Wellhill

NO 02566 15733 The main focus of the SERF prehistoric project moved S from Leadketty across the Dunning Burn to investigate the scheduled pit alignment at Wellhill. The complex of cropmark sites at Leadketty and Baldinnies are inter-visible with the pit alignment. The cropmark record at

Wellhill showed a line of monumental pit features aligned N–S. The investigations at Wellhill were crucial to developing an understanding of the archaeology of Dunning and its place within the wider landscape.

A test pitting programme was undertaken on 14–15 May 2014 to investigate the topsoil in the vicinity of the pit alignment to determine its artefactual sterility or otherwise. The paucity of artefacts recovered determined that there was no impediment to trenches being machine stripped under careful supervision. Concurrently, a gradiometer survey was carried out. Resistivity was not applied due to the underlying soil

conditions producing inconclusive results in previous surveys in this area. The survey was not particularly successful. In the area of the pit alignment there were only subtle slightly positive anomalies; some of these may relate to the pits, which implies that the local background noise from the underlying geology was clouding the magnetometry results even after

initial processing.

Two trenches were machine stripped on 17-18 June 2014. WH14.1 sought to expose the full extent of all of the known features of the pit alignment. WH14.2 centred on a pit/ posthole feature that had been revealed during the test pitting programme. This second trench was opened to determine

whether or not there were any other archaeological features which had not shown up as either cropmarks, or in the initial processing of raw data from the gradiometer survey.

The excavations at Wellhill were carried out between 21 June 2014 and 10 July 2014. During initial cleaning sherds of Early Neolithic and Late Neolithic pottery were recovered from the ground surfaces of both WH14.1 and WH14.2. Linear features cut by ard marks were revealed in both

trenches. The linear feature in WH14.1 was cut by one of the monumental pits in the alignment. These features have been provisionally interpreted as bedding trenches for weak self supporting fence structures. Eight of the nine subcircular monumental pits were excavated; five were half

sectioned and three were quarter sectioned. The maximum length of the sub-circular pits in plan varied from 2.21m to 3.5m; depth 0.68–1.18m. All but one of the pits had been left open. Three pits were sealed with deposits of charcoalrich matrices which included numerous sherds of Early

Neolithic pottery. It is possible that these were quarry pits to provide material for the construction of earthen banks for field boundaries. If so, it should be noted that any evidence of these banks must have been ploughed away. A cluster of Late Neolithic features was revealed. Sherds of grooved ware and impressed ware were recovered from a decommissioned posthole and three inter-cutting pits.

The precise phasing of the events at Wellhill should be established following the completion of post-excavation tasks.

Archive: University of Glasgow and RCAHMS (intended)

Funder: Historic Scotland and University of Glasgow

Dene Wright – University of Glasgow

(Source: DES)

NO 02566 15733 Magnetometry.

Archive: University of Glasgow and RCAHMS (intended)

Funder: Historic Scotland and University of Glasgow

Dene Wright – University of Glasgow

(Source: DES)