Bessie Burn

This project is part of the Forestry Commission’s management

strategy as described under Kirkhill Forest, Aberdeen City.

[NJ96NE 3] NJ 0976 6520 Bessie Burn Substantial quarry of unknown

date.

[NJ06NE 4] NJ 0967 6501 Bessie Burn Quarry of unknown date.

[NJ16NW 115] NJ 1016 6533 Bessie Burn An extensive ringwork with

banks of a consistent height and a possible external bank on

its S edge. Although it might have been a viable source of ice

for the nearby ice-house (NJ06NE 1), in the absence of any

evidence of a water-bearing channel the site is presumed to

be a quarry.

[NJ16NW 116] NJ 1028 6526 Bessie Burn An area of c200m in diameter

contains a number of apparently man-made earthen mounds.

Round or slightly elliptical, c1.5m high and 6–9m in diameter

and composed of light, sandy soil with little evidence of

stonework. A line of mounds runs at 340° from NJ 1029

6514 and to the E of these is a level featureless area. Further

undulations were noted to the E and NE of this area. To the

W of the line of mounds some undulations in an area of

uneven ground may be artificial. It is considered that the site

with its well drained soil, confined by a burn and the sea

on two sides is an ideal location for a warren. Placenames

suggest the existence of warrens in similar locations on the E

side of the Spey estuary. The site is less than 3 miles from the

E Grange of Kinloss Abbey and 16th-century rabbit warrens

have been recorded at the Bishop’s Palace at Spynie.

Archive: Aberdeenshire Council SMR and Forestry Commission,

Aberdeenshire

Funder: Moray and Aberdeenshire Forestry Commission