SUSTAINABILITY

FEATURES
Animal carvings from Torrs Cave
The ‘sea monster ’. The head is only 3cm wide, probably engraved with a sharp tool © Dumfries and Galloway Museums Service
The coast of Dumfries and Galloway
is riddled with caves. One of the most
intriguing of these is Torrs Cave which
lies on the Dundrennan Training Range,
within Kirkcudbright Training Area.
The historical and archaeological
significance of Torrs Cave was first
noted in the 1790s when high stone
walls at the mouth of the cave could
still be seen. These structures and
occupation layers within the cave itself
were excavated in the 1930s and finds
suggested occupation from the Iron
Age to the 18th century.
In 1977 a German cave and mine
explorer found two small carvings at
the very end of the cave. One was of a
stag and the other of some sort of sea
monster. He realised that they were
potentially important, cut them from
the cave wall and took them to the
Stewartry Museum in Kirkcudbright for
identification. They were subsequently
sent to Glasgow Museum where
archaeologist Jack Scott reported the
stag carving as possibly of Iron Age
date and the monster as Scandinavian
in style, possibly dating back to the 9th
or 10th century.
The cave was revisited in 2014 to assess
its archaeological significance and see
if any other carvings could be found.
The cave is just over 20m long. The
impressive entrance is 6m high and
some 4m wide and the prehistoric and
medieval walls uncovered during the
excavations in the 1930s can still be
seen. Beyond the entrance is a large
chamber, with intact archaeological
deposits, which leads to a narrow rift
about 1.5m wide. It is at the end of
this rift, close to the cave floor, that
the carvings were found in the 1970s.
Unfortunately, and despite a careful
search, no other carvings were located.
But both walls at the end of the cave
were found to be covered in 19th
century graffti – the earliest dated
name is 1800. Investigation of the cave
was made more interesting by the
presence of a large colony of European
cave spiders Meta menardi and, in
winter, hibernating herald moths
Scoliopter yx libatrix.
A number of experts have been
consulted about the carvings and
opinions differ. There seems to be
general agreement that the stag could
be later prehistoric, probably Iron Age.
T his fits with the evidence from
the excavations which show that
the cave was used in the first and
second centuries AD. The monster
car ving is proving more contentious.
Some have agreed with the original
suggestion of a 9 th or 10th centur y
date and seen similarities with
dragon heads on Viking-period
sculpture in nor thern England.
Others think a later medieval date is
more likely and a few have suggested
that both car vings may be 19 th
centur y graf fiti.
So the panel is still out on the date
or dates of these car vings. What we
do know however is that engravings
of this t ype are exceedingly rare and
make Torrs Cave a unique site within
the wider MOD estate. The car vings
remain in the good care of the
Stewar tr y Museum.
John Pickin
Former curator Stranraer Museum
and member of the West Freugh
Conservation Group
David Devereux
Former curator
Stewartry Museum
Sanctuary 44 • 2015
41