Archives - Page 5
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Achanduin Castle, Lismore, Argyll: an account of the excavations by Dennis Turner, 1970–5
Vol. 73 (2017)Achanduin Castle, Lismore, Argyll: an account of the excavations by Dennis Turner, 1970–5
Contributors: Donald Bramwell, Geoffrey Collins, George Haggarty, Derek Hall, Nicholas Holmes, Andrew Jones, Barbara Noddle and Nigel Ruckley
Summary: Excavations were undertaken at Achanduin Castle, Lismore, Argyll (NGR: NM 8043 3927), over six seasons from 1970 to 1975 under the direction of the late Dennis John Turner (1932–2013), henceforward referred to as DJT. Partly funded by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and with tools and equipment loaned by RCAHMS (now Historic Environment Scotland), the work was carried out in support of the RCAHMS’s programme of survey in the Lorn district of Argyll. Its purpose was to examine an apparently little-altered but much-ruined example of a castle of enclosure ascribable to a small but identifiably distinct group of rectangular, or near rectangular, courtyard castles. DJT concluded that it was built c 1295–1310 by the MacDougalls, and only later passed to the bishops of Argyll. The authors add their own observations on the excavations in a separate section. They note tenuous evidence for a pre-castle phase. The bulk of the report focuses on the erection and occupation of the castle, followed by abandonment, post-medieval occupation, collapse/demolition and recent times.
Keywords: castle, Pottery, Coin, Brooch, Knife, Buckle, Animal remains
Period: medieval
Location: Argyll and Bute, Scotland, UK
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence.
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Excavations to the west of Gogar Mains, Edinburgh
Vol. 72 (2017)Excavations to the west of Gogar Mains, Edinburgh
Contributors: Torben Bjarke Ballin, Beverley Ballin Smith and Susan Ramsay
Summary: This report records the results of the excavation of a multi-period site that was discovered within the construction corridor of the Edinburgh tram line. The site is located to the west of Gogar Mains (NGR: NT 1577 7276) and to the east of the Park and Ride car park by Edinburgh Airport. It was discovered during an archaeological evaluation in 2006 along the proposed tram route. Following this, an open area excavation uncovered a range of features and structures that date from the Neolithic and Bronze Age through to the Late Iron Age and early medieval period. These features include a palisaded enclosure, two possible corn-drying kilns and a dense concentration of post-holes and pits. During the course of the tram construction programme a military pillbox next to the airport was recorded in advance of demolition (see Appendix).
Keywords: pit, corn drying kiln, post hole, palisaded enclosure
Periods: Bronze Age, early medieval, Neolithic, Iron Age
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence.
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The development of Candlemaker Row, Edinburgh, from the 11th to the 20th centuries
Vol. 71 (2017)The development of Candlemaker Row, Edinburgh, from the 11th to the 20th centuries
Contributors: Morag Cross, Timothy M Mighall, Sarah-Jane Haston, Catherine Smith, Stuart Morrison and Tim Holden
Summary: Archaeological excavations and historic-building recording at the site of Greyfriars Kirkhouse, Candlemaker Row, Edinburgh (NGR: NT 25556 73371), provided a rare opportunity to investigate the history of an area within Edinburgh's Old Town. Evidence was found for unexpectedly early activity on the site from the 11th or 12th century onwards. The nature of early activity is enigmatic but the area appears to have been largely rural, at the confluence of two major cattle-droving routes into the town. Urban development came in the late 15th century, with the division of the land into burgage-plots and construction of a tenement, at which point the area seems to have been occupied by merchants and burgesses. The late 18th and early 19th centuries saw the redevelopment of the site and evidence for the use of the area as a brass foundry.
Keywords: tenement, pit, unidentified pottery, glass vessel, burgage-plots, brass foundary
Periods: medieval, late medieval, post-medieval, early modern
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence.
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Excavation of prehistoric roundhouses and post-medieval kilns at Drumyocher and Hospital Shields, Aberdeenshire
Vol. 70 (2017)Excavation of prehistoric roundhouses and post-medieval kilns at Drumyocher and Hospital Shields, Aberdeenshire
Contributors: Sue Anderson, Torben Bjarke Ballin, Mike Cressey, Mhairi Hastie, Adam Jackson, Dawn McLaren and Phil Richardson
Summary: A programme of archaeological watching brief and excavation was carried out by CFA Archaeology Ltd along the route of the Aberdeen to Lochside Natural Gas Pipeline during its construction in 2004. The remains of four truncated Middle Bronze Age roundhouses, one Iron Age post-built roundhouse with a souterrain entered from the house, and two medieval or post-medieval corn-drying kilns were excavated at Drumyocher Farm, near Arbuthnott, Aberdeenshire (NGR: NO 7831 7679). An assemblage of decorated pottery was recovered, unusually for this period. The remains of three truncated probable ring-ditch roundhouses were excavated to the north-east of Hospital Shields Farm, near St Cyrus, Aberdeenshire (NGR: NO 7215 6740); these features have been radiocarbon dated to the Late Bronze Age.
