Braving bracing weather,archaeologists have excavated an early Neolithic house on Sanday, Orkney. (Image: UHI Archaeology Institute; Text: Gregory Morton)

Braving the inter-tidal waves at at Cata Sand beach on Sanday, Orkney, archaeologists have uncovered the first ‘classic’ early Neolithic house to be discovered on the island.

Dating from c.3400-3100 BC, the house’s remains comprise two construction layers, with internal structures ranging from a stone set hearth and various pits to partitioning walls. Its footprint yielded various artefacts including flint debitage, Skaill knives, a grinding stone, and animal bones.

The structure is particularly unusual in having been built on a deep layer of sand, which itself rests on rounded beach stones, the team reports, but this sandy context has provided stellar preservation conditions, offering a unique level of information about daily life in an early Neolithic house.

Surprising discoveries were not limited to the prehistoric: as excavations progressed, two large pits were uncovered that contained  the deliberately buried bones of at least 12 whales. A local Orcadian suggested an explanation: a literary account of a visit to Sanday in 1875 describes a scene of 80 whales being driven ashore to be butchered for their blubber – a vital source of oil for lighting lamps. Colin Richards, Professor of Archaeology at the University of Highlands and Islands, told CA that ‘osteoarchaeological analysis of the whale bones will be the next step’.

The dig was a collaboration between the University of Highlands and Islands, the University of Central Lancashire, the School of Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage, Galicia, and the University of Cambridge. The project team have promised us a fuller feature on the site, which will appear in a future issue of CA – watch this space!

This article was published in CA 332. 

Text by Gregory Morton

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Parchmarks forming concentric circles in an aerial photograph have led to the excavation of a possible prehistoric henge in North Ayrshire. (Image: Jeni Park/National Library of Scotland; Text: Gregory Morton)

A potential henge site has been discovered in North Ayrshire, thanks to aerial photography. Jeni Park of Kilwinning Heritage was browsing the National Library of Scotland’s online resources when she spotted two large concentric circles at Blair Ardoch Farm.

Consultation with Dr Ralph Shuttleworth, another member of Kilwinning Heritage, identified the 60m-wide circles as probable parchmarks. These are created by subtle differences in the amount of moisture being retained in the soil, and can hint at earlier activity and hidden archaeological features.

(Image: Jeni Park/National Library of Scotland)

In order to test their theory that this was a previously unrecorded site, Kilwinning Heritage carried out a small-scale excavation, revealing that the circles were formed from two shallow ditches measuring 2m wide and spaced 8m apart. They also discovered a substantial stone-lined hole for a timber post or stone upright within the inner ditch. This latter feature may have had some kind of ceremonial purpose, Ralph suggests.

‘A feature with this form and size is technically called a henge, and Neolithic or Bronze Age in date, so somewhere between 4,000 and 6,000 years old,’ he said. ‘Henges can contain ritual structures such as stone or timber circles, in our case probably timber, and could have been used for worship or to honour the ancestors in some way.’

Geophysical survey may reveal more details of the site (as well as a cluster of smaller circles in the adjacent field, which may be roundhouses), but if this does prove to be a henge, it would be a remarkable find in an area that is otherwise known for its dearth of prehistoric archaeology, Jeni added.

For more information, see www.kilwinningheritage.org.uk.

This article was published in CA 332. 

Text by Gregory Morton

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Clachtoll Broch, in Assynt, was abandoned following an enigmatic Iron Age destruction event. (Image: AOC Archaeology Groups; Text: Gregory Morton)

A community project at Clachtoll Broch, in north-west Scotland, is piecing together the story of a catastrophic event that saw the 2,000-year-old stone tower’s entrance sealed off during the Iron Age.

Brochs are unique to Scotland, but this example – which may have once stood 14m high – is particularly special, the project team reports, thanks to the apparently untouched interior preserved by the destruction.

