Black Spout
Hearth (Period Unassigned), Settlement (Period Unassigned), Rotary Quern
Site Name Black Spout
Classification Hearth (Period Unassigned), Settlement (Period Unassigned), Rotary Quern
Alternative Name(s) Aldour Quarry
Canmore ID 26267
Site Number NN95NE 3
NGR NN 9523 5768
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/26267
- Council Perth And Kinross
- Parish Moulin
- Former Region Tayside
- Former District Perth And Kinross
- Former County Perthshire
NN95NE 3 9523 5768.
At Edradour, on the top of a steep den, are the remains of a circular building, 60' in diameter internally with walls about 8' thick, called the Black Castle. It is supposed to date from Edward I's reign.
T Pennant 1776.
(Area: NN 953 577) This fort is about 150 yards below the Black Spout waterfall and on the top of a steep bank over-looking the burn. The path passes through, and has partly destroyed, the NW side. Some of the stones on the side nearest the burn have been removed but the circle is quite apparent.
J H Dixon 1925.
NN 9523 5768. The "circular building" erroneously called a fort by Dixon, is in fact the remains of a homestead (c/f NN44SE 7).
Only the S half survives, as a stone wall c.2.7m thick with an outer face four courses high in the SW. The remainder of the wall and much of the interior has been destroyed by quarrying. It is probable that the original diameter of the homestead was c.27.0m when complete.
Surveyed at 1:2500.
Visited by OS (S F S) 30 January 1975.
NN 952 576 Iron Age homestead. A community archaeology project in May and June 2005, carried out as part of Perthshire Archaoelogy Week, involved two evaluation trenches through a later Iron Age homestead (NN95NE 3) in Black Spout Wood, to the E of Pitlochry. The site consists of a circular banked enclosure, c 20m in diameter; two trenches were opened in order to discover the nature of the enclosure wall and assess tree root damage. The first trench (8x3m), within the enclosure, revealed considerable tree root disturbance, although a cobbled surface was recorded.
The second trench (23 x 3m) was cut from the centre of the homestead and ran E across the enclosure bank. This revealed a stone-built wall, c 2.5m thick, with an external elevation made up of large boulders, with small packing stones in between, and a very different internal elevation made up of smaller blocks of coursed local stone with smaller pointing stones. A noticeable shelf was built into the interior wall.
A second season is planned for 2006 to excavate the interior of the enclosure and confirm whether or not the enclosure wall is surrounded by an external ditch.
Archive to be deposited in NMRS.
Sponsor: Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust.
D Strachan and S Winlow 2005
NN 952 576 A second season of a community archaeology project was carried out in the Black Spout Wood, Pitlochry, as part of Perthshire Archaeology Month in June 2006 (see DES 2005, 117). The remains of the homestead (NN95NE3) consist of a roughly circular enclosure some 20m in diameter defined by a dry stone wall. Trench 2 was extended to reveal the interior of the homestead and expose the W wall. A small ditch, probably for drainage, was excavated on the outside of the E wall of the homestead.
The rubble tumble from the homestead walls was removed to reveal an interior heavily disturbed by tree-roots, but these deposits produced fragments of rotary querns, loom weights and a glass toggle, or pendant, made of re-used Roman glass.
The W wall was found to be 2.5m thick and constructed of rubble between two faces, like the E wall. Diffences in the construction of the interior and exterior wall faces were noted. The interior elevation survived to a maximum height of 0.7m and consisted of large boulder footings and coursed masonry. The exterior elevation survives with a height of over 1.5m of coursed masonry. The lower courses of masonry were not exposed due the difficulty of excavation near the edge of the gorge of Edradour Burn.
Archive to be deposited in the NMRS.
Sponsor: Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust.
D Strachan, S Winlow and L Farquharson, 2006.
Field Visit (18 October 1942)
This site was included within the RCAHMS Emergency Survey (1942-3), an unpublished rescue project. Site descriptions, organised by county, vary from short notes to lengthy and full descriptions and are available to view online with contemporary sketches and photographs. The original typescripts, manuscripts, notebooks and photographs can also be consulted in the RCAHMS Search Room.
