Archaeology Notes

Event ID 797939

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Archaeology Notes

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/797939

NX98SE 86 95960 80380

What may be the cropmarks of a pit-defined cursus were revealed by aerial photography in 1992 to the NW of Holm farm, together with two ring-ditches, a pit-alignment, a double pit-alignment and a series of pits. The features lie on fairly level ground at the SE end of a ridge in the corner of a field about 75m to the NW of the steading. The cursus is defined by two roughly parallel rows of pits about 12m apart which extend for a distance of at least 85m from NNW to SSE. No terminals are visible, although two internal pits towards the NW end of the rows may indicate a possible transverse division. It is plotted as a cursus monument on a distribution map of Neolithic monuments covering southern Scotland (RCAHMS 1997, 115, fig. 110).

The double pit-alignment comprises two parallel rows of pits set about 4m apart and running for a distance of 54m from NW to SE. The pits appear to be arranged in opposed pairs which are more closely-spaced towards the NW end. As such the setting is comparable to that recorded at Dalswinton Roads (for which, see NX98SW 47). The two ring-ditches are poorly defined but measure about 8m in diameter.

Information from RCAHMS (ARG), 7 April 1998

NX 959 803 During July 1998 excavation was undertaken of a cropmark site at Holm Farm, on a gravel terrace overlooking the River Nith. The site lies c 1km E of the two cursus monuments at Holywood, investigated in 1997 (see below). Seen from the air, the Holm complex appeared to consist of a series of interconnected alignments of cut features. Two parallel rows of features appeared to be closed by a further transverse line of features, and had consequently been tentatively identified as a pit-defined cursus, of Neolithic date.

In practice, these were found to represent two lines of large post-holes, with a third line running parallel to them. These posts had been burned and replaced on a number of occasions. The lines of posts crossed the path of a double alignment of pits, one pit having cut into the top of a post-hole which was clearly earlier in date. The post-lines ran SE toward a ring-ditch, which was visible from the air. On excavation the ring-ditch proved to have been preceded by a post-circle and another ring-ditch. The ring-ditch itself both cut through and was cut by post-holes of the S post-alignment, demonstrating its broad contemporaneity with the post-structures.

Few artefacts were recovered from the site, but structural similarity with the Holywood North cursus suggests a Neolithic date for the Holm complex. The pattern of recutting in the post-holes was not uniform, and it is not certain that all of the posts were represented in all phases of construction. Indeed, the structure may have constituted a rectilinear enclosure at one stage, and a triple row at another.

Sponsor: University of Southampton.

J Thomas 1998