Historic Assynt and AOC Archaeology Group are now working to unpick this puzzle and learn more about the people who inhabited the broch before it was abandoned in c.150 BC-AD 50. ‘It is very unusual to find intact Iron Age occupation layers sealed by a destruction event,’ said lead archaeologist Graeme Cavers, of AOC Archaeology Group. ‘It seems that people in Clachtoll left in a hurry, meaning that we have something close to a snapshot of daily life in the middle Iron Age.’

As the team carefully remove rubble from the broch interior, they have uncovered a wealth of Iron Age finds from charred rush matting, stone lamps, and a hearth, to spindle whorls and quern stones. It is hoped that detailed analysis of these domestic objects, including the use of X-ray on pieces of corroded iron, should paint a fuller picture of the broch community’s inhabitants.

Modern inhabitants of the Assynt area also played a key part in the project: as well as participating in the excavation and attending workshops, volunteers have also used prehistoric corbelling techniques to build an otter holt on the site for local wildlife.

Excavation of the broch has now concluded, but consolidation work will continue in 2018, with final interpretation and presentation finishing in 2019. The investigation is being carried out as part of Coigach & Assynt Living Landscape, which is supported by the HLF. For more information on the project, see http://clachtoll.aocarchaeology.com.

This article was published in CA 332. 

Text by Gregory Morton

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A line of large postholes belonging to the Neolithic house. (Image: GUARD Archaeology Ltd.)

GUARD Archaeology Ltd has discovered what appears to be one of the oldest houses in East Ayrshire, dated to c.4000-3500 BC.  

The post-holes of a rectangular building, measuring approximately 14m long by 8m across, were revealed in the countryside near Kilmarnock, during a multi-million pound Scottish Water project to upgrade water mains between Ayrshire and Glasgow, and a number of them were found to contain early Neolithic carinated bowl fragments.

‘Heavily truncated by millennia of ploughing, only the deepest parts of some of the post-holes survived, arranged in a rectangular plan and containing sherds of early Neolithic pottery, hazelnut shell, and charcoal,’ said Kenneth Green, director of the GUARD Archaeology excavation. ‘The width and depth of these post-holes indicated that they once held very large upright timber posts, suggesting that this building was once a large house, probably home to an extended family or group of families.’

These types of houses were constructed by the first sedentary communities in Scotland, who cleared forests and established farming settlements.

It is hoped that further analyses of the recovered pottery and other environmental samples from the site may be able to determine a more precise date for the house, and thereby provide a better understanding of farming settlements in general throughout Neolithic Scotland.

‘The pottery recovered from the Neolithic house are sherds of carinated bowl, one of the earliest types of pottery vessels ever to be used in Britain,’ added Green. ‘Traces of milk fat have been found in other carinated bowls found elsewhere in Scotland. These bowls are distributed across much of the country, but very few have been found in the west. This represents an important discovery.’

This article will appear in CA 333.

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The remains of an Iron Age dun discovered in Comar Wood. The building was in a prominent position overlooking the strath. (Image: ARO)

In 2010, on a rocky knoll above the River Glass in Comar Wood, Forest District staff came upon an enclosed Iron Age dun (4th century BC to 3rd century AD). Many such monuments are dotted around Strathglass, but few have been excavated or investigated in any detail.

The Scottish Archaeological Research Framework panel (ScARF 2012) has labelled the central Highlands as a ‘black hole’ regarding the context of prehistoric enclosures, especially in terms of chronology. This excavation aimed to help remedy this problem. In 2013, on behalf of Forestry Commission Scotland, the site was cleared, and an archaeological survey, and evaluation was carried out. The initial survey suggested that the site was a complex roundhouse – most likely a broch or dun.

The location of Comar Wood dun in relation to nearby dun/fort sites. (Image: ARO)

Excavations revealed the full dun – with an internal diameter of approximately 13m – and the defensive enclosure around it. There were also signs of at least two burning events, with evidence of rebuilding and reoccupation after each. Very few datable small finds were discovered, suggesting that the occupants either removed all material before abandoning the structure or that it was only used on occasion – possibly during times of strife. These characteristics are consistent with other Iron Age roundhouses in Atlantic Scotland.

