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Dounan Moor is a depopulated village situated within Corsemalzie Forest in Wigtownshire, south-western Scotland. The settlement lies on bedrock of Gala Group wacke, a hard sedimentary rock formed during the Telychian period of the Silurian era, which provides the underlying geology of this moorland landscape. Like many rural settlements across southern Scotland, Dounan Moor was gradually abandoned, leaving earthwork remains and field patterns as evidence of former occupation and agricultural use. The site preserves the physical traces of houses, boundaries and cultivation that reflect the historic land management of the region.
The village remains within the modern Corsemalzie Forest plantation, where the coniferous woodland now surrounds and partially obscures the archaeological features. The combination of forest cover and moorland setting creates a distinctive local context for understanding medieval and post-medieval rural settlement patterns in Wigtownshire. The site is protected by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument, recognising its importance as evidence of the region's social and economic history. The wacke bedrock underlying the site influenced both settlement location and the character of agricultural practice in this upland terrain.
Dounan Moor,depopulated village,Corsemalzie Forest is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2318. View the official record →
Dounan Moor is a depopulated village situated within Corsemalzie Forest in Wigtownshire, south-western Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2318.
Dounan Moor,depopulated village,Corsemalzie Forest is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM2318.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Carlin Stone,450m NW of Loch Head (4.8 km), Rough Loch,crannog 450m ESE of (5.6 km), Culshabbin,cairn (5.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Dounan Moor,depopulated village,Corsemalzie Forest's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Dounan Moor,depopulated village,Corsemalzie Forest stands on Gala Group, bedrock that formed in the Telychian. The rock here is wacke.