Wester Tulloch

At NJ 0838 5602 on a whin covered W-facing slope at the W edge of a field system (NJ05NE 9), is a sub-circular stone-walled enclosure.

It measures c.46.0m E-W by c.43.0m transversely between the centres of a rubble wall spread to c.4.8m all round. In the S arc are several intermittent earthfast stones which appear to be part of an outer wall face, and in the E arc are others of a probable inner wall face. There is no obvious entrance. A slight dip in the wall in the SW may be due to a sheep track which crosses it. The enclosed area is mainly obscured by whins, but contains at least four stony mounds about 3.5m in diameter and c.0.4m in height - probably clearance heaps from the adjacent field system. Around the W arc, about 8.0m in from the wall is a slight curving scarp which may represent an artificial levelling of the central area. Outside the enclosure, a ruinous wall running SW from the SW arc is probably a field wall of the field system. It is too mutilated to ascertain whether it joins the enclosure wall or has been truncated by it.

Surveyed at 1/2500.

Visited by OS (AA) 5 May 1971

NJ 0838 5602 (NJ05NE 10) As part of the Northern Picts project surveys and excavations have been undertaken on a number of enclosed settlements in Moray and Aberdeenshire to help construct regional datasets on the dating of fortified settlement.

In Moray an evaluation, 2–4 May 2017, targeted a bivallate enclosure. The monument consists of a sub-circular stonewalled enclosure located on a W-facing slope and the outer enclosure measures c46m E/W and c43m N/S. Both enclosures are low stone walls. No previous work had been carried out at the site.

A total of 11 test trenches were dug. Many revealed only subsoil below the root mat. Trench 3 revealed the character of the inner enclosure wall which was of rubble construction. Thin occupation charcoal lenses were found in a small number of the interior trenches. Trench 6 near a possible entrance through the inner enclosure identified a possible posthole on the interior side. Trench 8 in the interior revealed a charcoal lens that overlay a shallow pit of posthole.

Radiocarbon dating of select charcoal from interior features is under way.

Archive: University of Aberdeen

Funder: University of Aberdeen

Gordon Noble and Oskar Sveinbjarnarson – University of Aberdeen

(Source: DES, Volume 18)