Tarradale Archaeological Project Geophysical and Walkover Survey

Date 2013

Event ID 994015

Category Project

Type Project

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/994015

NH 54 48, NH 54 49, NH 55 48 and NH 55 49 The Tarradale Archaeological Project (an approved NOSAS project) continued in 2013. Fieldwalking in the fields to the E, W and N of Tarradale House produced almost 300 lithic finds, mainly flint, and many of them of microlithic size, making the total recorded to over 500 lithics. The majority of the lithic finds can be classified as debitage but there are a number of reworked flakes, end scrapers and side scrapers. All lithic finds are plotted by GPS and analysis of the mapped distribution shows a distinct concentration along an abandoned shoreline 10–15m above current OD and up to 200m inland from the Beauly Firth. This distribution also includes the inferred sites of seven shell middens identified from the presence of marine mollusc shells in the ploughsoil. In 2011 test pitting at the site of a spread of recently ploughed up marine molluscs demonstrated the existence of a very large shell midden, which also contained pieces of bone and antler. Radiocarbon dates for these were obtained in 2013 (courtesy of the University of Aberdeen) and dated the shell midden to the seventh millennium BC (hazel charcoal was dated to 6632–6480 cal BC and antler to 6204–6005 cal BC, both at 95.4% probability). Other lithic finds from fieldwalking in 2013 included a fine leaf-shaped arrowhead, a triangular arrowhead and a tanged and barbed arrowhead. Fieldwalking on the site of the inferred Tarradale Castle produced further eroded sherds of medieval pottery, iron nails and animal food wastes.

In February 2013 the University of Aberdeen carried out a geophysical survey in a field where aerial photographs strongly suggest the presence of a barrow cemetery, with both round- and square-ditched barrows (centred on NH 5485 4890). This investigation included magnetic susceptibility of the wider area of the cemetery, with results suggesting that some barrows identifiable in earlier aerial photographs may no longer survive under the eroding ploughsoil. A resisitivity survey of a smaller area in a more favourable location showed the presence of at least one square barrow.

Archive: Highland HER, local library and RCAHMS (intended)

Funder: NOSAS (in kind) and University of Aberdeen

Eric Grant, Tarradale Archaeological Project, 2013

(Source: DES)

2013