The Lunan Valley Project: medieval rural settlement in Angus

43 Pages·2002·3.02 MB·English

Pc AroonSc tiq S5 c(1o11t9, 85), 357-399
The Lunan Valley Project: medieval rural
settlement in Angus
David Pollock*
ABSTRACT
In 1983/4 the Lunan Valley Project (later named Angus Archaeology Project) investigated part of
lowland Angu rsofe vidence of medieval settlemed nnlata nd mangement.
The likely enclosure ditches around two historically 'known' medieval settlements were identified
from aerial reconnais ssauswab nesnecOqe.u ently excavatet adC haps mteil edtodnnaie, val dsaawte
confirt mluiebmdi ,ted excavation wite hehnitnc losure faio lletod cate contemporary houseA ss. ingle
small excavation at Red Castle, Lunan Bay, provided indications of interrupted occupation on part of
the hilltop site from eht late prehistoricr o early medieval periode ht ot documented abandonment ofeht
castle. Further excavation and ground survey in the area produced evidence of a disastrous medieval
sandstorm taking valuable land out of cultivation and probably causing the desertion of a pre 13th-
century settlement at Corbie.
Without excavation a study of land divisions (upstanding and identified from cropmarks)
provided limited informe ahrtat if ntooceo nh e achnto gfuoe ntryside throue gmhht edieval period.
Most major boundaries, an wmde iafn or ones, se e fulrashrousvtmti vpneride histordicn pae r,oiotd
through,e ht medieval period.e ht tuB location of settlement, generally unchanged frome ht earliest
documentary references (late 12th century to 16th century) appears to have undergone changes in the
preceding millennium.
INTRODUCTION
e e hLhgturTna favone ls Valley, Angus encourage excellent condir toicofrnos pmark
photography. Archaeological sites defie nrhite pndie ning barley fields have been recorded sinechet
1960s, most extensively (and intensively) by the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical
Monumenf toSs co omwtltoa esnhtdT a. bundant recognizable monume echntr ontisp mark record
are the barrow burial and the ring-ditch house (see Hill 1982 and Feachem 1965, 113-14 for
definition). Both were investigy eaxtbecda vation before 1982 (RCAMS1978,9; Kendrickd 1n98a2 )
both belong broe alhadt tloeyt r prehistoric period. Before 198o mn3 edieval settlement sites couelbd
identified cone fcihdrote pnnmtliya rk record (i.l)l1us
e hT fluvioglacial sands dna gravels producing good cropmark conditionse ht ni areaera
restricted to the Lunan and Brothock valleys. Elsewhere the drift is predominantly boulder clay, with
occasional lenses of gravel. Between Compass Hill and Kinblethmont Hill the gravels are found on
narrow undulating terraces overloe oahlklitunvg iale e fshlwoohuetottsd ht peolranti n t;errace
spreads out around the headwaters of the Brothock Water (illus 2).
Towards Lunan Bay the narrow northern terrace backs against the foot of a basalt and andesitic
*Douglasrauir Farmhouse, Friockheim, Angus
358 | SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND, 1985
ILLUS1 Lunan Valley: location
1km
ILLUS2 Lunan Valleyf o E Friockheim
POL ELLHOUCNTKA :N VALLEY PROJECT 359
lava ridge; the southern terrace backs against a parallel ridge of Lower Old Red Sandstone. Most
prominent at Kinblethmont Hill, the sandstone ridge has been eroded to seaward by a high inter-
glacial (or pre-glacial) sea, blanketed in marine clay around the headwaters of the Keilor Burn, and
later covered by fluvioglacial sands and gravels from Inverkeilor to Lunan Bay (Rice 1962,14). Thus
e uhntdulating grave eslhoe Ltutheut rhtnnr aaosfcniode We ater widens ef Iaonsv terdkenilao r
appea la ot nraLnsi ugyn afaBons sil cliffline 5 fa2ob ooethv rte aised beach d fCreeoRhamts tolte
mouth of the Keilor Burn. Beyond it to the south a second ridge of basalt and andesitic lava forms a
headland just N of Red Head.
Since fieldwork in the Lunan Valley from 1982 to 1984 was based on the cropmark record (in
particue lphathr otograph collecti fooRn CAMS), excavad tisnouanr vey conocwetn ethrta tneod
wide gravelf Ctoeo rWrmacpSeass sd IHnnavile lrkeilor.
e ihnvTestigations weree Lhuuntnda enyr taVbkaelnl ey Project (ree nAhanmtgeud s
Archaeology Pe rMhon jtaleian cs tfp eptaoo aw1r9 t8e3 r) Services Commission's Community
Enterprise Project/Community Programe mhPTero. s ajsewpcot nsoy rebTd ay dsniFdaief e
Archaeological Committee and, ni late 1983d na early 1984,y b Angus District Council's Department
of Librd Manriuaess eums.
