Accessibility

Font Size

100% 150% 200%

Background Colour

Default Contrast
Close Reset

Excavation

Date 15 June 2013 - 5 July 2013

Event ID 994117

Category Recording

Type Excavation

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/994117

NN 97604 12714 An investigation consisting of two excavation trenches and a small area geophysical survey was undertaken at Kay Craig, 15 June – 5 July 2013. One excavation trench was positioned to explore the outer bank and inner hollow. The outer bank, which encircles the SW side of the hill, was 1.2m high and composed of a series of earthen deposits faced with stone. The mixture of material used in its construction points to a variety of sources and at least two construction phases were recorded. The lower portion of the bank was composed of several discrete dumps, which appeared to contain occupation debris. The source of this material is unknown. It is possible that the lower deposits formed an early earthen bank, which was subsequently rebuilt with stone facings.

A hollow to the E of the bank was probably a natural feature which was augmented by quarrying along its W and SW edge. The quarrying created a vertical edge with a substantial drop behind the bank. The uneven quarried edge was then infilled to form a relatively flat face and the hollow partially infilled with stone, some of which may have been rubble from the structure on the summit of the hill. The upper stone fill formed a roughly level surface and may have acted as a courtyard for keeping animals. Fragments of pottery from this phase of infilling have been initially identified as medieval. A more recent latrine pit was cut into the upper stone fill of the hollow.

The second trench explored a poorly preserved circular structure on the summit of Kay Craig. The surviving basal course of a c1.5m wide wall was recorded and the arc of the wall suggested the structure would have been c11m in diameter. Large boulders, which formed the second course of the wall, at the NW end of the trench were different in character to those forming the basal course. The boulders may represent a second phase of building and suggest multiple phases of occupation. The disturbed traces of occupation recorded inside the structure included a hearth setting, with fragments of metalworking debris surrounding it, a whetstone and an unfired clay loom weight. Only ephemeral traces of occupation prior to the construction of the structure were recorded.

The excavation recorded an outer stone wall built along the mid-slope of the hill, generally concentric to the circular structure on the summit. This outer wall, which incorporated outcrops of bedrock, would have formed a coherent boundary and provided an additional defensive barrier.

A limited geophysical survey was undertaken of the areas surrounding the excavation. The results characterised the magnetism of the outer bank and several anomalies were recorded on a terraced area to the NW of the summit.

Archive: University of Glasgow and RCAHMS (intended)

Funder: Historic Scotland and University of Glasgow

Tessa Poller, University of Glasgow, 2013

(Source: DES)

People and Organisations

References