Keywords: roundhouse, roundhouse, souterrain, corn drying kiln, kiln
Periods: Middle Bronze Age, Iron Age, Iron Age, medieval, late medieval
Location: Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence.
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Discovering the King’s wall: excavations at 144–166 Cowgate, Edinburgh
Vol. 69 (2017)Discovering the King’s wall: excavations at 144–166 Cowgate, Edinburgh
Contributors: Stephen Carter, Morag Cross, Dianne Dixon, Nicholas Holmes, Stephen Lancaster, Catherine Smith and Scott Timpany
Summary: This report details the discovery of a late medieval building and the remains of extensive walls running along the north side of Cowgate (NGR: NT 25851 73489), excavated in advance of a housing development. The wall remains were dated to the late 14th century and are believed to have been part of Edinburgh’s early town defences. Edinburgh’s medieval town wall is referred to as the ‘King’s wall’ and is linked to a James II charter of 1450. However, there are references to the King’s wall in property documents as early as 1427, indicating that a town wall had been built prior to the charter of 1450. The remains uncovered at Cowgate are likely to be part of this early town wall. It was replaced by more substantial mortared buildings at the beginning of the 17th century.
Keywords: wall, burgage plot, town defences, pottery, coin, dress and personal accessories, dress fastener, nail, spindle whorl
Periods: medieval, late medieval
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence.
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Monks, priests and farmers: a community research excavation at Baliscate, Isle of Mull
Vol. 68 (2017)Monks, priests and farmers: a community research excavation at Baliscate, Isle of Mull
Contributors: Torben Bjarke Ballin, Angela Boyle, Gemma Cruickshanks, George Haggarty, Derek Hall, Derek Hamilton, Richard Jones, Anthony Krus, Kenneth Murdock and Susan Ramsay
Summary: A community research excavation centred on Baliscate on the Isle of Mull (NGR: NM 49677 54068) took place in autumn 2012. The excavation has revealed the existence of a thriving 6th-century agricultural settlement which was either adopted or replaced by a 7th-century Christian community which appears to have been a monastic establishment. The continued ecclesiastical nature of the settlement into the 9th and 10th centuries is attested by the presence of a later enclosure/vallum and a rectangular structure interpreted as a leacht. In the late 11th or early 12th century, a stone and turf bow-ended structure was built which probably functioned as a longhouse or hall. This structure was later used in the 12th century to house a large corn-drying kiln. Although no 11th- or 12th-century structures were identified adjacent to the leacht, occupation deposits were identified. Then, in the late 13th or early 14th century, a wattle and turf structure was built over these deposits and the remains of a seventh- to eighth-century cemetery. This structure burnt down and was rapidly replaced by a new stone and turf structure enclosed by a rectangular stone and turf enclosure. This is tentatively interpreted as an enclosed chapel, but the evidence is contradictory and it may have simply been an enclosed farmstead. Occupation around the site continued in one form or another until the 16th century and thereafter the site was used intermittently. The excavation has highlighted how little we know about the so-called enclosed chapel sites of Argyll and the absence of evidence for the early Christian church.
Keywords: chapel, leacht, corn drying kiln, vallum, community archaeology
Periods: Late Iron Age, early medieval, medieval, late medieval, early modern
Location: Argyll and Bute, Scotland, UK
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence.
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Where there's muck there's money: the excavation of medieval and post-medieval middens and associated tenement at Advocate's Close, Edinburgh
Vol. 67 (2017)Where there's muck there's money: the excavation of medieval and post-medieval middens and associated tenement at Advocate's Close, Edinburgh
Contributors: Dennis Gallagher, George Haggarty, Jen Harland, Mike Roy, Dawn McLaren, Jackaline Robertson and Hugh Willmott
Summary: In 2012 excavation works undertaken along the western frontage of Advocate's Close, Edinburgh (NGR: NT 25700 73671) revealed the remains of a 16th-century tenement, owned in turn by the Cants, Hamiltons and Raes, all burgesses or merchants of the city. The tenement remains consisted of wall foundations, cellar floor surfaces and other substantial architectural features including a turnpike stair and corbelled roof. The tenement was demolished and back-filled with rubble during the late 19th century, after which it was replaced by a formal, terraced garden. The excavations within this area revealed a series of associated midden deposits, pits and structural features located to the immediate rear of the tenement. These deposits have provided a stratified sequence of occupation ranging from the initial settlement of Edinburgh's Old Town in the 12th/13th century to the clearing and landscaping of the tenement area in the late 19th century. A large artefactual assemblage was recovered from the midden deposits, including important animal and fish bone, glass, clay pipe, tile and ceramic evidence. The ceramic assemblage included substantial amounts of imported material from England and the Continent. The consumption patterns revealed by the artefactual and ecofactual evidence appear to directly reflect the changing fortunes of post-medieval Edinburgh. The high status of many of the Close's inhabitants is illustrated throughout the expansion of the 16th and 17th centuries, as is the decline undergone during the later 17th and early 18th centuries. The stratified midden deposits at Advocate's Close reveal the changing attitudes of the Old Town inhabitants towards the issue of midden management and general waste disposal, which in turn reflects the development and growth taking place in Edinburgh during the late 16th to 19th centuries.