The lack of small finds indicates that this was probably not a domestic structure – at least not in its final stages – although the dating evidence is indicative of continuous usage over a 300-to 600-year period. This chronology suggests that the site was a permanent feature in the landscape, an idea solidified by the site’s prominent position with extensive views over the strath; as the site report notes, ‘It was built to be seen, but not to be accessed freely.’ Overall, from the evidence, the recently published site report suggests that the dun may have evolved from a chieftain’s defended roundhouse into a centrally located meeting place.

While further excavations of both this site and other similar structures throughout the central Highlands would undoubtedly provide a more informed chronology of the period, this project has proved that ‘keyhole’ investigations can be incredibly helpful in adding to current knowledge.

The full excavation report, ARO23: Excavation and Survey at Comar Wood, Cannich, Strathglass, Inverness-shire, is available for free from the ARO website (http://archaeologyreportsonline.com/reports/2017/ARO23.html).

This article will be published in CA 334.

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The entrance of the Sculptor’s Cave, the inside of which was recently digitilised. (Photo: The Sculptor’s Cave Publication Project)

The Sculptor’s Cave in Moray, Scotland, is a treasure trove of archaeological finds.

During the late Bronze Age, the cave appears to have been a repository for precious objects, with finds ranging from bronze bracelets via pottery to a swan’s neck pin. Large quantities of human remains have also been discovered – especially those of children – suggesting that the cave may have been a centre for funerary rites. Intriguingly, on the frontal bone of one child, there is evidence suggestive of deliberate defleshing. Some of the cave’s most important features, however, are the Pictish symbols that can be found on the walls of its entrance passages.

The fish and crescent and V-rod Pictish carving: (A) photograph, (B) scan image, and (C) enhanced scan using reflectance transformation imaging (RTI) (Image: Bradford Visualisation)

Problematically, the cave is only accessible at low tide, making investigation of the interior time-sensitive. A new project, funded by Historic Environment Scotland and carried out by Professor Ian Armit and Dr Lindsey Büster at the University of Bradford, has created a high-resolution animated model of the cave. Through laser scanning and structured light scanning, the details of the cave have been digitally preserved to allow for more in-depth exploration of the cave – and the Pictish symbols – no matter whether the tide is high.

‘The Sculptor’s Cave is a fascinating location, known for decades for the richness of its archaeology and for the unusual Pictish carvings around its entrance,’ said Professor Armit of Bradford’s School of Archaeological and Forensic Sciences. ‘This walk-through animation allows us to study the carvings in detail, and to present this inaccessible site to the public through online and museum displays. It also ensures that we can preserve the cave and the carvings digitally for future generations to study.’

The digital model will be deposited in the Elgin Museum and included in their exhibition on the cave. More information can be found at www.elginmuseum.org.uk. A video of the 3D animation can be found on YouTube at http://bit.ly/2kgtVaG. A monograph on the cave excavations by Professor Armit and Dr Büster will also be published by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland in 2018.

This article will be published in CA 334.

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The Gaulcross Hoard was discovered in 1838, but only three objects have survived from what was described as a substantial cache of silver. Excavations at the site in 2013 found 90 further fragments. (All images: National Museums Scotland)

For centuries Scotland’s finely crafted silver brooches, neck chains, vessels, and more were made from a supply of recycled Roman hacksilver. Lucia Marchini learns more about the medieval afterlife of this metal at the National Museum of Scotland’s new exhibition.

When a spectacular array of cut-up silver artefacts was discovered at Traprain Law, East Lothian, in 1919, scholars at the time thought it was simply a case of those unruly barbarians north of Hadrian’s Wall, far too uncultured to appreciate Roman craftsmanship, hacking the fine goods they had plundered to pieces. As more recent research has shown, though, this is far from the case. Fragments like this, known as hacksilver, were deliberately portioned up to standard Roman weights and sent beyond the frontiers of empire as powerful diplomatic tools. One site in Scotland, and many more from elsewhere in Europe, have yielded similar, though smaller, collections, some containing pieces of silver vessels folded into neat parcels.

