Geograph - photograph every grid square

The present-day Magazine on the Rock is shown in NS4074 : Dumbarton Rock: the Magazine. For context for the present picture, see NS4074 : Dumbarton Rock: sentry box and curtain wall, where these two openings are shown.

The 1958 edition of the official guidebook to the Castle observes that "against the southernmost length of the wall may be seen the forked window of a magazine in use until 1748", when it was replaced by the one now standing (see link already given).

I was not sure what was meant by a "forked window", but it became clear when I examined these openings for myself: the two openings on the near side of the wall communicate with a single opening on the far side (which is on the outer wall of the Rock); there is thus a Λ-shaped space in the wall.

Some storm winds around the end of 2016 had caused safety concerns: hence the securing barrier and attachments shown in this picture. For the same reason, the narrow path (NS4074 : Path beside Dumbarton Rock) around the northern side of the base of the Rock had been closed off (that path is overlooked by a steep rock face with old parts of the Castle at the top).

The magazine of which this was a window is shown on "A Draught of Dumbarton Castle Anno 1708", for which, see Link (Archive Link ) (at NLS); in the captions of that plan, it is described as "The new Powder Magazin".

The same plan shows the outline of a still earlier magazine, on more or less the same site as the present-day one (and with the same orientation); the plan's captions describe it as "The Walls of an old Magazin, the Timber whereof has been carried away".