Polished flint axe, Dowalton Loch

The Selby Collection includes 14 stone axeheads.  This flint axehead was found at Dowalton Loch.  Flint axeheads are rare in south-west Scotland and this one was probably made in eastern England - maybe Yorkshire - and brought to Galloway through trade and exchange.   Dowalton Loch was formerly the largest loch in the southern Machars. In 1863 it was drained by the landowner, hoping to increase the area of arable land (although the bed of the loch subsequently proved to be too rocky for cultivation). At least 10 crannogs were revealed as the water level dropped and some of these were excavated, producing a variety of iron age artifacts. Today the site is mostly marshland or birch/willow scrub which provides a valuable wildlife habitat, and the area is a nature reserve under the care of the Scottish Wildlife Trust.