Scotland had not seen any silver before its inhabitants came into contact with the Romans, and local silver-working came another few centuries after this. (Later still, in the 12th century AD, David I was known to have minted his coinage using Carlisle silver, while the first written mention of local silver mining does not come until the 14th century.) The first Roman silver to reach Scotland came with the army, but soon imperial authorities also began to use coins as gifts or bribes to build relationships with local Iron Age groups. These coins had no value as currency, yet they were not melted down. Instead they were prized in their own right, as markers of power, prestige, and friends in high places, and were buried in hoards at sites across the country. Yet this esteem also led to less salubrious exchanges: four ceramic moulds for forging denarii are known from Scottish Iron Age sites, whose inhabitants may have hoped to trade their counterfeits with the rest of Roman Britain.

Some of the earliest silver from Scotland, dating from c.80-100 AD. This includes coins and a tiny strainer, which may have served as a good-luck charm.

Nonetheless, the precious metal held on to its high value throughout the first millennium – something that is explored in Scotland’s Early Silver, a new exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland. Unlike the coins, which were kept intact, pieces of splendid silverware were melted down and reworked for centuries to come. By the late 3rd century, moreover, silver coins were often debased with copper, so hacksilver from high-quality vessels, ready for recycling, became the norm for payments.

The Traprain Law Treasure was buried in the 5th century, and at a mighty 23kg in weight, it is the largest hoard of Roman hacksilver found outside the bounds of the Empire (see CA 283). Its contents include exquisite bowls, handles shaped like panthers, spoons decorated with Christian motifs, goblets, and flagons, some of which underwent restoration in the 20th century in an attempt to conceal their cutmarks. The Iron Age inhabitants of East Lothian had received this bounty for helping secure the frontier, but they did not merely hoard their silver. Crucibles have also been found at the site, demonstrating that in AD 300-500 the Traprain Law community was also reworking the metal, turning former Roman tableware into prestigious dress accessories.

Another noteworthy cache came to light in 2015. The Dairsie Hoard contains material from the late 3rd century – the earliest-known Roman hacksilver – and includes a rough fragment of a vessel whose coarse, uneven surface is a marked aberration from the quality of other artefacts in this and other hoards. There are two possible explanations: that it was a flawed casting intentionally left unfinished, or that its current state was only ever meant to be transitory, as it was in the process of being recycled. (Watch out for more on the Dairsie Hoard, and on Scottish silver, in CA 335.)

Silver lining

After the collapse of the western Roman Empire, Scotland’s supply of silver dried up – and, until the Vikings brought new supplies centuries later, the same limited resources were being recycled repeatedly. In some cases, other metals like copper would be added to make the dwindling silver stretch further, as can be seen in an 8th-century bowl from St Ninian’s Isle, Shetland, once shining silver in appearance, but now grown green with corrosion.

Silver was still much desired, however, although it seems that the look of the metal mattered more than its purity. We can see the material being reused in elaborate brooches crafted in local styles, whose wearers boasted wealth and far-reaching connections and influence. The famous Hunterston Brooch, for instance, is largely made of silver but also has panels of Anglo-Saxon-influenced gold filigree on the front, while its rear bears an inscription in Scandinavian runes.

Venus rising from the waves adorns this hacked silver plate from Traprain Law.

Unique to Scotland, and representing remarkable displays of status, are a number of massive silver chains dating from AD 400-800. Eleven of these were discovered in the 18th-20th centuries, but only nine have survived to the present day, and in the National Museum of Scotland’s exhibition, they are on display together for the first time. The heaviest weighs roughly 3kg, but some of the chains are in fact too small to be worn by fully grown men – they seem more suited to the necks of women or adolescents – and most were left undecorated, designed to impress through the sheer quality and quantity of the increasingly scarce material used in their creation. Two, however, have Pictish symbols engraved on their terminal rings – including one from Whiteclugh, some way south of traditional Pictish territories.

