Kingston Common

NT58SW 152 centred 5438 8225

Location formerly cited as NT c. 544 823

NT 544 823 A machine-excavated trench to supply water to the newly refurbished Fenton Tower (NT58SW 10) was found to have cut through a total of 21 long cist graves, containing individual extended inhumations, part of a previously unknown cemetery on the summit of a low hill at Kingston. A programme of trial trenching was undertaken with a coverage of 64.4m2: this revealed an additional 22 graves. Within this number, two short cists of probable Bronze Age date were located away and to the E of the main group of burials. These were sealed under a buried soil containing Cord Impressed Ware, hammerstones and lithics.

The main group of burials included both dug graves and stone-lined long cists, some with and some without capstones. Iron nails were recovered from the surface of one of the graves without capstones. No graves were excavated entirely, although samples of bone were taken from the exposed graves in the water pipe trench for potential radiocarbon dating.

Possible traces of a small building were found on the summit of the knoll. The elongated summit is rocky and the graves were seen to be densely grouped in areas of deeper topsoil; however in places, rotten bedrock had allowed graves to be positioned under very shallow topsoil. In most instances the graves were aligned NE-SW or E-W, although one severely damaged example appeared to be aligned N-S. Some of the stones used in the formation of the burials had clearly come from the vicinity but others were of a geology not found on the site. Both fine-grained sandstone and 'Rattlebag', an igneous rock quarried until recently at East Fenton, 2km E of Kingston Common, were represented.

A comprehensive contour survey was completed covering the area of the graves. Also surveyed were modern field walls, one of which incorporates a 'Maltese Cross' (PSAS 1906-7, 433) and two quarries, one modern and one seemingly used to extract stone for use in Fenton Tower. Early Christian long cist cemeteries predominate in the E of Scotland, and in that context this relatively undisturbed site is an important addition to the distribution map.

The medieval pottery recovered from the topsoil dates to between the 12th and 14th centuries. The absence of post-medieval pottery from the area suggests that the church had fallen out of use prior to the construction of Fenton Tower in 1577.

Report to be lodged with the NMRS.

Sponsor: Historic Scotland

I Suddaby 2001.

Scheduled as Kingston Hill, multiperiod cemetery.

[Location amended to centred NT 5438 8225 on basis of map attached to scheduling document].

Information from Historic Scotland, scheduling document dated 20 January 2003.