Upland
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Meall Greigh
The exposed shieling excavated at Meall Griegh |
At Meall Greigh, a smaller team excavated a rectangular shieling hut and some adjacent features, including part of a small stone dairy or store. Inside the shieling hut was a fire spot or hearth, tucked just inside the doorway, and trampled earthen floors. We also found a number of stone pot lids, a kind of artifact usually found on prehistoric sites but clearly used here in the storage of dairy products such as butter and cheese, which documentary sources say were made at the shielings. Outside the hut, the mounds to either side of the entrance that are characteristic of these buildings proved to be structural features, built of turf to support the single-skin drystone walls. The mound to the east of the doorway was augmented with ash and charcoal raked out from the hearth. Early firespots sealed beneath this material and to the north of the shieling hut may provide dating evidence for the earliest activity at the site. |
|
|
|
Volunteers carrying out different stages of excavation at Meall Greigh
If you would like to read more about this season then you can download the 2003 Excavation Season (7.8mb).Also geophysics work was carried out at Meall Greigh.
Kiltyrie Burn
Volunteer illustrating at Kiltyrie |
In April of 2005, the first of this year’s archaeological field schools
was undertaken at Ben Lawers. The aim of this season’s work was to test
different prospecting techniques at Tombreck and Shenlarich and to provide
additional information on the pre-18th century landscape above Kiltyrie.
In addition detailed surveys were undertaken of all three sites to provide
a backdrop to the sampling exercise and to train all volunteers in the
use of a Total Station. |
| In conjunction with the detailed surveys of the sites to
be targeted this season, a further phase of survey work was undertaken
at Kiltyrie. This work included the laying out of grids in support of
the geophysical survey team. |
|
| Techniques applied here included topographic survey (see fig) and the excavation of two trial trenches within the two long buildings of the group. The trial excavation revealed that one of the buildings was nineteenth century in date, however the other lacked dateable pottery and may be eighteenth century in date. There was also the suggestion of an earlier building sealed below the floor of this house. |
|
John Atkinson
GUARD [External]
