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Archaeology Notes
Event ID 692496
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Archaeology Notes
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/692496
NO 680 490 (centre) A programme of trial trenching was carried out on adjoining fields, one Scheduled and one unscheduled, to the N of Newbarns Farm.
A trench was opened over the NE corner of a rectilinear enclosure (NO64NE 17) measuring c 30 x 30m. A break in the ditch defining the enclosure formed the only visible entrance. The ditch was 1.35m wide and 0.5m deep. A line of small post-holes was visible c 1.2m inside the ditch, possibly indicating the presence of a retaining revetment wall for an upcast bank. Inside the excavated part of the enclosure, three pits were arranged in a semi-circle. Outside the enclosure were several post-holes. There were no finds from this trench.
A detailed report will be lodged with the NMRS.
Sponsors: Historic Scotland, University of Edinburgh.
C McGill 1998
NO 683 492 The second season of a programme of trial trenching was carried out to the W of Newbarns Farm (McGill 1998). The field is rich in cropmarks of varying forms, some of which are Scheduled.
Eleven trenches were excavated: three within the Scheduled area and eight outside it. Of this total, only two trenches were devoid of archaeological features.
The excavated features comprised pits, linear ditches, natural ice wedges, a truncated ring-ditch house, a sub-rectangular enclosure (possibly a Dark Age timber hall), and a possible square barrow. No features produced any artefactual dating evidence, and provisional dates can only be applied to three feature groups (the ring-ditch house, timber hall and square barrow-type feature) on the basis of their morphology. The results supported the conclusions from the previous year's work at Newbarns that the clarity of cropmarks is the result of a combination of topography, ploughsoil depth, subsoil, feature depth, size and nature of fill, with the principal deciding factor being geomorphological considerations. There was considerable evidence across the site for plough-scoring of subsoil and features, suggesting that active truncation is occurring.
A detailed report will be lodged with NMRS.
Sponsors: Historic Scotland, University of Edinburgh.
C McGill 1999