The excavations at a late prehistoric site at Ironshill (1982) and in Arbroath (1982 and 1983) are
t onincludedn i this report.
ILLUS 3 Pre 18th-century documented settlements, parish of Inverkeilor/Lunan: 1 Newton of Boysack, 2 Leys of
Boysack, 3 Templeton, 4 Douglasmuir, 5 Boysack, 6 Westfield, 7 Kinblethmont Mains, 8 Kinblethmont
Home Farm, 9 Lawton, 10 Waulkmill, 11 Hodgeton, 12 Bandoch, 13 Balmullie, 14 Gilchorn, 15 Brunton, 16
Bryanto7 nF1, allaw8 H1, ilton9 A1, rbiki 0eK2, irkto 1nM2, yresid2 eA2, nniston3 I2,n chock4 N2, ewbarns,
25 Corb6 Ii2reo ,nsh7 Wi2ll ,esd tCe MRas 8a tCfl2ieono ,su rth9 Hi2lla ,wkhill
360
SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND, 1985
MEDIEVAL RURAL SETTLEMENT
Outside the burghs in lowland Scotland the archaeological record of medieval settlement is
poor. Between Friockheimd naL une htca yarnBo pmark records i heavily biased towardehst
prehistoric, with only one potentially medieval group of buildings, at Anniston (NGR NO 673 489;
RCAMS photos AN 3240, AN 4718). This imbalance is partly caused by the insubstantial nature of
medieval buildings in contrast to the ring-ditch houses, producing no recognizable structures to
associate with possible medieval enclosures. But it also owes much to continuous settlement on
medieval sites to the present day. The early sites have generally been kept out of cultivation. A
distributionf o pam late medieval settlemene tht ni valley can eb compiled from contemporary
references (illus 3). This map compares closely with late 18th-century and modern ones. Earlier
references, whilst containing recognizable farm names, provide insufficient dar toacf onstructinga
map. Od eCnRlay stle, Inverked inKloair nblethmont have histories reaching e h1bt2a tochtk
century.
One priority of the Project in 1983 was to find and investigate a medieval settlement site under
cultivation at Chapelton. Another was to investigate likely continuity into the medieval period; to this
a s mdanlel excavs auatniwod dCnee e ad rRCCthseathT alRkteasae .pt nld eeln teoaxn cavations
form the main part of this report on medieval settlement.
EXCAVATIONS OF THE BURIAL GROUND, CHAPELTON (CH20)
During four months from September to December 1983, eight trenches were cut in the recently
harvested fiele hdt fCo W hapelton burial grounde .hT first trencht uc acrosse ht ditch recognizeda sa
ILLUS 4 Chapelton: cropmarks and location of trenches
POLLOCK: THE LUNAN VAL1L6EY3 PRO J|ECT
Sections acrosesht
Enclosure Ditch
;(plans)
ILLUS5 Chapelton: sections acrose hset nclosure ditch
362
SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND, 1985
cropmark; when this produced stratified medieval material several trenches were opened to investig-
e ht etaditch furtheo t drnal ookr of tracesf o contemporary vernacular buildings (illuoNs .)4
dwellings were detected in the relatively small area stripped, but a group of four corn-drying kilns
were exposed.
The enclosure ditch (illus 5; CH 21, 23, 24, 25, 28)
In five trenches a 28 m length of enclosure ditch was excavated (illus 5). In the northernmost
trencht al eae shdtt itcd abhh eet untch rougha c ultivation soil overlying natural san dngda ravenlI.
e thrneto nfncoeh es were thy ternarace f peosl oue gbhhaf tsit ohnte ae n gits shrio estti onul1icb2lh ,
produced a large sherd of early pottery (illus 6). The base of a posthole detected low in the soil may be
contemporary we eihtnth closure.
ILLUS 6 Chapelton: early pottery (CH21)
The excavated ditch varied in depth between 0-6 m and 0-9 m. The survival of a cindery soil
sealing eht eae hst fod dtne itchn i trench1 2 suggested thats ti original depths awo nly slightly more;
severe truncation from ploughing would have dispersed this layer. Evidence for an external bank with
the ditch is mostly negative.
n Itrench 2e h3at n,in ge hldt efoi tcha , shallow featurd aebh eet nurc espectine ghet deght efo
ditch, beside helti p, withous tsit ubsequent infill being contaminatey dbu pcast weathering froma
sand gndar avel bankn tI. ree nhect a8h2s tern se idhdt if aeotg dceahhn tle slope lined with sandy clay
and possibly trampled by animals, whilst the outer slope was steeper, more akin to a barrier.
