Excavation

Date 15 August 2010 - 4 September 2010

Event ID 634323

Category Recording

Type Excavation

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/634323

NM 5470 7076 Work undertaken 15 August–4 September 2010 consisted of the excavation of three trenches at Cladh Aindreis chambered tomb in Swordle Bay and two trenches at the post-medieval settlement of Coldstream Cottage to the N of the bay.

At Cladh Aindries, Trench 1 revealed both a recent ‘robber’ trench and in situ blocking at the front of the

cairn. In the gravel blocking small fragments of cremated bone were found together with fragments of unburnt bone. A fragmented crouched inhumation, probably from the Beaker period and a series of discrete concentrations of disarticulated but tightly packed remains, most likely dating to the Neolithic, were also discovered in what appears to be a damaged front chamber. This chamber was damaged in antiquity, probably after the stone box containing the Beaker burial was inserted, and the chambers of the cairn were blocked off to prevent further access, culminating in a capping of small stones.

In Trench 9 evidence of a cremation that preceded the monument, as well as bones from a circular cist were

recovered. It is hoped that these remains will provide a chronology for the site unparalleled in mainland Scotland. In Trench 4 the putative Bronze Age kerb cairn partially revealed in 2009 was fully exposed and planned. Excavations of the NW quadrant uncovered a central cist which included a burial and several beautiful jet beads, perhaps imported from Whitby in N Yorkshire. These are classic Early Bronze Age fusiform beads which probably started out life as part of a spacer plate necklace (Alison Sheridan pers. comm.). The cairn has been named Ricky’s Cairn, in honour of the local volunteer who first noticed it.

At Coldstream Cottage excavations of two trenches at a post medieval settlement site, believed to have been cleared prior to the middle of the 19th century, revealed a complex set of stone remains that may predate the expected remains. Further excavations in 2011 will help resolve this issue.

Archive: Highland Council Archaeology Unit, NMS and RCAHMS (intended)

Funder: Ardnamurchan Estate, University of Manchester, University of Newcastle, Prehistoric Society, Royal Archaeological Institute, Glasgow Archaeological Society, CFA Archaeology Ltd, Council for British Archaeology Challenge Fund, University of Central Lancashire, The Russell Trust and McDonald Institute of Archaeological Research

Oliver Harris, Hannah Cobb, Héléna Gray and Phil Richardson – University of Newcastle and University of Manchester