Deer's Den

NJ71NE 127 784 160

(Location not cited in published report: deduced as NJ c. 786 161 from text). A watching brief was carried out by EUCFA in advance of construction of the (A96) Blackburn and Kintore by-pass in spring and early summer of 1997. Examination of the are to the S of Forest Road (NJ 786 165)( revealed 'a number of small pits' which formed two distinct groups, one of them within the Roman temporary camp NJ71NE 28 and the other to the S.

Examination of the southern cluster produced 'an abundance' of prehistoric coarse pottery, flint flakes and occasional fragments of burnt bone. A single pit (F1) was bisected by a drainage ditch adjacent to the Roman temporary camp and produced over forty flint flakes, sherds of coarse pottery, and occasional fragments of burnt bone and carbonised material. A second pit (F2) yielded three pieces of flint and 'an abundance' of sherds of pottery of various wares. Burnt bone was also found in various pits.

The cluster within the camp yielded only three sherds of later Medieval pottery and a lump of iron slag. The figure-of-eight configuration and burnt fills of F12 and F14 suggests that these were probably field ovens.

Excavation in this area (by D Alexander in 1996) had previously opened an area of about 3000 sq m to reveal a dense spread of plough-truncated features of various periods. These included a spread of pits containing Neolithic material, plain bowls, flint, quartz, Arran pitchstone, a leaf-shaped arrowhead and burnt hazelnut shells. Decorated sherds of either late Neolithic Impressed Ware or of an Urn were found in one of the pits, and the remains of four possible structures were recorded. Other notable features in this area included a possible four-post structure and a stone-based oven associated with a charcoal-filled pit.

NMRS, MS/726/116.

(Location cited as NJ 784 160). An archaeological evaluation was carried out along the proposed route of the A96 Kintore Bypass in March and April 1996 through a combination of desk-based research, invasive and non-invasive fieldwork. The bypass route runs from S-N around the W side of Kintore and was known to cut across the W and S sides of the Roman temporary camp NJ71NE 28. Further follow-up excavation work was undertaken at two areas of concentrated archaeological activity identified during the evaluation, at Deer's Den and Tavelty.

A total of 55 trenches were excavated along the line of the proposed bypass during the evaluation, revealing a number of concentrations of archaeological features within the road corridor, the majority of them in the N half of the route.

The follow-up excavation at Deer's Den comprised an open-area excavation of c. 70 x 45m. A dense spread of plough-truncated features of various periods was recovered. This included a series of pits containing Neolithic material: plain bowls, flint, quartz, Arran pitchstone, a leaf-shaped arrowhead and burnt hazelnut shells. One pit contained sherds of Late Neolithic decorated pottery (possibly Impressed Ware). The remains of four possible structures were recorded:

Structure 1 consisted of a shallow scoop containing numerous sherds of coarse pottery surrounded by truncated post-holes and pits.

Structure 2 was extremely truncated and consisted of a concentration of very shallow pits and stake-holes.

Structure 3 consisted of a shallow circular scoop (c. 0.25m deep), c. 10m in diameter. It was delineated by a slight ring-ditch enclosing a central area c. 4-5m in diameter, the base of which bore traces of ard marks. There was a four-post arrangement to the SE, presumably for a porched entrance. The structural timbers appear to have been located around the outer edge of the scoop. Finds from this structure include two groups of crushed coarse pottery.

Structure 4 consisted of an arc of burnt material and a number of post-holes, with a possible hearth in the centre of the structure. To the N and E of this was a shallow curvilinear slot which cut across the top of the infilled Roman ditch. The relationship of the curvilinear slot to the bnurnt arc was not clear but its position was such as to suggest that they may have formed part of a single oval structure, post-dating the Roman ditch,

D Alexander 1996.