Benbecula Aerodrome

Earth-house, Bruthach a Tuath, Balivanich.

About 1 mile north-north-east of Balivanich, on the edge of a grassy machair, is a mound of sand some 13 feet high with a layer of kitchen midden refuse scattered over its summit and sides. On the western slope of the mound is a quantity of dislodged stones, with what appear to be the outward ends of two walls radiating from the interior of the mound. Running north and south are two parallel lines of stone peeping through the sand, about 2 feet 6 inches apart, extending for a distance of some 18 feet, which are suggestive of an entrance passage into the building. The scanty fragments of building exposed seem to indicate the presence of a circular earth-house with the interior divided into compartments by walls arranged like the spokes of a wheel, of the type occurring in North Uist (RCAHMS 1928, xlii). Hand-made pottery, animal bones, whelk and limpet shells, also an occasional pecten and razor-fish, pins of bone and bronze, fire-places, hammer stones have been found here.

RCAHMS 1928, visited 12 July 1915.

OS map: South Uist xlvi (unnoted).

A rescue excavation was undertaken at this site in 1956 as part of the response funded by the Ministry of Works (through Stewart Cruden and Roy Ritchie) to the development of the Hebrides Inter-Services Missile Testing Range.

(NF 7872 5673) Remains of a wheelhouse excavated in 1956.

Information from R Ritchie, Asst. Inspector, MoPBW to OS, 20 April 1965.

NF75NE 1 7870 5661.

(Area: NF 787 564). An excavation was carried out in 1956 for the Ministry of Works, at a 'site, situated at Bruach Ban on the airfield at Benbecula, (which) proved to be complex, with the remains of at least four structures, of which two were aisled roundhouses, with considerable secondary occupation. The finds consisted of pottery , an upper rotary quern stone and other stone implements, as well as tools of bone and antler: food refuse, chiefly in the form of bones and sea shells, was abundant. The pottery showed that the site was of the stone roundhouse culture, and probably to be assigned to the early centuries of the Christian era' (J G Scott 1956).

The Inventory (RCAHMS 1928) records an earth-house at Bruthach a Tuath (now part of the airfield) but describes a wheelhouse, while Lethbridge (T C Lethbridge 1952 and 1928) illustrates pins of bone, iron and bronze, from the midden of a wheelhouse at the same place, which were donated to the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland (NMAS). (PSAS 1961) He dates the bronze and iron pins to c 3rd century AD. (T C Lethbridge 1928) Other objects (bone, horn, hammer-stone, pottery) "found beside a ruined earth house," in a sand dune at Bruthach a Tuath were donated by Eric Gardner MB, FSA. (PSAS 1930) and J Graham Callander (PSAS 1916). A midden on a second mound, Bruthach Mor, is dated by a buckle to the medieval period (T C Lethbridge 1928)

Information from OS Archaeology Division 23 February 1965

Sources: J G Scott 1956; RCAHMS 1928; T C Lethbridge 1928 and 1952; Proc Soc Antiq Scot 1916, 1930 and 1961.

The remains of the wheelhouse and associated structures at NF 7870 5661 are now almost completely covered by sand, making it impossible to determine their shapes or size. There are numerous middens in the area but the midden at Bruthach Mor has been completely destroyed by the construction of the runways.

Surveyed at 1:2500.

Visited by OS (R D), 28 May 1965.

NF75 1 BRUTHACH A' TUATH ('Bruach Ban 2', 'Benbecula Aerodrome 2')

NF/7870 5661

This site in Benbecula is a dug-out, probably aisled wheelhouse with souterrain attached, which was excavated in two stages in 1956 – first by J C Wallace and then by Mr and Mrs J G Scott. The house was then destroyed during the later stages of the construction of Benbecula aerodrome [3]. The only published account of the work is Armit's [9] which is based on information supplied by Scott. The finds from the Scotts’ excavation are in the Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow (where the excavator worked for many years. His account of the excavation has not yet been traced). Those made by Wallace – as well as by Lethbridge much earlier – are in the National Museums in Edinburgh (see below under ‘Finds’). This site is an interesting one and it is regrettable that it was almost completely destroyed even before the limited excavations began.

