TIMBER MONUMENTS,LANDSCAPE ANDTHE ENVIRONMENT IN THE NITH VALLEY,DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY

This paper considers the impact of landscape and environment upon monuments built during the Neolithic period. Taking a group of timber monuments of Neolithic date in the Nith Valley region, Dumfries and Galloway, it examines their relationship to the topography and environment and seeks to explain their uniquely linear nature, a feature of timber monuments built in this region. It discusses the importance of incorporating plough‐levelled sites into landscape approaches to monuments, the potential impact of vegetation upon visibility patterns, and the value of considering the immediate locations of monuments, arguing that monuments built upon a heightened awareness of landscape topography, arising out of a long‐term relationship with place.