Ormiston Farm

NO21NW 70 23775 17027.

'Situated on an E-facing, slightly raised spur of a NW-SE aligned ridge at a height of 168m OD, this site was badly disturbed by the plough. Excavation of part of the site revealed that the wall of the hut consisted of a rubble core supported by low, outer and inner retaining walls of large igneous boulders. The hut was 12m in external diameter with the wall averaging 1.5m in thickness. The entrance, situated in the SE, was 0.75m wide and the outer half of the 2m long passage was paved. No internal features were noted but over 50 sherds of coarse pottery representing possibly two vessels were recovered from inside the hut and from beneath tumble outside the entrance. Outside the E side of the hut a perforated, baked clay object, possibly a loom-weight was found. Joined on the S side of the structure, immediately W of the entrance, was a 30m stretch of ruined dry-stone walling aligned in a NW-SE direction. Another length of walling, also aligned NW-SE possibly joined on to the SW of the hut but details of this feature were masked by an overlying area of ridge and furrow cultivation. This area measured 30m NE-SW by 40m transversely across four rigs.'

J Sherriff 1979.

'The excavation of the hut-circle was completed with no internal features being noted. A post-hole beneath the hut-circle wall was associated with an occupation layer containing sherds of at least six different pottery vessels, including three flat-rimmed ware types and three with internal bevels. The evidence suggests that a small timber hut about 5m in diameter immediately preceded the building of the stone structure. Charcoal samples from the post-hole will provide an assessment of date for both the small timber hut and the pottery assemblage.'

J Sherriff 1980.

Radiocarbon date of 985 +/- 60 BC (GU-1669) from charcoal in posthole found in 1980 excavation. Remains of field-walls abut onto hut-circle.

J Sherriff 1989.