Oxgang

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An Oxgang (Scottish Gaelic: Damh-imir, Latin: bovate) is an old Scottish land measurement. It averaged around 20 acres (English), but was based on land fertility and cultivation, and could be as low as 15 English acres.

Skene in Celtic Scotland says:

"in the eastern district there is a uniform system of land denomination consisting of 'dabhachs', 'ploughgates' and 'oxgangs', each 'dabhach' consisting of four 'ploughgates' and each 'ploughgate' containing eight 'oxgangs'.

"As soon as we cross the great chain of mountains [the Grampian Mountains] separating the eastern from the western waters, we find a different system equally uniform. The 'ploughgates' and 'oxgangs' disappear, and in their place we find 'dabhachs' and 'pennylands'. The portion of land termed a 'dabhach' is here also called a 'tirung' or 'ounceland', and each 'dabhach' contains 20 pennylands."

Oxgangs were also known as bovates, a Latinisation of the name. (Oxen, i.e. "Damh" or "Dabh" also provided the root of the land measurement Daugh)

The name is retained in one of the southern suburbs of Edinburgh, "Oxgangs" and in an area of the town of Kirkintilloch.

[edit] See also

• Acre (Scots)
• Daugh
• Ounceland
• Pennyland
• Feddan, an Arabic measurement based on similar thinking.

[edit] Reference

This article incorporates text from “Dwelly’s [Scottish] Gaelic Dictionary” (1911) ((Dabhach) with corrections and additions)