Similar motifs can be seen on other silver objects. One of Scotland’s only two known hacksilver hoards from the early medieval period, buried at Norrie’s Law, Fife, in the 5th or 6th century, contains a unique mount decorated with Pictish symbols. New research has proposed that this small plaque could be part of a composite helmet, an item previously unrecorded among the Picts. The other Pictish hoard of this type was found about 130 miles away in Gaulcross, Aberdeenshire, in the 19th century, and its contents were later largely lost. More recent excavations in 2013, however, recovered 90 more fragments of silver, including hacksilver packages and ingots, representing a crucial step in the recycling process. With new discoveries like this and the Dairsie Hoard, the story of Scotland’s early silver is growing ever richer.

Further information

Scotland’s Early Silver runs until 25 February 2018 at the National Museum of Scotland. Admission is free. Visit www.nms.ac.uk/national-museum-of-scotland/whats-on/scotlands-early-silver/ for more information. The exhibition and research was funded by the Glenmorangie Company, and the exhibition is accompanied by a book of the same name which explores the research in greater detail.

This review appeared in CA 334.

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As 2017 was Scotland’s Year of Heritage, History, and Archaeology (part of a programme of themed years that has been running since 2009), CA’s first issue of 2018 is a ‘Scottish special’, looking back over the festivities and celebrating some of Scotland’s fascinating archaeological sites and the ongoing research that is bringing their secrets to light once more. All our features, a special report in ‘News’, and a stunning ‘Context’ image showcase sites scattered across the country, as well as a wide range of investigative techniques.

Our cover feature takes us to the Ness of Brodgar in Orkney, home to an astonishing array of Neolithic finds from monumental buildings to hundreds of examples of ancient art. We then roam the Orcadian archipelago more widely to see how digital wizardry called photogrammetry is revolutionising records of the islands’ chambered cairns (a monument type that had its own special issue in CA 34), building models that are both a great boon to research and conservation, and are transforming accessibility to these often-remote tombs.

Moving from prehistory to the Roman period, two short pieces explore how silver was first introduced to the people of Scotland by the imperial army, and unpick a hacksilver hoard, recently found in Fife, that is illuminating how Rome secured her northern frontier.

Finally, we visit Lochmaben Castle, where geophysical survey is revealing clues about a medieval ruin that was once both a Scottish royal stronghold and one of the most important English-held castles in the region; and we tour each of Scotland’s six World Heritage Sites to learn about their diverse histories and how they played their part in the 2017 celebrations.

Carly Hilts

IN THIS ISSUE:

FEATURES

THE NESS OF BRODGAR

Uncovering Orkney’s Neolithic heart
The Ness of Brodgar lies in the centre of the Orcadian archipelago, surrounded by a wealth of Neolithic monuments. Long-running excavations are uncovering a spectacular settlement, home to huge buildings, Neolithic art, and artefacts brought from far afield.

PICTURES WORTH 1,000 WORDS

Capturing Orkney’s chambered cairns
Cutting-edge digital technology known as photogrammetry is helping to illuminate the dark interiors of Orcadian chambered tombs, recording their features in unprecedented detail and building intricate 3D models.

SOLVING A SILVER JIGSAW

A new hoard of Roman hacksilver from Fife
The recently discovered Dairsie Hoard represents the earliest-known example of Roman hacksilver found outside the empire’s borders. In examining its contents, we explore how silver was used by Rome to shore up the Scottish frontier.

DENARII DIPLOMACY

Exploring Scotland’s silver age
Silver was first introduced to Scotland’s Iron Age inhabitants by the Roman army, sparking both creative ingenuity and political instability. We consider the impact of this metal throughout the 1st millennium AD.

LOCHMABEN CASTLE

Exploring the tumultuous history behind a romantic ruin
Once a pivotal fortification in medieval Anglo-Scottish wars, Lochmaben Castle was left to fall into ruin after the Union of the Crowns in 1603. Now geophysical survey is beginning to uncover its secrets once more.

