Overhailes

NT57NE 224 5770 7635

NT 5770 7635 Excavation was carried out of archaeological features discovered on Overhailes Farm during evaluation of the A1 dual carriageway corridor. The features lay on a small natural shelf on a long S-facing slope overlooking the River Tyne and Traprain Law. A trench measuring 40 x 25m, with an extension of 20 x 15m, was opened. The features, which were mainly plough-truncated, included a circle or pentagon of pits associated with a stake-filled arcing slot. Two large pits containing abundant struck lithics and large sherds of Grooved ware pottery were also found, as well as a number of smaller pits and stake-holes. A large pit lined and capped with stone slabs was also discovered. During topsoil stripping a line of similar large pits, some lined with slabs and running approximately N-S down the slope, was encountered and recorded 20-30m W of the main site. The site appears to date from the Neolithic and may be the remains of a settlement, although the nature of the remains suggests that its origins and uses may have been more complex. (GUARD 1242)

Sponsor: Scottish Executive Department of Transport and Planning.

E Stuart 2002.