1. Introduction

The site was originally identified in 1915 at a point about a mile north-north-east of Balivanich, and was a mound of sand on the machair, some 3.97m (13 ft) high, with “kitchen midden refuse” scattered on the summit. Traces of masonry suggested the existence of a wheelhouse. Subsequently Lethbridge illustrated pins of bone, iron and bronze from a midden presumably at the same place (or at NF75 2, below) [4, fig. 5, nos. 1-5: 6].

The 1956 excavations were rescue operations, financed by the then Ministry of Works, to explore archaeological sites which were to be destroyed during preparations for the South Uist rocket range. Bulldozing of the mound had already removed most of it when the work started (see NF75 2). J C Wallace left a typescript account of his excavation in the Hunterian Museum of which the following section is a summary. This was intended for publication in the then Glasgow Archaeological Journal. The author saw a section drawing but Mr Wallace, while leaving the typescript, took the drawing away for amendment. It was never sent in again, and the article remained unpublished. A letter from Jack Scott to the author in 1990 explains that Wallace had completed his two weeks of work on the site, and had left the island, before the Scotts came and carried out a further six days' work. Wallace left a similar account in the then National Museum of Scotland, together with his plans, section drawings, some correspondence and the finds. These were seen by the author in December 2005. It is to be hoped that – now that the whereabouts of all the finds and most of the documentation has been established – a full report on the project may be prepared.

2. The excavations

Due to bad weather, "frequent stoppages of work involving the loss of several days" meant that Wallace’s work remained unfinished after two weeks, which doubtless explains why the Scotts were asked to continue. Jack and Margaret Scott tended to excavate on their own, without paid help; in this way they followed the same tradition as Sir Lindsay Scott and his wife (sites NG31 1 and NF77 2). The initial clearing of the topsoil – presumably the freshly bulldozed surface – revealed traces of the foundations of two circular stone structures, all that had been left by the machines; however in places on the north side walling remained to a height of 60cm (2 ft). The walls of both buildings were only one course thick, so the roundhouse was of the dug-out kind. The larger house had an internal diameter of 8.84m (29 ft) ; the nature of the smaller building was not established.

The entrance was found on the south-east and was 92cm (3 ft) wide; there was evidently a door-frame, at an unknown distance from the exterior, with a flat slab in the floor described as a door stop. There appeared to have been an outer walled passage leading towards the entrance. Some of the free-standing radial piers were almost destroyed but others still stood up to 75cm (2 ft 6 in); they were about 45cm (18 in) wide and the same distance from the surrounding house wall. The 'aisle' of at least one pier appeared to have been blocked up. Judging from the plan there may have been nine piers originally.

Little information could be gained about the house interior. Several hearths were found but their stratigraphical positions are not explained. No central hearth is described but a large area of burning was found there. A pit full of occupation material was found as well as other conical “pockets”. A number of possible post-holes were identified but no pattern was discerned. The entrance to the souterrain was found at the end of the excavation, in a gap in the house wall; this structure may therefore have been added when the roundhouse was ruinous. Six steps down into the ground were found and a bronze ring-headed pin of the standard Scottish Iron Age type was lying on one. The souterrain itself was not excavated due to lack of time. It is not clear at present whether the Scotts explored this important building.

3. The finds

1. Before the excavations. The surface finds (this is a remarkable array of potentially important finds to have been found lying exposed on the surface of the mound) described by Lethbridge [4, 8] include – a bronze crutch-shaped pin [11. fig. B, no. 13] and an iron ring-headed pin of uncertain type. There was also a double pointed bone awl, a flat bone spatulate tool and a perforated bone disc. The bronze pin is a curious form – having the usual bent shaft of the northern ring-headed pins – which looks like a late derivative of these [11, 291 and fig. B, no.13]; the ring itself has vanished to be replaced by three beads on separate stalks. Stevenson [11] thought it was a later form of the ibex-headed version of the ring pins which he then dated to the 4th century. A 5th century date for the North Uist pin therefore seems likely.

2. From Wallace’s excavations. In the National Museum’s collection are the following (most are mentioned by Wallace in his typescript).

The pottery includes many pieces of one large pot of unusual type (see ‘Discussion’ below). Other sherds include most of the footed base of a more massive pot with many finger-marks on the inside surface, a rim sherd with finger-nail impressions on its flat surface and a thick wall sherd with a massive applied cordon.

Fired clay included a pottery whorl made from a sherd of a large vessel 12-17mm thick.

The only metal object seems to have been a bronze ring-headed pin found on the steps of the souterrain.

