Account of the Excavation of the Edwardian Castle at Castledykes, Kirkcudbright

With Notes on Relics recovered during the excavation

Abstract

The first documentary reference to the castle is in 1288 when John Comyn was its guardian. Excavation revealed the entire ground plan of what would have been an extremely large and formidable fortress. It was surrounded by a deep moat with deep ditches on three sides and was bounded by the sea on the fourth. The surviving castle dates mainly from 1588 and was probably rebuilt from the remains of the earlier castle. Small quantities of pottery dating from the late thirteenth or early fourteenth century were recovered along with a small toothed comb, an iron knife and a small iron pick.