Excavation

Date 3 June 2019 - 17 June 2019

Event ID 1104045

Category Recording

Type Excavation

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1104045

NJ 6825 2240 Excavation occurred in June 2019 with 7 trenches being excavated on the Mither Tap of Bennachie (Canmore ID: 85507).

Trench 1 measured 5.5 x 4m and excavated the outer rampart and what turned out to be an inner building platform. Four courses of the wall face survived on the north side of the trench and up to seven in the centre. The rampart was built up on huge granite slabs, which were built up on top of mounds of voided rubble. A sondage was excavated, however this work was stopped due to safety reasons.

The inner building was built approximately 1.5m above the rampart base and was revetted by large granite slabs up to 1 x 0.05 x 0.4m thick. Inside the building a midden deposit with large quantities of animal bone including cattle, sheep, and fish bone was found. Multiple animal jaws and large bone fragments were identified.

Trench 2 targeted the well that was referenced by Maclagan’s 1881 excavation. Removing the topsoil revealed a rectangular stone lined structure. Further excavation revealed a number of large stones that had been put into the well to block it off. Once the stones were removed from the well a silty deposit was present with modern plastic, glass, and ceramics. The modern material continued to the base of the well. A clay lining was found which may have been part of the original sealing of the well. Steps led to the well, which seem to be contemporary with it and were keyed into the stonework of the rampart.

On the SE side of the fort, Trench 3 was opened over what has previously been interpreted as an outer bank. Closer inspection suggests it may actually be the wall of a sub-rectangular building that has been placed just inside the bank. A 2 x 2m area was excavated with topsoil and a layer of overburden sitting atop an extensive occupation deposit. Fragments of iron, an intact crucible, slag, and a handmade pottery shed were found in the basal levels of the deposits. The wall face still had seven courses surviving. Larger trenches will be needed to confirm that the stone facing is part of a structure rather than an enclosing element to the hillfort.

Trench 4 investigated a possible structure within the upper citadel. The trench measured 3 x 3m with a 3 x 1m sondage that hit a maximum depth of 1.3m. Frequent animal bone, teeth, and charcoal were recovered from a series of clayey silt layers that extended towards the bedrock. Finds in this area included pottery and a gaming piece.

Trench 5 was a 2 x 2m trench opened on the southern side of the central tor. The excavation revealed a thin layer of topsoil over a greyish brown silty-sand. Modern glass and charcoal flecks were present in the layer, along with a small fragment of corroded metal. Underneath was a blackish-brown clayey silt that went across the entire trench. A sondage of 2 x 0.5m went through the layer showing it extended to around 0.18m in depth. This layer had large pieces of charcoal with concentrated pockets of orange, heat affected soil. This layer sat directly on bedrock.

Trench 6, a 0.5 x 0.5m test pit was excavated on the northern side of the interior of Mither Tap to assess erosion damage caused by visitors to the site. A layer of 0.1m overburden sat atop a thick layer of mid brown clayey silt. A more extensive occupation layer of brownish black clayey-silt with moderate charcoal and stones was underneath this. The trench was not bottomed; however, a number of flat stones formed a level surface suggesting a possible path of uncertain date to the summit.

Trench 7 was positioned outside the fort on the northern side and measured approximately 2 x 1.5m. It was opened to investigate a line of boulders and large stones that stood up to three courses high. Abutting the boulders was a deep peaty topsoil laid over a dark greyish brown clayey sand with frequent amounts of charcoal, which in turn sat atop bedrock.

Archive: University of Aberdeen

Funder: University of Aberdeen

Gordon Noble, James O’Driscoll, Edouard Masson-MacLean, Cathy MacIver and Zack Hinckley – University of Aberdeen

(Source: DES Vol 20)

OASIS ID: jamesodr1-407727