Red Castle

NO 6878 5085 A second season of excavation was carried out on the cropmarks in the field to the S of Red Castle (NMRS NO65SE 18 and NO65SE 19 ). A trench was topsoiled immediately to the N of the area excavated last year (Alexander and Rees 1997) and focused on the remains of a souterrain, of which a side entrance and part of the main passage had been investigated.

The remainder of the fill of the souterrain was completely removed. It was entered through a gently sloping, curving passage from the NW, which contained a layer of clay immediately above its floor, possibly collapsed daub. Artefacts recovered from this entrance area include a large iron handle (possibly from a bucket) and shards from a Roman glass vessel. About 3.8m from the entrance there was a marked step down into the deeper part of the souterrain. This step was flanked by two large posts probably marking a doorway. The souterrain then turned sharply W into the main passage which curved slightly to the NW. This component was approximately 12m long, 1.5m wide and up to 1.4m deep. There were at least four pairs of post-holes along the main part of the passage which appear to have held wood revetting the sides; there was no stone lining. No remains of any above-ground timber structures associated with the souterrain were recovered.

Six burials were also located. Four of these were in sandstone long cists and skeletal material survived in various states of preservation. The other two burials were unlined extended inhumations and only body stains survived. A number of lengths of shallow ditches, possibly the remains of barrows surrounding some of these burials, were identified, along with a scatter of pits, one of which produced a lozenge-shaped flint arrowhead.

A detailed report will be lodged with the NMRS.

Sponsors: Historic Scotland, University of Edinburgh.

D Alexander 1998