Into the west: excavation of an Early Christian cemetery at Montfode, Ardrossan, North Ayrshire

Abstract

A previously unknown cemetery of 60 graves, a mix of long cists, partial cists and simple earth-dug graves, with some sub-circular enclosure, was located and excavated on the banks of the Montfode. The work carried out in 2003, in advance of the construction of the A78 bypass. Although frequent throughout the south-east of Scotland, few Early Christian burials have been identified in the south-west. This paper discusses this distribution and the potential for similar sites in the region.