TY - JOUR AU - Hilary Murray AU - J Murray AU - Torben Ballin AU - Gordon Cook AU - Lucy Cramp AU - Peter Marshall AU - Alison Sheridan AU - Scott Timpany PY - 2015/11/30 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Mesolithic and Early Neolithic activity along the Dee: excavations at Garthdee Road, Aberdeen JF - Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland JA - PSAS VL - 144 IS - 0 SE - Articles DO - 10.9750/PSAS.144.1.64 UR - http://journals.socantscot.org/index.php/psas/article/view/9810 AB - Excavation on a gravel ridge beside the River Dee in Aberdeen revealed a small ovoid building ofearly Neolithic date. Not only does this add to the very small corpus of early Neolithic buildings yetexcavated in Scotland, but the survival of floors and hearths also allows some analysis of functionswithin the building. The structural, artefactual and radiocarbon evidence suggest that this wasa permanent building in use over at least a generation, in contrast to some interpretations of suchbuildings as temporary shelters. The artefactual and environmental data demonstrate considerablecultural and economic similarities between the occupants of this small building and of the two massiveearly Neolithic timber halls only a few kilometers away at Balbridie and Warren Field, Crathes.Radiocarbon analysis shows that, although the two halls were built earlier, the Garthdee building mayhave coexisted with them – emphasizing the varied and complex development of the early Neolithic ofeastern Scotland. There is also some evidence to suggest that, although their re-use of an earlier sitemay have been coincidental, the Neolithic occupants may have been aware of some features of theearlier, Mesolithic, use of the site. ER -