Lair

NO16SW 49 1387 6376.

The remains of this ring-cairn are situated on a low heather-covered knoll some 500m NW of Lair cottage; it lies on the edge of a narrow terrace overlooking lower ground to the S and W, but is itself overlooked from the N and E. The cairn is circular on plan and measures 15m in diameter over a kerb of boulders; there has been robbing on the NW for an adjacent building (NO16SW 48) but at least twenty-six stones (up to 1.2m in length) survive in situ. At least another eleven have fallen out of position and the average height of the cairn material is about 0.3m-0.4m. The inner court of the cairn is poorly preserved with only one boulder (1.4m long and 0.7m high) on the W in situ; several other boulders lie out of position and there are surface indications that the cairn has at some time been excavated. Eccentric to the outer kerb, the inner court has measured about 4m-4.2m in diameter.

Visited by RCAHMS (JRS) 1 October 1987.

RCAHMS 1990

RCAHMS surveyed Lair ring-cairn by alidade and plane-table on 1 October 1987 at a scale of 1:125. The resultant plan was redrawn in ink and published at a scale of 1:250 (RCAHMS 1990, Fig. 2).

NO 1390 6370 A magnetic survey was carried out, 16 December 2011 – 5 November 2012, to provide a broad context for the excavations at Lair being conducted by Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust. The area has been occupied repeatedly, possibly from as early as the Neolithic. An area of c3ha has been covered so far but much of the site is in deep heather and progress is slow. A wide variety of magnetic features have been mapped.

Archive: Perth and Kinross SMR and RCAHMS ( intended)

Funder: Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust

Peter Morris, Blairgowrie Geoscience, 2012

(Source: DES)

NO 1387 6376 The second field season of this project continued researching the prehistoric and early medieval archaeology of Glenshee for the benefit of both residents and visitors to the area.

The 7–30 June 2013 season focused on the excavation of two trenches, both over potential medieval ‘Pitcarmick’ type buildings. The buildings consisted of two SE to NW orientated rectangular structures that were defined by turf banks previously identified by the RCAHMS. They lay end to end and were next to, and aligned with, a prehistoric ring cairn. Further potential archaeology visible on the surface to the SE of the 'Pitcarmick' buildings was also trial trenched, primarily to ascertain if they were archaeological in origin.

One of the main excavation trenches encompassed the NW half of the smaller SE-most turf longhouse while the other was located over a section of defining turf bank on the NE side of the NW-most turf longhouse. Underneath the collapsed turf walls of the smaller structure a huge concentration of stone was revealed possibly relating to a stone foundation. At the base of both trenches a series of postholes and pits were uncovered. These may form part of a timber structure relating to the turf longhouses or form part of earlier prehistoric activity, which is known to have occurred here, and is visible in the form of the nearby ring cairn and roundhouses. A number of iron artefacts were recovered from both trenches.

The smaller trenches over features to the SE of the turf longhouses revealed a series of likely clearance cairns, a stone defined circular structure and a possible routeway.

Archive: RCAHMS (intended)

Funder: Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust, Cairngorms National Park, Heritage Lottery Fund, the Gannochy Trust, the Hunter Archaeological and Historical Trust, Friends of Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust and Aviva

David Strachan, Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust and David Sneddon, Northlight Heritage, 2013

(Source: DES)

NO 1387 6376 The third field season of fieldwork, 6–28 June 2014, saw the excavation of the SE half of a turf longhouse located directly beside a kerb cairn, the other half of which was excavated in 2013 (DES 2013, 157). This confirmed that the SE gable of the building had borrowed stone from the kerb of the cairn, probably in two phases. Very good preservation of turf

material was also identified here, likely due to limited ploughing around the large reused kerb stones. In addition, two smaller buildings, downslope of the kerb cairn, were explored along with their associated enclosures. The buildings were shown to have relatively well preserved low lying stone walls on top of which turf courses would have sat. A third possible building

was also investigated which had been heavily disturbed by a trackway, still currently in use for vehicle access. A series of further samples for radiocarbon dating have been recovered which will improve our understanding of early medieval turf longhouses in the area. In addition, the environmental context to the site has been revealed through a pollen study of nearby peat (University of Stirling).

