Not much is known about pre-history Douglas but the past has a way of whispering hints to us where written records are lacking.
One thing we can be sure of is that the settlement of Douglasdale and the surrounding area was already an ancient affair by the time written records began.
A stone age presence is evidenced by the discovery of a Neolithic axe-head on the Paigie hill (which overlooks the village). The axe head was generously loaned to the museum and is proudly on display here.
Also on display in the museum are shards of ‘blasting’ residue dating from the stone-age. These were found in nearby Glen Taggart. This tells us that during the stone age there were people in these dales and hills making pottery and charcoal.
In the section on ‘Douglas the name’ and ‘Douglas the family’ you can find more information on early history Douglas, particularly around how it was that a valley in this part of the world came to hold a Gaidhlig name.
Prior to the events of the early middle ages, not much is known of pre-history Douglas. We do know that the Romans were nearby (there were numerous Roman forts in the South west of Scotland and the M74 motorway which passes the mouth of this valley follows the route of a Roman road that ran from Hadrian’s wall to the Antonine wall).
We also know that Bronze age Britons situated themselves around this area: there are hillforts and stone cairns throughout these hills (a large hill fort can be found just outside of nearby Abington) and Sanquhar, on the other side of the hills, was likely the site of the main town of the Selgovae peoples. This area, however, appears to be at the border of the Selgovae, Damnonii, and Novantes. That theme, of Douglas being in a borderlands, continues past the Roman age and into the ‘Dark age’. While Douglas was cerrtainly under the realm of Ystrad Clud, it was very near to the border of the Kingdom of Scotland and, once Strathclyde had become part of that realm, Douglas appears to have been in the borderlands between Galloway and Scotland. Thereafter, Douglas was -essentially- the buffer between Scotland and England.
More content coming soon!