Excavation
Date May 2010 - September 2010
Event ID 881213
Category Recording
Type Excavation
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/881213
HY 428 493 A rescue excavation was undertaken at Links of Noltland during May–September 2010. The work focused on the excavation of a Neolithic settlement and field system, both of which are severely threatened by sand erosion. A programme of assessment was also undertaken in the wider hinterland and this work recovered traces of settlement and burial remains of probable Bronze Age date. The archaeological remains are spread across some 2ha within an area of deflating sand dunes. The excavation saw the removal of substantial deposits of Neolithic midden. This material, over 1m thick in places, was extremely rich in artefacts and animal bone. More than 12,000 small finds
were recovered including quantities of elaborately decorated Grooved Ware pottery, including some near complete vessels and some with an unusual spiral motif, worked bone pins, beads and tools, flint, stone tools, pigments and decorated and painted stones. There were also concentrations of animal bone suggestive of butchery waste and several whole animal burials, including that of a red deer. In total, some 150 tons of midden were excavated. With the midden capping removed, traces of at least five stone walled structures were revealed. Of these, Structure 9, which was partly uncovered in 2009, was completely excavated. This building, 9m in diameter, was found to be sub-oval in plan with a cruciform interior. Most notably, a series of some 30 cattle skulls had been placed in the wall foundations at the time of its construction. The other buildings are clustered together c10m from Structure 9 and, at least for part of their life, were bounded by a substantial enclosure wall. The interiors of these structures were not fully excavated and it is hoped that work in 2011 will
continue in this area. Assessment of the surrounding field system found evidence for several field banks and lynchets and a possible post built structure. In the wider area, part of an eroding Bronze Age house was investigated. This was found to have been badly damaged by rabbit burrowing, although a large steatite vessel was preserved on the floor.
A series of truncated cremation deposits, together with two cists, one containing infant remains and the other containing fragments of several individuals were found nearby; previously a series of remains from this area have been radiocarbon dated to the mid-second millennium BC. In tandem with the excavations, a programme of scanning has been carried out by the Historic Scotland Laser Scanning Team and a programme of soil mapping and sampling has been undertaken by Laura McKenna (University of Stirling) as part of a PhD study. A PhD study of the faunal remains is
being carried out by Sheena Fraser (University of Edinburgh).
Archive: RCAHMS (intended) Report: Scheduled for publication
Funder: Historic Scotland
