Excavation
Date 11 August 2018 - 27 August 2018
Event ID 1089382
Category Recording
Type Excavation
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1089382
NJ 4845 2930 From 11–27 August 2018, three trenches were excavated on the interior of the Tap o’ Noth fort summit enclosure. This was part of a larger programme of work looking at fortified sites in the region of the recent Craw Stane excavations to put the site in wider context.
An initial trench (Trench 1) was excavated and reported on in 2017 (DES 2018, 26). The trenches were located to investigate the possible well
(Trench 2); to determine the presence of interior deposits (Trench 3); and to investigate a section of U-shaped banks enclosing part of the interior and to better understand the depth of stone tumble and locate the inner face of the vitrified stone wall on the SW side (Trench 4). The aim was to understand the nature, chronology and use of the interior of the fort, in particular investigating if there had been later reuse of the interior after the vitrification event.
Trench 2 – Excavation of the well identified the cut of antiquarian excavations carried out by James MacDonald in the 1880s. He was reputed to have ‘emptied’ the well but, after the 2018 excavations, it was clear that
his intervention did not fully excavate the original well cut. In places around the edges, areas of undisturbed material within the well revealed a series of clay lining deposits. Towards the base, bedrock was encountered
and the very basal deposits were waterlogged and filled with well preserved organic material, apparently undisturbed by MacDonald. Around the top of the well a spread of charcoal-rich material also survived in situ and represented the abandonment of use of the well, where it had been filled with a large quantity of burnt material, later cut through by MacDonald’s interventions.
Trench 3 – Excavation of a 10 x 10m trench in the northern end of the interior of the summit enclosure identified a series of deposits c0.45m deep overlying natural subsoil and bedrock. Just above the natural in the
centre of the trench was a 3 x 4m by 0.05m thick spread of bright orange material indicating in situ burning. Overlying this was a series of spreads of stone related to collapsed wall and later disturbed topsoil deposits with frequent modern glass and a modern cable trench running
towards the Forestry Observation post.
Trench 4 – The excavation up against the inner edge of the collapsed vitrified wall revealed that the two U-shaped enclosure banks were composed of large stones and earth and later than the main vitrified wall. The inner face of the vitrified wall was located after the removal of substantial layers of stone tumble and collapsed wall core. The inner
face was badly preserved and slumping forward in places with the wall core having been excavated from above and behind it in antiquity. The face was almost fully collapsed in several places but survived to a height of c0.4m above the bedrock in one area. This section showed several subrectangular
beam slots measuring 0.15 x 0.1m, indicating the timber lacing of the main rampart wall. Up against the inner face of the main rampart a series of deposits were observed, including a layer of clay which could have been
part of a floor layer or series of floor layers for a structure built up against the inner face. A posthole associated with the floor layers was also identified, perhaps related to a later structure up against the inner face or perhaps reveting the inner face.
Artefacts recovered included several flint flakes and modern bottle glass. Ecofacts included some animal bone and organic material. A programme of further excavation and post-excavation analysis, including radiocarbon
dating will help define the chronology and possible phasing at the site.
Archive: University of Aberdeen
Funder: University of Aberdeen
Gordon Noble, Cathy MacIver, James O’Driscoll and
Edouard Masson-Maclean – University of Aberdeen
(Source: DES Vol 19)
OASIS ID: jamesodr1-407724
