Wandering through the scenic landscape of the Borderlands, you might stumble upon curious stones and markers that whisper tales of the past. One such haunting relic is the Meuchel Stone, near Horndean in Berwickshire.
This weathered grave marker commemorates a packman—a term used to describe an itinerant trader in the 19th century who roamed rural roads with a pack of goods, selling wares to towns and villages. But this was no ordinary death. The stone reads:
“The Meuchel Stone inscribed Anno 1805 Atrocious Assassination.”
According to the OS Name Book 1856, the packman was robbed, murdered, and buried where the stone now stands – a grim reminder of the dangers faced by these lone merchants.
There are many packman graves dotted around the UK. At Whiteadder Reservoir, five stones mark the grave of a packman murdered by an innkeeper. In Kirkwaugh, Wigtown, another grave tells the story of a packman killed out of fear that his goods carried the plague.
These quiet memorials speak volumes about the dangers of travel and trade in a bygone era.