Information from RCAHMS (GFG) 10 December 2014.
Excavation (2006)
NN 952 576 A second season of a community archaeology project was carried out in the Black Spout Wood, Pitlochry, as part of Perthshire Archaeology Month in June 2006 (see DES 2005, 117). The remains of the homestead (NN95NE3) consist of a roughly circular enclosure some 20m in diameter defined by a dry stone wall. Trench 2 was extended to reveal the interior of the homestead and expose the W wall. A small ditch, probably for drainage, was excavated on the outside of the E wall of the homestead.
The rubble tumble from the homestead walls was removed to reveal an interior heavily disturbed by tree-roots, but these deposits produced fragments of rotary querns, loom weights and a glass toggle, or pendant, made of re-used Roman glass.
The W wall was found to be 2.5m thick and constructed of rubble between two faces, like the E wall. Diffences in the construction of the interior and exterior wall faces were noted. The interior elevation survived to a maximum height of 0.7m and consisted of large boulder footings and coursed masonry. The exterior elevation survives with a height of over 1.5m of coursed masonry. The lower courses of masonry were not exposed due the difficulty of excavation near the edge of the gorge of Edradour Burn.
Archive to be deposited in the NMRS.
Sponsor: Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust.
D Strachan, S Winlow and L Farquharson 2006
Excavation (June 2007)
NN 9523 5768 A third season of a community archaeology project was carried out in the Black Spout Wood, Pitlochry, as part of Perthshire Archaeology Month in June 2007 (see DES 2005 and 2006). The excavations concentrated on the recording of a second section of the homestead (NN95NE3) wall and on the location of the entrance. This revealed that the enclosure wall varied in thickness from 1.75m to 3.15m and while the
interior of the enclosure is circular, with a diameter of 16.8m, the wall thickens on the exterior downslope towards the likely entrance.
Archive deposited with RCAHMS.
Funder: Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust.
Excavation (14 June 2008 - 28 June 2008)
NN 9523 5768 A fourth season of a community archaeology project was carried out, 14–28 June 2008, as part of Perthshire Archaeology Month (see DES 2005, 2006 and 2007). The excavations concentrated on the W wall of the homestead, revealing for the first time an unusual entrance, around 1.3m in width and including a recess in the S elevation. The enclosure wall at the entrance was found to be around 3.15m thick. Outside the entrance a massive lintel, over 2m long and nearly 1m wide, was found. Further excavation of the central area of the homestead revealed a series of ill-defined hearths and a roughly centrally positioned hole, around 200mm in diameter and cut 300mm deep into the bedrock.
Radiocarbon dates from samples recovered in previous years have dated the earliest deposits to 350–50 BC (SUERC19150) and 360–100 BC (SUERC19154) at 95.4% probability. A further date from later deposits produced a date of AD 1040 – 1220 (SUERC19149) at 95.4% probability.
Archive: RCAHMS
Funder: Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust
David Strachan and Sarah Winlow (Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust), 2008
Excavation (1 June 2009 - 20 June 2009)
NN 9523 5768 A fifth and final season of a community archaeology project was carried out, 1–20 June 2009, as part of Perthshire Archaeology Month (see DES 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008). The excavations concentrated on the entrance of the homestead and the c3m wide wall on the W of the enclosure. This revealed an intra-mural chamber and showed that the entrance had been largely remodelled at some point, possibly following a collapse of the wall around the intramural chamber. The upper rider of a rotary quern, built into the flooring material outside the entrance to the chamber, had a small stone lid covering its funnel, which contained
charred material. A small hearth on the inside wall beside the entrance produced bone and an iron object. In addition, excavation at the wall on the E side of the enclosure revealed a continuation of the scarcement ledge identified in 2005 and 2006. Post-excavation will involve further radiocarbon dating and specialist reports leading to a final publication.
Archive: RCAHMS
Funder: Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust
David Strachan and Sarah Winlow – Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust
