Remains from this period include 25 'motes', mainly in the Dee and Fleet basins, though the most notable is the outlying Mote of Urr. These motes were as a rule wooden defensive structures built on an eminence which was often artificial. The stone-built 'keeps' found throughout Scotland were a later development serving the same purpose. There are five 'Homestead' motes in the Stewartry, and many of the earthworks recorded belong to the medieval" period as does the crannog in Loch Rutton. The ruinous castles at Buittle and Castledykes (Kirkcudbright) date from this time; and Palace Yard at Girthon may have begun as an Edwardian camp, and contains the remains of the last pre-Reformation Bishop of Galloway's Palace.back to top