The timber lacing caught fire and burnt with such intensity that the surrounding stonework melted, or vitrified.

The tower house was extended in the late 14th century to add additional private chambers and a prison.

The outer courtyard (called more properly the barmkin) was completed and ancillary buildings (stables, bakehouses, brewhouses, smithy, etc.)

[3] A century later, debt forced the Wallaces to sell the castle in 1632, although by that time the family had moved its main residence to Auchens House, which they had built in the 1580s, in part with materials removed from Dundonald.

[6] There is a visitor centre at the foot of the hill, which includes a cafe, souvenir shop and an interpretive exhibition.

These established that the rubble base was up to 4 feet in depth and rested on bedrock, which had been deliberately levelled with stones to form a cobbled surface.

Part of this was pointed with mortar of nineteenth century date, probably contemporary with the consolidation work carried out at that period.

[11] These excavations were led by Gordon Ewart (Kirkdale Archaeology) and focussed on the area within the barmkin enclosure of the present castle.

They discovered material indicating multiple periods of occupation, dating back to the Bronze Age.

It was hoped that new evaluation would shed valuable light on the development of the site through time, as well as providing a catalyst for continuing local community engagement.

This was followed by a series of excavations, including public engagement, carried out in August 2018 by HES Cultural Resources Team archaeologists along with CFA Archaeology.

[13] The following extract alludes to an old Scottish folktale about the construction and origins of Dundonald Castle: In Ayrshire there is an unknown rhyme that is probably very old: Donald Din Built his house without a pin, alluding to Dundonald Castle, the ancient seat of King Robert II, and now the last remaining property in Ayrshire of the noble family who take their title from it.

The stranger told him that he had made a very foolish errand, for he himself had once had a similar vision, which directed him to go to a certain spot in Ayrshire, in Scotland, where he would find a vast treasure, and, for his part, he had never once thought of obeying the injunction.

From his description of the spot, the sly Scotsman at once perceived that the treasure in question must be concealed in no other place than his own humble kail-yard [cabbage patch] at home, to which he immediately repaired, in full expectation of finding it.

Nor was he disappointed; for, after destroying many good and promising cabbages, and completely cracking credit with his wife, who esteemed him mad, he found a large potful of gold coin, with the proceeds of which he built a stout castle for himself, and became the founder of a flourishing family.