Kinross, Lethangie Farm

NO 117 035 An archaeological evaluation was carried out in July 2006 at a greenfield site by Lethangie Farm, Kinross, in advance of development for the new Kinross High School. The Terms of Reference issued by Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust required a 5% evaluation of the development area. The area was considered to be archaeologically sensitive because it included a scheduled ancient monument (SAM 7614) representing the remains of prehistoric settlement. Sixty-four 40m evaluation trenches were excavated and recorded. In addition three smaller trenches were opened in the area around Trench 26 to trace the line of several features. The evaluation produced significant archaeological evidence in the form a large enclosure ditch located to the SE of the scheduled area. A single sherd of medieval pottery was recovered from the upper backfill of this ditch, but the position of this find high in the stratigraphy renders a date based on this find alone quite suspect. The feature could easily belong to the prehistoric period which is the preferred interpretation of the scheduled cropmark site. A number of features were also identified in the NW corner of the development area. This comprised a line of postholes, a hearth and several other potentially prehistoric features.

Archive deposited with NMRS.

Sponsor: Laing O'Rourke Scotland Ltd

G Brown 2006

NO 117 035 (centred on) Work was carried out on the site of a new school on a greenfield site consisting of two fields covering 13.7ha. A scheduled ancient monument (7614), an enclosed settlement of prehistoric date containing enclosure ditches and pits, lies in the S field of the development. An evaluation in July 2006 revealed a large ditch-like feature in the S field and a hearth, postholes and linear feature in the N field.

Excavations were undertaken 9 March–23 April 2007. A large open area and trenches in the S field were opened up to further investigate and record the ditch feature revealed in the evaluation. The work revealed that the supposed ditch feature was in fact a medieval pit, most probably a corn-drying kiln, deeply cut into natural sands and gravels.

A large area in the N field was excavated and four phases of activity were recognized; Neolithic, early medieval,

medieval and modern. Most of the features were assigned to the medieval period. The features included a sub-circular enclosure ditch, part of a possible rectilinear building, kilns, postholes, narrow linear cuts and medieval rig and furrow.

Some of these features were dated by radiocarbon dating and some from medieval pottery recovered from their fills. The majority of the features in the N field were associated with land use during the medieval period although positive dates were not obtained for all of them. Earlier activity was indicated by three later Neolithic flints and an early medieval grain drying kiln.

The results indicate that the areas excavated combined with the SAM settlement constitute ‘favoured sites’ with continuity of occupation extending from the later Neolithic, through the early medieval period and into the medieval and modern periods. The evidence of early medieval activity was of particular interest because little has previously been identified. Features representing medieval rural settlement were also significant, recognition of activity of this nature in the archaeological record is becoming more common in lowland Scotland.

Archive: RCAHMS

Funder: Laing O’Rourke Scotland Ltd

Ray Cachart (SUAT Ltd), 2008