Archaeology Notes

Event ID 687037

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Archaeology Notes

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/687037

NO35SW 19 30569 51535

(NO 3057 5154) Weem (NR) (Site of) (NAT)

OS 6" map, Forfarshire and Angus, 2nd ed., (1926)

A souterrain discovered about 1794 and still almost intact. It consists of a curved passage about 80' long which shows the characteristic features of souterrain construction. It has a basic course of large boulders, corbelled upper courses of smaller boulders and flagstones, massive roof-slabs, 'terminal bulge' and flagstone doorway between the main passage and the entrance passage at which point a roof-slab has been removed to provide a modern entrance. The original entrance has never been examined. Among finds from the souterrain, Jervise (1865) notes that querns occurred both within the souterrain and in its vicinity. This suggests the former existence of surface structures. On one of the roof-slabs there are several serpent-like figures which Jervise regarded as natural but which Childe and Graham (1943) describe as being "executed in the Bronze Age" pecking technique". They seem to associate them with cup and ring marks. The souterrain now lies under a stone wall on the crest of a ridge and in recent years cracks have appeared in some of the roof-slabs.

F T Wainwright 1963; A Jervise 1865; V G Childe and A Graham 1943; Visited by OS (JLD) 17 September 1958.

NO 3056 5153. The souterrain which is extremely well preserved lies beneath a stone wall on the crest of a high point. All that can be identified on the surface is a 1.1m by 0.7m hole on the east side of the wall which is the present access to the chamber (shown on the Jervise plan {1865}).

The passage or chamber is 1.6m high, 1.5m wide and completely dry. The marks on a roof-slab (Childe and Graham 1943) were not identified.

A small quantity of stone (? from field clearance) has been dumped against the west side of the wall to protect the roof from damage during regular cultivation of the adjacent field.

Souterrain entrance surveyed at 1:2500.

A Jervise 1865; V G Chile and A Graham 1943; Visited by OS (MFJ) 10 March 1977.

The new plans show:

(a) Two lintelled openings, one on either side of the present entrance. (b) The two upright slabs framing the neatly blocked original entrance. (c) The lack of a terminal bulge.

(d) The group of serpent-like figures on the eighth lintel slab from the entrance.

Sponsor: Association of Certified Field Archaeologists.

S Bryson 1990b.