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Dean's Park

Linear Feature(S) (Period Unassigned), Ring Ditch (Period Unassigned), Structure(S) (Period Unassigned)

Site Name Dean's Park

Classification Linear Feature(S) (Period Unassigned), Ring Ditch (Period Unassigned), Structure(S) (Period Unassigned)

Canmore ID 367950

Site Number NH78NE 120

NGR NH 79134 89414

Datum OSGB36 - NGR

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/367950

Ordnance Survey licence number AC0000807262. All rights reserved.
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Administrative Areas

  • Council Highland
  • Parish Dornoch
  • Former Region Highland
  • Former District Sutherland
  • Former County Sutherland

Activities

Watching Brief (19 November 2018 - 27 November 2018)

NH 79134 89414 A watching brief was carried out, 19-27 November 2018, in advance of the construction of housing development. In 2008 Alba Archaeology undertook a trial trench evaluation and a desk-based assessment. This work uncovered a range of archaeological features, including ditches and a ring ditch, which were recorded as a prehistoric burial enclosure.

The 2018 watching brief in one area of the 2008 site uncovered a ring ditch and three pit defined circular structures, as well as three linear ditches. The ring ditch was smaller than the one uncovered in 2008. The shape and size of the cuts of the pit-defined structures suggest that they once held cut planks rather than split or whole timbers, which suggests a form related to early historic or later dates. The finds from the features include charcoal and slag. No interior features were identified in any of the circular structures, therefore no clear conclusion about the function of them has been made. A post medieval boundary ditch running N-S across the site, was removed during the works.

Archive: NRHE

Funder: Pat Munro (Alness) Ltd

Leonie Teufel - AOC Archaeology

(Source: DES Vol 20)

Excavation (2018)

NH 79134 89414 A program of post-excavation analyses was undertaken on the archaeological features excavated during a watching brief carried out at Dean’s Park Dornoch in 2018.

The post-excavation analyses identified that the site was heavily disturbed but likely was a Bronze Age funerary landscape with a possible later phase of Iron Age activity. Evidence for post-medieval agricultural activity was evident through several drainage ditches marking field boundaries evident on OS mapping, this activity has likely led to the disturbance of earlier remains on site.

The Bronze Age funerary landscape was made up of a small and very shallow ring ditch structure with no internal burial surviving. A very similar structure was identified 50m S in 2008 during the evaluation of the area indicating it is not an isolated feature.

Additional prehistoric archaeology comprised three pit-defined round structures. These structures are similar in diameter to the ring ditches and could represent very truncated remains of once complete ring ditches, they do not have an entrance and are very shallow. The soil samples showed that these features were very disturbed and suggested that the fill of the features was likely made up of intrusive material including metal objects and some glass. Two radiocarbon dates were obtained from a very limited environmental assemblage, one was modern and the other was Iron Age. The exact function and date of these pit defined round

structures could not be definitely identified due to their truncated nature, but it is possible that they are small workshop structures or possibly even truncated barrows.

Archive: NRHE

Funder: Pat Munro (Alness) Ltd

Leonie Teufel – AOC Archaeology Group

(Source: DES Volume 23)

References

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