SCOTLAND IN SIX

Celebrating stone and steel
In 2017, Scotland marked the Year of History, Heritage, and Archaeology. Here we look back at the celebrations and discover the role that Scotland’s World Heritage Sites played in raising wider awareness of the country’s historic past.

NEWS

Electrifying discoveries at Hampton Court Palace; Neolithic wanderings in Wales; Uncovering Bilton Water Main’s ‘warrior burial’; Further intrigue at Halton Castle; Was Caesar’s British invasion launched from the Isle of Thanet?; Science notes; Gluttony at Glenfield Park; Finds tray

SPECIAL REPORT

Far flung finds: analysing Roman sling bullets from Burnswark, Dumfriesshire

REGULARS

Comment
Joe Flatman excavates the CA archive

Context
White Caterthun, Angus

Reviews
Stonehenge: the story so far; Arthur and the Kings of Britain: the historical truth behind the myths; The Friaries of Medieval London: from foundation to dissolution; Fishing and Managing the Trent in the Medieval Period (7th-14th Century): excavations at Hemington Quarry (1998-2000), Castle Donington, UK; First Stop North of Londinium: the archaeology of Roman Enfield and its roadline settlement; 50 Finds from Oxfordshire: objects from the Portable Antiquities Scheme

Exhibition
Harry Potter: a history of magic at the British Library

Calendar
Our selection of exhibitions and events

Sherds
Chris Catling’s irreverent take on heritage issues

Odd Socs
The Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society

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An unusual stone found in Dundee Howff cemetery (established in 1564) hints at the site’s medieval past. (Image: Dundee Howff Conservation Group)

In April, a survey was conducted on the 1,800 gravestones in Dundee Howff cemetery by the Dundee Howff Conservation Group, aided by archaeologist Dr Oliver O’Grady of OJT Heritage. The aim was to create a detailed map of the site and to research the origins of some of the headstones, as well as the generations of Dundonians buried beneath them.

During the project, an unusual moss-covered marker was discovered, which is believed to date from the 12th or 13th century AD, many centuries before the Howff cemetery was established in 1564 by a grant from Mary, Queen of Scots. Previously, the site had been the location of a Franciscan friary outside medieval Dundee.

Oliver returned to help the Group excavate around the find and a specialist conservator from Graciela Ainsworth Ltd was called in to remove the moss and help preserve the stone and its engravings. Parts of two inscriptions – one for the Ferguson family from the 18th/early 19th century and the other from 1603 – were revealed, complete transcriptions of which had already been made by 19th-century antiquarians. The later engraving was particularly intriguing: the inscription was for Christian Rutherford, the wife of David Lindsay, a former Dundee Grammar School master and later the Bishop of Edinburgh, who crowned Charles I as the King of Scotland in 1633.

But while the inscriptions demonstrated that this medieval ‘coped-stone’ had been reused several times throughout the centuries, they did not reveal its origin.

‘This stone may have come from the church of the Franciscan monastery, which housed the mausoleum of the Lindsay Earls of Crawford from the 14th century,’ said Oliver. ‘It could have originally been above a tomb within a family burial aisle in the friary church, or it could have come from one of the
other historic churches in Dundee.’

It is hoped that further work on the stone and on the burial ground will help to solve this mystery. More information can be found at: www.facebook.com/DundeeHowff.

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A Neolithic Cairn under excavation [Photo Credit: Skyscape Survey]

The project is open to anyone, and is a fun and relaxed way to explore Scotland’s amazing past!

We pick you up, take you to and from site and you have your own room with WiFi and TV. All food included though we share the cooking and cleaning!

All tools provided.

This year we will be exploring two previously unrecorded sites: an Iron Age hillfort and a massive 30m diameter and 2 high prehistoric burial cairn, along with lithic scatters.

Be amongst the first to discover the secrets of Battle Hill!

