Archaeology Notes
Date 9 May 2006
Event ID 1109789
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Archaeology Notes
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1109789
This ring-cairn and surrounding stone circle were fully excavated in 1995 in advance of development within Badentoy industrial estate, and the site was then reconstructed 175m to the NW (NJ 9063 9749). Excavation revealed an interesting sequence of activity at the site, the earliest phase being a curvilinear arrangement of six pits, one of which contained pottery, cereal grain and wood charcoal that was radiocarbon dated to 4680 ± 80 BP. The next securely dated context for human activity was radiocarbon dated to 3070 ± 60 BP, some 1600 radiocarbon years later, and was represented by an area of intense burning, interpreted as the remains of a funeral pyre. Following this, a timber enclosure was constructed within a narrow bedding trench, terminated on the S by two large post-holes flanking an entrance. A further four pits were discovered clustered around this entrance, and within the enclosure itself five cremation pits were re-identified, having been excavated previously in 1858 when fragments of urns were recorded (Thomson 1864, 132). On top of this was built the ring-cairn, measuring at least 7m in diameter overall, and defined externally by a near-continuous kerb of thirty-six stones. The internal court measured 4.2m in diameter with twenty-one surviving stones, and had been constructed on the line of the bedding trench; the area between the two kerbs was infilled with rubble. The stones of the outer kerb were mainly of thin flagstones, though larger more rounded boulders were noted on the S arc, one in particular being more than twice the length of the others. This large stone straddled the entrance into the underlying enclosure. A stone circle surrounded the cairn and was the only structural component not to be radiocarbon dated. Overall it measured 9m in diameter and comprised eight stones, only three of which were still standing when the site was excavated. Of the remainder, one had fallen and was discovered beside its socket, and four had been removed and were revealed only as sockets. A revetment of rubble linked the stone circle with the outer kerb of the cairn.
Thomson provides the first detailed account of the ring-cairn in 1858, giving a plan of the site as well as a written description with measurements (Thomson 1864, 131-3). Thomson shows a circle of thirteen standing stones surrounding a ring-cairn with a broad band of rubble between the kerbs and a small internal court. The overall diameter of the cairn is given as ‘about 56 feet’ (17m), and the internal court is said to have ‘a diameter of 12 feet’ (3.6m). The stone circle is ‘about 12 feet distant’ from the outer kerb, roughly equating with a diameter of 80 feet (24.4m). By digging the internal court, he ‘found at five spots, arranged in a quincunx, fragments of coarse earthenware urns’. Coles’ plan and account, published in 1900, shows only three stones of the circle remaining, with comparatively narrow gaps between the circle and the outer kerb, and likewise between the outer and inner kerbs of the cairn (Coles 1900, 149-52). His measurements are very different from those of Thomson, the circle being 30 feet (9.1m) in diameter and the inner court 15 feet (4.6m) in diameter. These are little different from the measurements published in Henshall’s account, which in turn bear close comparison with the plan undertaken prior to excavation (Henshall 1963, 400-01; Rees 1997, 259). Indeed, had it not been for the presence of the five central pits, there is little similarity between Thomson’s account and the detail revealed by excavation.
Information from RCAHMS (ARG) 9 May 2006
