Excavation

Date June 2018 - October 2018

Event ID 1089189

Category Recording

Type Excavation

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1089189

NJ 5131 2642 A seventh season of work was undertaken,

June – October 2018, at Druminnor Castle. This season has

helped to clarify the plan and chronological development of

buildings constructed in the lower court of the late 15th-/

early 16th-century castle enclosure.

Two structures were built against the inner side of the

N Barmkin wall with the NE corner of one forming the

corner of the castle complex as shown on an 18th-century

estate plan. The excavations appear to demonstrate the

reasonable accuracy of that plan. Radiocarbon dating has

provided a sequence of dates running from the second

quarter of the 15th century through to the middle of the

17th century.

The larger (western) building appears to be later than the

one in the corner and may have replaced an earlier structure

that would have been aligned with the corner of the smaller

building. The evidence for the destruction of the earlier

structure was sealed beneath two later floor surfaces and

overlay a probable third floor. The W wall of the smaller

(corner) building had been rebuilt after subsiding into an

underlying ‘ditch-like’ feature. The purpose of that feature is

still debatable (but, see below).

A receipt from 1440 for building works done on the

existing S range of the castle coincides with a closely dated

bone from on top of the natural in the area of the lower

court. This suggests the first half of the 15th century was

a period of massive reconfiguration at Druminnor. A royal

licence to build and fortify ‘Drymynour’ was granted in 1456,

along with the right to ‘circumvallate it with ditches’. The

lower court itself appears to have been added a couple of

generations later, perhaps around 1500.

In Trench 11, on another part of the site, earlier, tentative

suggestions of a possible ‘rampart’ appear to have been

unfounded. However, the feature that gave rise to that

speculation may perhaps be seen to have formed the

outermost deposit of a ‘terrace-like’ structure. This awaits

further corroboration next year. Most perplexing was the

recognition of a massive, rock-cut ‘cavity’ that had been

sealed by subsequent deposits, including the speculative

‘terrace’. However, it is still questionable whether this feature

is man-made or geological and further work needs to be

carried out to test those suggestions.

As ever, grateful thanks to Alex Forbes for permission to

continue work on his lawns and for his endless knowledge

of things ‘Forbes’. Also, many thanks to the volunteers

who tirelessly put their all into the quest for answers and

we are all grateful to Bruce Mann and Aberdeenshire

Council Archaeology Service for their enthusiastic support

of the project and for funding the radiocarbon dates. These

excavations form part of the Bennachie Landscapes Project,

jointly conceived and run by the Bailies of Bennachie and the

University of Aberdeen.

Archive: Aberdeenshire HER

Funder: Aberdeenshire Council for C14 dates

Colin Shepherd – Bennachie Landscapes Fieldwork Group

(Source: DES, Volume 19)