PREFACE
WHEN, in the Spring of 1905, 1 undertook at the request of the Hon. John Abercromby, then one of the Secretaries of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, to superintend on behalf of the Society the excavations about to be undertaken at Newstead, and to embody the results obtained in a report, I little dreamt how large an undertaking lay before me, and into how many byways of archaeology it was to lead. The work, for which I expected a few months to suffice, has occupied a period of five years.
The excavations were begun on 13th February, 1905, and continued without interruption until 19th May, 1909. After an interval of some months, work was resumed on the 22nd December of that year, and finally brought to a close in the middle of September, 1910. During these periods of work my residence within a mile of the site enabled me to make frequent, and often daily, visits to follow the progress of the digging, and to carry home the smaller objects found, thus giving opportunities for study that would not have been possible had they been at once despatched to the National Museum. Throughout the whole period of our working, Mr. Alexander Mackie acted as Clerk of Works. Mr. Mackie had gained experience under the Society in their excavations at Birrenswark, Inchtuthil and Lyne, and also at one or two of the forts on the Antonine Vallum, and was thus able to render valuable service in working out the problems of the site. He stuck to his post undeterred by weather, and by his shrewd observation contributed in no small measure to the success of the undertaking. The photographs of the foundations were all taken by Mr. Mackie.
In the preparation of the plans, Mr. Thomas Ross, LL.D., gave us
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