Excavation of a Chambered Cairn at Ham, Caithness, and of a Hut-Circle and Two Earth-Houses at Freswick Links, Caithness

With a Note on a Winged Horse carved on one of the Lintels in the Earth-House at Crichton Mains, Midlothian

Abstract

Excavation of a round cairn at Ham revealed a single chamber and an entranceway. The presence of only limpet shells and fish bones within the chamber suggested that it had been re-used as a habitation. A stone-built hut circle had an entrance, a paved floor and a possible hearth. Two earth-houses lay side by side and were of broadly similar form with two chambers and an entranceway. Limpet shells were found in both structures. The larger earth-house also contained the skull and mandible of a child, a saddle quern and rubber. A few sherds of pottery were found outside. One of the lintels in the chamber of an earth-house at Crichton Mains has the carved figure of a pegasus or winged horse.