more visible hut circles have already been recorded from other parts of the moor (see NS2973 : Lurg Moor Roman fortlet for the relevant links). The area shown in the present photograph is flat, and is slightly elevated above the surrounding moorland; it would have provided an ideal platform for a dwelling. However, the traces visible on the ground here are slight, and it would take a more expert appraisal than mine to definitely identify them as genuine hut circles. Nevertheless, the feature shown in the present photograph may merit further examination; to that end, I have submitted a report to WoSAS (that report also includes the feature described below). Similar circular features can be seen nearby; one of them is located just 55 metres to the east: NS3072 : Possible hut circle on Burnhead Moor.