Bone and antler implements included tools and piercers, 1 antler tine with a sawn end and an object usually described a quern handle. It seems to be the reinforced bone tip for the bottom end of the long wooden turning-pole for a discoid rotary quern.

Jack and Margaret Scott made numerous finds during their six days of work at the site and these are all in the Glasgow City Museums. The author saw some of these in October 2005 but another collection – apparently containing most of the decorated pottery and small finds – could not be located at that time although a list of catalogue numbers is available.

Fired clay; 1 spindle whorl made from a thick potsherd, cut down and perforated.

Bone; 1 spatulate tool made from a long bone.

Stone; 1 pounder.

Pottery; this includes a number of wall sherds with zig-zag applied cordon on them, of the usual type. However rarer forms include a large rim sherd from a thin-walled, hard-fired vessel which looks very like an Orkney/Caithness jar.

4. Discussion

This roundhouse was clearly another fairly high-status site the inhabitants of which possessed various unusual metal pins – but presumably dating from the latest stage of its occupation all traces of which had been removed by the bulldozers before excavation began in the summer of 1956. The 5th century date for the knobbed pin suggested by Stevenson fits well with the later middle Iron Age as currently dated. The bronze pin found by Wallace is the standard northern ring-headed form and should, by contrast, belong to an early stage in the occupation of the house.

The pottery however does not include the standard Hebridean wheelhouse types (unless these are included in the other collection of finds from the site in the Glasgow Art Galleries and Museums); there are no obvious pieces of Everted Rim ware nor any clear examples of classic Vaul ware vases and urns with geometric incised patterns. One rim sherd (no. 4) looks like something from a broch in Orkney or Caithness but other flat-rimmed sherds with finger-marks on top of the rim (no. 12 seem quite out of place. Base sherds with internal decoration were surprisingly prominent among the few sherds the author has seen.

Wallace found many sherds of an otherwise plain cordoned vessel which he restored (the pot had not been located when the author saw the other material from the site in the NMS in November 2005. The drawing is based on one made by J C Wallace) and this is a highly unusual pot which deserves more than a passing mention. In general shape it looks like the ancient style known as the mainland Dunagoil vase which goes back to the late Bronze Age but with the addition of the zig-zag cordon of the type usually found on Everted Rim ware. In addition it has a distinctive pattern of finger-impressions on the inside of the base – in the form of a cross with an elongated groove contained within each quadrant; such decorated bases are found only in the Atlantic Province (excluding Orkney and the north-east mainland).

A very similar, almost complete pot was found at A’ Cheardach Ruadh (NF76 1) where it may date to the 3rd or 2nd centuries BC (it is not yet clear if this vessel too had internal decoration on its base) and an almost identical one, with the same cross-shaped motif on the inside of the base, came from Machair Leathann not far away. All three of these pots are quite distinct and they look like the kind of aboriginal style – locally evolved well before the arrival of Everted Rim ware – which contributed to the peculiarly Hebridean Clettraval sub-style of that tradition. One could also surmise that they were a specific local family or clan emblem.

Sources: 1. NMRS site no. NF 75 NE 1: 2. RCAHMS 1928, 104, no. 354: 3. Proc Soc Antiq Scot 50 (1915-16), 12 (donation): 4. Lethbridge 1928, 178-9 (Illus.): 5. Proc Soc Antiq Scot 64 (1929-30) (donation), 14: 6. Lethbridge 1952, 184 (fig. 5): 7. Discovery and Excavation in Scotland 1956, 32: 8. Proc Soc Antiq Scot 92 (1958-59), 120 (donation): 9. Armit 1992, 59: 10. Crawford 2002: 11. Stevenson 1955: 12. Lethbridge 1928.

E W MacKie 2007

NF75 2 BRUACH BAN ('Bruach Ban 1', 'Benbecula Aerodrome 1')

NF/787566 (approx.)

There used to be another probable wheelhouse site on Benbecula Aerodrome, next to Bruthach a' Tuath, but J C Wallace, in 1956 the first excavator of the latter (NF75 1), wrote "At the time of excavation the neighbouring Bruath Ban had been entirely obliterated, and the Bruach a' Tuath had been reduced by bulldozing to a flat expanse some 3 ft (92cm) above the level of the airfield with only a few stones showing on the surface." [1]

Source: 1. Undated typescript by J C Wallace describing the 1956 excavations, now in the National Monuments Record.

E W MacKie 2007