Keywords: Midden, Animal remains, ceramic, tile, Assemblage, Tenement
Periods: medieval, 20th century
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence.
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Unenclosed prehistoric settlement and early medieval pits at Macallan Distillery, Craigellachie, Moray
Vol. 66 (2017)Unenclosed prehistoric settlement and early medieval pits at Macallan Distillery, Craigellachie, Moray
Contributors: Rob Engl, Dawn McLaren and Jackaline Robertson
Summary: The excavation of a greenfield development at the Macallan Distillery, Craigellachie, Moray (NGR: NJ 278 447) has revealed the remains of four episodes of heavily truncated settlement activity on a gravel terrace above the River Spey. In the Middle Bronze Age there was pit-digging activity, followed by a Late Bronze Age settlement consisting of at least two, and probably four, post-ring roundhouses and a four-poster. A single ring-ditch roundhouse represents Middle Iron Age settlement, and activity in the 9th to 12th centuries AD is represented by a number of large rubbish disposal pits possibly associated with two post-ring roundhouses. A small assemblage of macroplant, charcoal and burnt bone was recovered, as well as a small amount of prehistoric pottery, a few coarse stone artefacts and metalworking residues.
Keywords: Roundhouse, Post hole, Quarry pit, Ring ditch, Pit
Periods: medieval, Middle Bronze Age, Late Bronze Age, Middle Iron Age
Location: Moray, Scotland, UK
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence.
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A medieval farmstead at Laigh Newton North-West, East Ayrshire
Vol. 65 (2017)A medieval farmstead at Laigh Newton North-West, East Ayrshire
Contributors: Beverley Ballin Smith, Susan Ramsey and Bob Will
Summary: Excavations at Laigh Newton North-West Ayrshire (NGR: NS 5937 3684) in advance of quarrying revealed a rare late medieval farmstead consisting of a palisaded enclosure, four sunken stone- and turf-built buildings, one of which maybe a charcoal kiln, two possible timber-built structures and drainage ditches. The pottery and radiocarbon dates indicate that the site was occupied in the 14th–15th centuries. It is thought that this site belonged to the farm of Newton, which was first documented in the late 14th century within the parish of Galston. At that time the parish of Galston belonged to the Lockhart family. The site probably went out of use in the 16th or 17th century as a result of a change of ownership and the increased commercialisation of farming practice. As a result the structures were demolished or allowed to decay, the ditches were filled in and the land turned over to arable.
Keywords: Farmstead, Charcoal kiln, Sherd, Enclosure, Palisade
Period: medieval
Location: East Ayrshire, Scotland, UK
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence.
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Relieving floods, revealing history: Early Prehistoric activity at Knocknagael Farm, Inverness
Vol. 64 (2016)Relieving floods, revealing history: Early Prehistoric activity at Knocknagael Farm, Inverness
Contributors: Torben Bjarke Ballin, Beverley Ballin Smith and Susan Ramsay
Summary: A programme of archaeological work prior to the construction of a flood-relief channel at Knocknagael Farm, south-west of Inverness (NGR: NH 656 414), revealed a series of prehistoric features including pits, hearths, fire-spots and possible structural features. Finds included sherds from a Neolithic bowl and a Bronze Age cordoned urn. Palaeo-botanical remains were present in many features and included the carbonised remains of cereal grains including naked six-row barley and spelt. Radiocarbon dating revealed that activity at the site ranged from the 7th millennium BC to the 1st millennium AD. This is one of the earliest dates yet obtained from the Culduthel valley, which has already produced much evidence of prehistoric activity including the high-status Iron Age site of Culduthel Farm (Highland HER MHG49950).
Read the full account of the excavations at Culduthel in Culduthel: An Iron Age Craftworking Centre in North-East Scotland
Keywords: bowl, pits, hearths, spelt, urn, barley, sherds, cereal grains
Periods: Iron Age, Neolithic, Bronze Age, early prehistoric
Location: Highland, Scotland, UK
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence.
