Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 98

ND 07056192, 06816189, 06766187. Three chambered cairns were excavated in advance of reservoir construction. Tulach an t-Sionnaich proved to be a passage grave set in a heel-shaped cairn of Shetland type, to which a chamberless long cairn had been added. Burnt and unburnt human bone, with evidence for storage before burial, were found together with animal bones (including dog) and featureless Neolithic pottery. Tulloch of Assery A was a short-horned cairn with a passage, antechamber and chamber at each end. Undisturbed burial deposits of nine to eleven persons were in the N chamber, but the S chamber had suffered modern disturbance. A discussion on the problem of extra-revetment material includes the results of experiments on site. Tulloch of Assery B was a large circular cairn over a Camster type chamber. Stability had been ensured by carefully reinforced construction. Artefacts under the chamber paving included pottery representing the northernmost extension of the "W Neolithic" class. The burial deposit was unburnt bone. The chambers of all three cairns had been blocked after use. Discussion sets them in their Caithness context, but origins remain obscure. The economy suggested by the food remains is sketched.

GR NN 882505. A setting of four stones on the rim of an artificially flattened gravel knoll was partially excavated, producing several cremations. A central pit lay under heaped-up stones and earth. Associated finds included Beaker and cordoned urn sherds and a ?bowdrill stone. An appendix lists and maps 26 pairs of standing stones in Perthshire. There are specialist reports on the cremated skeletal material and charcoal.

An outline of the history, development and distribution of Scottish windmills introduces an interim inventory of known survivals and a select list of documented sites. Of the 100 or so mills built between 15th and 19th cents, about forty remain but are in various states of disrepair; the only comparable restored example is in Co Down. The peak of building activity, in late 18th and early 19th cents, was due to a boom in cereal production combined with highly developed technology brought from England and Netherlands. Development, though broadly similar to that in England, began rather later, and by mid-19th cent windpower had given way to steam. Five main classes of mills are distinguished and their construction, layout and machinery described. They are mainly found on E coast, where conditions are similar to those in England and Netherlands, but occur also in exposed western districts. Mills were used for lead-ore crushing and water-pumping as well as for grinding grain.