Archive: RCAHMS (intended)

Funder: Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust, Cairngorms National Park, Heritage Lottery Fund, the Gannochy Trust, the Hunter Archaeological and Historical Trust and Historic Scotland

David Strachan and David Sneddon – Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust and Northlight Heritage

(Source: DES)

NO 1387 6376 The fourth season of fieldwork, 6–13 June 2015, saw excavation of a series of evaluation trenches over a complex of at least three adjacent longhouses located to the E of a ring cairn and two other longhouses that formed the focus of excavations over 2012–14. The complex exhibits many of the characteristics of the classic ‘Pitcarmick type’ with rounded ends, an external oval enclosure attached to one external wall and signs of at least some slightly sunken internal areas. A total of six trenches were opened and these focused on evaluating the character and preservation of the building walls and internal areas. Trenches also evaluated the oval enclosure attached to the SW side of one longhouse and the external area to the S of the longhouses. The walls of the structures appeared, in general, to be constructed from a combination of turf and stone, although well preserved turf layers in the wall of the

northernmost building appear to show a wall composed of an inner and outer skin of turf with an earthen core. A series of internal features and deposits were also uncovered including substantial layers of stone work in the centre of one of the buildings, postholes and burnt layers. One of the most distinctive features encountered was a substantial pit in the centre of the oval enclosure containing a series of distinctive fills, including turf layers. Artefacts recovered included fragments of flint, corroded iron pieces, small pottery fragments and a spindle whorl with incised markings. A series of samples have been recovered for radiocarbon dating which will improve our understanding of early medieval turf longhouses in the area.

Archive: National Record of the Historic Environment (NRHE)

Funder: The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, The Gannochy Trust and Historic Scotland Glenshee

David Strachan and David Sneddon – Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust and Northlight Heritage

(Source: DES, Volume 16)

NO 1387 6376 A fifth season of fieldwork, 2–21 June 2016, saw excavation of a single large trench over one of a complex of three adjacent longhouses that had previously been evaluated in 2015. The building exhibited many of the characteristics of the classic ‘Pitcarmick type’ with rounded ends, an external oval enclosure attached to one external wall and signs of a sunken internal area. The trench was opened over the western internal area of the westernmost longhouse and the internal area of the oval enclosure attached to its SW side. In addition to the large central pit uncovered in 2015, a further three large pits and one smaller pit were uncovered within this enclosure. Finds from here included a small broken whetstone and a large fragment of a circular grinding/sharpening stone. Excavation of the internal area of the adjacent longhouse revealed a central stone-built hearth which was situated on a sloping floor with the highest point at the SW end of the longhouse. Stone had been used to infill a sunken area at the lower NE end of the trench (roughly corresponding to the middle of the longhouse) resulting in a raised stone floor. A series of stakeholes were located beneath the edges of the raised stone floor. Significant finds included a large iron hook from next to the hearth and an iron spike from within the hearth. A series of samples have been recovered for radiocarbon dating, which will improve our understanding of early medieval turf longhouses in the area.

Archive: NRHE (intended)

Funder: Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust, The Gannochy Trust, Historic Environment Scotland

David Strachan and David Sneddon – Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust and Northlight Heritage

(Source: DES, Volume 17)

NO 1387 6376 A sixth season of fieldwork, 6–17 June 2017, saw the continued excavation of two longhouses. Two trenches were opened over a longhouse previously investigated in 2015 and 2016 (Building 3) while three trenches were opened over a longhouse located further downslope which was previously investigated in 2014 (Building 7).

Building 3 exhibited many of the characteristics of the classic ‘Pitcarmick type’ with rounded ends, an external oval enclosure attached to one external wall and signs of a sunken internal area. The trenches were opened over the western internal area of Building 3 and the internal area of the oval enclosure attached to its SW side in order to continue excavation started in 2016 and to explore a possible entrance location. A large pit was excavated within the external enclosure which contained numerous pieces of animal bone in the upper fill and an iron pin/nail in the primary fill. Excavation within the main longhouse recorded a large but shallow cut for the central hearth, a series of stake and postholes along with evidence for two phased entrances one of which comprised a series of stone steps leading down into the partially sunken portion of the building. Significant artefacts recovered included a series of iron objects and a heavily worn grinding/sharpening stone with offset hole.

Excavation of trenches over Building 7 revealed several sections of a low lying double skinned stone wall with an earth and stone core. The wall had curved ends while collapsed material indicated the in situ wall would originally have had an upper part constructed of turf and stone. The internal area of the building was relatively sterile with no clear occupation surface although traces of trampling were present. The absence of artefacts and the lack of internal occupation features or deposits within Building 7 suggest it may not have been a dwelling but could have served as a store or barn.

Archive: NRHE (intended)

Funder: Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust, Historic Environment Scotland and The Strathmartine Trust

David Strachan and David Sneddon – Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust and Northlight Heritage

(Source: DES, Volume 18)

Title: Early Medieval Settlement in Upland Perthshire: Excavations at Lair, Glen Shee 2012-17

ISBN: Hardback 09781789693157, Digital 9781789693164

Author: Strachan, David; Sneddon, David; Tipping, Richard

Publisher: Archaeopress, Bicester

Date: 2019

MCE (2024): Reviewed as part of the GAPR. Publication was completed in 2019. Open Access publication with Archaeopress (https://www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress/Products/9781789693157). Publication grant-aided by HES.