Excavation

Date 2011

Event ID 964493

Category Recording

Type Excavation

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/964493

ND 3702 6314 A community excavation was carried out at Nybster Broch, over two phases in summer 2011. The excavations focused on the enclosing rampart and the adjacent deposits, and latterly on the cellular roundhouses to the E end of the Nybster promontory.

It was discovered that the enclosing rampart had gone through at least two phases of construction and modification, with the original, slighter rampart heavily reinforced and enhanced by a second phase of building. During this second phase, the area around the entrance to the site was modified and a cell constructed within the thickness of the rampart wall. Finds within this cell included pottery, a saddle quern and a fragment of a pin mould. After the second phase, when the rampart had become ruinous, several stone cist-like structures were dug into the rubble. These features could not be confirmed as graves, although they resemble cist burials encountered by antiquarian excavations on other Caithness brochs. Finds from the fills included a stone pendant, a copper alloy strip and a crucible fragment.

Excavation to the E of the promontory investigated three cellular roundhouse structures. The largest of these contained at least four phases of hearth construction, associated with several superimposed occupation deposits and flagstone flooring. In several places, deposits undisturbed by Tress Barry’s excavations were encountered, and during the excavation of these a Roman melon bead was recovered. Other artefacts from these structures included ceramics, a complete bone pin and a bone knife handle.

Archive: RCAHMS (intended)

Funder: Heritage Lottery Fund, Highland Leader and Highland Council

AOC Archaeology Group, 2011