Tayside Fife Archaeol J 10

The excavation of two cropmark sites revealed by aerial photography proved them to a rectilinear post setting and a timber ring. Radiocarbon dating placed both in the period around 3350--2910- cal BC. The only artefacts were burnt broken flints from a tree-hole. Post-holes of the two structures were dug through pre-existing tree-throw pits, and were themselves disturbed by later tree-throw pits. Includes

Excavations were undertaken in advance of the development of an area to the north of Leven where a cist burial was discovered in 1944. The recent investigations revealed an enclosed cist cemetery, radiocarbon-dated to the first two centuries of the second millennium BC. The cemetery appears to have had a short period of use when it received inhumation burials inside the ditched enclosure. A number of cists of poorer construction were uncovered outside the enclosure and a Neolithic cremation deposit was retrieved from within the ditch. Specialist reports include

A partially buried logboat discovered at Carpow bank on the Tay estuary has produced a radiocarbon date of around 1000 cal BC, and small-scale excavation has shown that it was c.9.25m in length and c.0.9m in width. While the exposed portion of the vessel is highly abraded, excavation has shown the buried stern to be in excellent condition, retaining its detachable transom board. The vessel has been sand-bagged for protection and is currently being monitored while the long-term preservation of the vessel is considered.

A programme of archaeological work in advance of the construction of a new primary school at Abernethy, Perth and Kinross, comprised the excavation of part of the site around two paved areas identified by an earlier evaluation, followed by a watching brief on topsoil stripping on the remainder of the site. The excavation revealed further paved surfaces -- thought to represent an Iron Age stack yard -- and a number of pits, including a fire-pit, which yielded a Neolithic radiocarbon date, and several more which probably also date to the Iron Age. A watching brief on the remainder of the site identified further pits of unknown date and a Dalladies 2 style souterrain, dated to the first to third century AD. Includes

Report on the excavation of a series of plough-truncated archaeological features discovered at Inchture, Perth and Kinross in advance of the construction of a new road interchange on the A90. On the basis of the limited morphological, artefactual and radiocarbon dating evidence available, this palimpsest of features appears to represent episodic activity in the early Neolithic and Medieval periods, and less certainly at some point during later prehistory. The most significant discovery is the fragmentary evidence for early Neolithic coastal farming settlement. The results of excavation are considered within the dynamic Holocene landscape context of the Carse of Gowrie. Includes

Trial excavations were carried out 1998 and 1999 on a series of cropmarks at Newbarns, by Inverkeilor, Angus, as part of the University of Edinburgh's Angus and South Aberdeenshire Field School. The principal motive of these excavations was to compare the quality, quantity and range of archaeological remains in adjoining scheduled and unscheduled areas. The excavations revealed plough-truncated remains relating to a range of domestic and funerary activities extending from at least the second millennium BC to the later first millennium AD. Features sampled included Beaker-period pits, possibly associated with an enclosure; two possible Bronze Age barrows; an Iron Age working hollow; a ring-ditch house; a rectilinear enclosure, possibly a Pictish square barrow or Medieval farm enclosure; and an elongate rectilinear timber building of broadly eighth to tenth century AD date. Includes

Report on an archaeological salvage excavation on the foundation trenches for a replacement vestry to be built against the west wall of the Oathlaw and Tannadice Parish Church at Tannadice. Excavation revealed at least three phases of burials, the earliest being cist burials, and the remains of an earlier church, in the form of walls and some slab flooring. Shroud pins, a coin, medieval pottery sherds and coffin nails were also recovered. A subsequent watching brief recorded the west wall of the earlier church, some paving and two shallow burials. Includes

Clearance work at the sixteenth-century Melgund Castle uncovered the remains of floor surfaces and other features within the tower house and adjacent hall range, together with the walls and flagged floor of an extension built against the north side of the range. Excavation within and beyond the barmekin revealed evidence of boundary walls and, to the immediate south of the castle, the remains of what is thought to have been a dovecot. Includes

The building at 67--74 High Street, Brechin, retains an intact timber frame roof which was constructed sometime before 1717. Dendrochronological analysis of the oak timbers and subsequent study of the redundant joints visible on many of the timbers revealed that an earlier roof, dated to about 1470 AD, had been dismantled and some of the timbers re-used in the present roof. Documentary sources were examined to elucidate the history of the building.

A watching brief on the construction of a water pipeline from Loch of Lintrathen reservoir in Angus to the Clatto reservoir in Dundee, provided an opportunity to examine the evidence for the construction, use and replacement of a variety of types of agricultural drainage systems. This paper discusses the evidence against the background of changing economic circumstances and technologies, and illustrate the wide variation of systems employed, even within a limited geographical area.