Find out more about this exciting dig:

Website   /   Facebook

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The Field School will consist of 2 weeks excavation at the abandoned settlement of Kildavie, possibly dating back to the Early Medieval period. The settlement was inhabited until the 18th Century before being abandoned, with many villagers leaving Scotland for North America.

Previous investigations have identified at least sixteen structures ranging from domestic dwellings to possible sites of cottage industry. The excavation aims to investigate the origins of the site, and to determine the function/use of the buildings.

Planning the remains (Photo: HARP).

The site has been investigated by the Mull Archaeological Interest Group for the past few years, with extensive survey and limited excavation.  Participants in the field school will learn about the history of Kildavie, along with being taught how to carry out desk-based and historical research into the site. This will be followed by the opportunity to excavate two of the buildings on the site, where it is hoped that the origins of the site will be determined.

All participants will learn how to excavate to a professional archaeological standard as well as how to record the remains by way of technical drawing, photography and surveying. Alongside this participants will play a key role in public engagement and will learn about community archaeology, with the opportunity to work with volunteers from the Mull Archaeological Interest Group, and to help present our findings during a public open day.

Find out more about this exciting dig:

Website   /   Twitter   /   Facebook

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DigVentures is searching for Lindisfarne’s sister monastery, founded by Princess Aebbe, near the remains of a later medieval priory at Coldingham [Photo Credit: DigVentures]

But just across the Scottish border something else is happening; Oswald has a sister named Aebbe, and she too has founded a monastery.

This historic site is fundamental to our understanding of the Anglo-Saxons in Scotland. Aebbe was an influential figure who brought Christianity to the east coast, and yet her monastery has never been properly located.

In 2017, new hope of finding it emerged. Armed with a set of geophysics results, DigVentures opened some small test pits and found traces of walls, ditches, animal bones and pottery. Our task now is to open up and excavate a larger area to gather more evidence and get a much better understanding of the site.

Always wanted to try archaeology? Want to improve your skills? Now’s your chance to join the DigVentures community and join our exciting mission to find Lindisfarne’s ‘sister monastery’!

DigVentures runs multiple crowdfunded excavations around the country, and is a CIfA-endorsed fieldschool.

Our excavations are open to all levels of experience. You’ll receive our signature skills training, be able to try advanced techniques and excavate, record and interpret your finds alongside our friendly archaeologists. We look forward to having you on the team!

Find out more about this exciting project:

Website   /   Twitter   /   Facebook   /   Instagram   /   YouTube

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Kinneil House with the lost ha-ha next to the gate piers in 1910 [Photo Credit: Falkirk Local History Society]

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Ness of Brodgar [Photo Credit: UHI Archaeology Institute]

Tours are available Monday to Friday at 11am, 1pm and 3pm. Saturday & Sunday 11am and 3pm.Booking essential for ‘Digging up the Past’ workshops for young people (see here to book) which will be running on: 24th July 2018 31st July 2018 7th August 2018 14th August 2018 Open Days will be 15th July and 19th August.

This site also takes volunteers who email in advance to take part.

Find out more about this exciting project:

Website   /   Twitter   /   Facebook 

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Skaill Farm, Rousay, Orkney [Photo Caption: UHI Archaeology Institute]

The site opens at 9.30am each morning and closes at around 4.30pm.

Access to the site involves a walk down a steep hill from the car park for Mid Howe Broch and left (south) along the shoreline (15 min walk). The ground is uneven and the path is a little overgrown in places. Please do not access from Westness Farm.

Archaeologists will be working on site during the week. The Open Day will be on the final weekend 21st-22nd July 2018.

This site also takes volunteers who email in advance to take part.

Find out more about this exciting project:

Website   /   Twitter   /   Facebook   /   Instagram   /   YouTube

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The Cairns Broch Dig, Orkney [Photo Credit: UHI Archaeology Institute]

Open to the public from 18th June to 13th July 2018

Tours are available Monday to Friday. There are no set times, but the site opens at 10.30am each morning and closes at around 4.30pm.

