Waulkmill

NJ 4753 0499 Work was undertaken 15–29 September 2012 to relocate a stone circle levelled by a farmer in the early 19th century and to compare its plan with that of its neighbour, Tomnaverie, which was excavated and restored in 1999 and 2000.

Approximately 30% of the 16m diameter circle fell within the excavated area. The estimated 12–14 monoliths had been built flush with its outer kerb, which formed the outer edge of a ring cairn with an open court at its centre. Unlike Tomnaverie, this monument was not a recumbent stone circle. There was no direct dating evidence, but a pit dug into the centre of the court contained a quantity of cremated bone whose position was marked by a setting of rounded pebbles. An unurned cremation burial was also found a short distance outside the monument.

The site had been occupied during the Neolithic period, and a pit containing sherds of Carinated Bowl was identified. It was used again during the Iron Age. In 1898 a grave containing a penannular brooch and a set of gaming pieces was discovered in a quarry 350m from the stone circle. The grave dated to the 2nd or 3rd century AD. Other artefacts from the same area may have been associated with this burial or with further burials. In 2012, a similar grave was recorded just outside the monument. It had almost exactly the same contents. A second grave was beside one of the monoliths. It contained two bronze rings and a cow’s jaw. In this case traces of a wooden coffin were recorded. No human bones survived. Viewed in conjunction with the 19th-century discoveries, it suggests that the stone circle provided the focus for a large and unusual cemetery.

Archive: RCAHMS (intended)

Funder: Reading University, with help in kind from the McRobert Trust

Richard Bradley and Amanda Clarke , Reading University 2012