Excavation

Date July 2000

Event ID 1150509

Category Recording

Type Excavation

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1150509

NH 777 023 Excavation continued in July 2000 on platform 5 at the W end of the township of Easter Raitts (DES 1999, 51). A spread of large boulders, curving along the E and S sides of the platform, was found to seal pieces of tap slag; these were also found in great quantities across the rest of the trench. A fire spot of scorched subsoil, sealed by charcoal-rich material that included pieces of tap slag, fragments of burnt bone and sherds of later prehistoric pottery, was identified near the centre of the platform and is thought to be the site of a smelting hearth. Fragments of furnace lining were found in higher levels, and the hearth itself seemed to have been dismantled. The boulder spread sealed a slumped turf bank, which in turn sealed post-holes and stake-holes cut along the edge of the platform, apparently defining a structure pre-dating the smithing phase. Further sherds of later prehistoric pottery were found in association with the earliest ground surface. In addition, a stone-lined pit was found to contain sherds of possibly Early Neolithic pottery and a carbonised crab apple (sp. Malus sylvestris). Several sherds of All-Over-Comb Beaker and an Early Neolithic flint blade, found in levels that indicate they were residual, also suggest earlier prehistoric use of the platform. Later, post-medieval use of the site had disturbed and churned the earlier deposits.

A post-medieval structure at the E end of the township was also evaluated. It proved to be a small byre or outbuilding, with a partly paved interior and a metalled stand at one end. The building exhibited two phases of construction, with an earlier, longer building defined by earthen banks overlain by a smaller, later structure of stone footings set atop the banks; this had later been sub-divided into two compartments.

Sponsors: Historic Scotland, Highland Council, Highland Folk Museum, Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, University of Aberdeen.

O Lelong 2000