Open Day is Friday 6th July 2018. All welcome.

This site also takes volunteers who email in advance to take part.

Find out more about this exciting project:

Website   /   Twitter   /   Facebook   /   Instagram   /   YouTube

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The Cairns Broch Dig, Orkney [Photo Credit: UHI Archaeology Institute]

You are welcome to visit the three sites under investigation. The sites open at 10.30am each morning and closes at around 4.30pm. See https://archaeologyorkney.com/category/excavation-calendar-2018/ for more details and location.

This site also takes volunteers who email in advance to take part.

Find out more about this exciting project:

Website   /   Twitter   /   Facebook   /   Instagram   /   YouTube

The post Cata Sand, Tresness Chambered Tomb & Loth Road Bronze Age House appeared first on Current Archaeology.

Excavation at the Newbarns Project

Excavation of Neolithic Kerb Cairns with prehistoric cremation burials on later multi settlement site up to the 13th & 14th centuries.

All ages welcome to try their hand at excavation but all expenses to be paid by student/vistor alike.

No disabled access.

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A depiction of the site as it may have been during use. In particular, metalworking appears to have taken place there. (Image: Jan Dunbar)

Recent excavations in a field near the ruins of Deer Abbey in Aberdeenshire have provided the most compelling evidence so far for the remains of the monastery where the 10^th-century Book of Deer may have been written and illuminated.

With parts written in Latin, Old Irish, and Scottish Gaelic, the Book of Deer contains the earliest surviving Gaelic writing and may be the oldest surviving manuscript produced in Scotland (a title that it contests with the Book of Kells). While the book is currently housed in the Cambridge University Library, the monastery from which it originated has been lost, and over the decades there have been many attempts to locate it, all without success. The most recent excavation has provided the biggest lead yet.

Landholdings scribbled in the margins of the book suggest that the monks were in the vicinity of Deer abbey – where they moved after the monastery where they composed the Book of Deer was abandoned – when they wrote it. Geophysical survey was therefore carried out by Rose Geophysics in a field near to Deer Abbey, revealing ‘interesting anomalies’ that warranted further investigation. Last summer, subsequent excavations unearthed a stone hearth, charcoal, and pottery fragments, as well as traces of a circular structure represented by a line of stake holes in a shallow ditch – possibly the remains of post-and-wattle windbreak. Fragments of slag suggest that this may have been a metalworking area.

While the handmade pottery was confirmed to be from the medieval period, radiocarbon dating was carried out on some of the charcoal to securely date the entire site. The results proved intriguing. Alison Cameron of Cameron Archaeology said: ‘The date for the charcoal is 1147 to 1260, which is extremely exciting because it is potentially the monastic period – it dates to the early medieval period when we know the monastery was in the area.’

Further exploration is expected to be carried out at the site in order to find more evidence of medieval activity. The 2018 dig is being crowdfunded: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/bookofdeerprojectdig2018.

This article will appear in CA 338.

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Roy Towers, Nick Card, and Mark Edmonds
Ness of Brodgar Trust, £7
Available from www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/shop
Review CH

Perched on a peninsula in the heart of the Orkney archipelago, the Ness of Brodgar is a truly remarkable site. Long-running excavations there are bringing a wealth of discoveries to light, illuminating the life and death of a sophisticated Neolithic community (see CA 335).

This slim but fact-packed guidebook, produced to help support the dig, is now in its second edition, revised and updated to include the latest information from the site. In his introduction, project director Nick Card writes that the story is still developing, with much still open to interpretation and new information constantly emerging.

Accessibly written and stuffed with stunning colour photographs, 3D digital images, maps, and plans, the book provides a solid overview of the site, but also zooms in on particular aspects, such as Ness’ mighty Great Wall, a massive construction to the north of the site, which at 6m across is wider than Hadrian’s Wall.

An absorbing introduction to the site – great as a primer to prepare for a visit, and certainly light enough to carry with you when you go.

This review appeared in CA 338.

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