osTnif g rhosena ecwrue ed htittt ti oucnnchbgi c ,asional cleaning would have been necesaoryt
maintaie nhft eaty unlaer roenf gthf ot imy ensA.u ch cleanind agbh een efficiene thot; nly deposits
found eht ni ditch representeda gradual infilling lates ti ni use. Dirty sandd na grie tht ta base,
slumped from the weathered sides and bank, were separated into layers by occasional lenses of fine
dark silte h.t sA eroding sides stabilized, brown soil becamee ht dominant fill, separated againyb
dark silt bands. Particularly amongst these layef sorso il with silt, thin lensf eposa le grey sand lined
either the upper or lower surface of isolated blocks of dark silt, reminiscent of decayed turf sods. In
trenc1 h2t his level also contained patchef soc harcoal-flecked soily clay (daubd ?nsa) moke-stained
stones, wita lh arge quantif gtoyl azed pottery sherds (illus 7), scraf pcosa lcined a bp odiennfceaoe,
rolled bronze sheet. The accumulation of homogeneous brown soil in the upper part of the ditch,
contaw ienerifrn aagt ic sherf dops otterye ,eh pnt ofcols ote-ssduua retehe.ts
Gener eadlhlityt cs mha wofisl lt contaminated with debris towae brhduts rial grou ntnri(ed nch
e fihll2 b1te) ,comingd fce rdlenehaee ar waknfThr eeco srimtt n. dodeartyu b soil overleaphpitng
inside ee dhdtg ifeot cn hit rey ranmec l1ha2a tboetu ilding very cle ohets xoetc avationr oe, ven
POLLOE LHCUTKN: AN VALLEY PROJECT 363
Pottery from enclosure ditch (CH21)
ILLU7 S Chapelton: medieval pottery
partly within it. The lack of similar material in trenches 25, 23 and 28 suggests that settlement was
concentrated close to the burial ground.
The Corn-drying Kilns (illus 8; CH 26)
The cropmark of an apparent wide penannular ditch was investigated in a hand-dug trench.
We 'hdhiettnc h' resolved itself ina tco ollecf tsiooton ne-lined kila nms echanical excsavaawtor
employed to uncover the whole group to assess the drying capacity of the kilns and investigate any
buildings nearby. A sequence of kilns with overlapping lifespans would provide an indication of the
status of the Chapelton settlement at various times; such a sequence could be extracted from the
truncated remains.
Kiln 2 was one of three with large oval bowls c 1 • 5 m across, and the first of the four to be built.
Cut into a hillside, the bowl and passage were lined with boulders recovered from the surrounding
field rors eusen odAr. iginal white clay fls odaowarm ae phgtae nsdie sfhaitr gyebe that heateehdt
y fbrb eodqnwual ent cleaning-of uaot sA hs. econd floof sorl,d abnboas ulders, overe loahyrt iginal,
an sdasw eale a dysb econd layef roc lae hbty ni owlo T.p reserves am uch stoneworks ap ossibleeht
kit olnf nsawu lly excavated; limited investigatione htsp fo assage floor presentedn au ntidy picturefo
stones replacd oenvda erlain with morn reie sponso feti re damagt Aeso. me stage during these repairs
the shattered inner skin of stone on the west wall of the passage was replaced by dressed sandstone
blocks looted f nreoaamr ly buildif anorg chitectural pretensions (see belowA s)e .conds b akuwiilln t.
ssKamwi la1n ller the aohntt her three, wita hb owl only 0 m-a5 c ebrhoat stsas Ae l.a rge stone
roof-slab, trimmed to fit, floored the bowl (illus 9, 13). Other fragments of roof-slab and dressed
stone blocks, looted froma m edieval building, were built inte ohwt alls (see below). Once again heat
was se puhaptsa p fsn ilyariieegb de , esahtdotj nane ecips ehants t esd hhwand esgtaaaa penlt hlliis t
floor had worn away as ash was cleaned out. Debris from the last few firings, including some charred
grain, was recovered from the passage floor.
364 | SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND, 1985
ILLUS 8 Chapelton: kilns etc (CH26)
POLLOCK: THE LUNAN VALLEY PROJECT 365
Kilnl
re-used
roof slab/
Stakehole/ Disturbance
ILLUS 9 Chapelton: kiln 1 (CH26)
Kiln 4 was built in the space between the earlier two, bringing the number in use - or at least
usable - to three. Unusually, the new passage sloped down to the base of the bowl from its entrance
bee sshmidtae llee rs hKloitpl oninf snf ioni1ggir. en p sTaahsswearge e; perhaps beess ffiuotrirs et
s maKwoi dl4ni fio edtd raw heat from another direction (illus 10).
The sloping passage should have allowed heat to draw into the bowl, as a down-draught pulled
thro euohtg uyhbt let above ground level. Howevet ras, ome point after construction started a,f lue
lined and capped with stone was sunk into the ground on the south side to draw hot air into the bowl
immediately over its base. The heated air then collected below a second floor before issuing through a
hole in its centre. The second floor was smaller than the first and the stone wall at the east end of the
kiln was drawn in to meet it. This piece of wall touched neither floor; it sat on dirty clay originally
retained with timber (see reconstruction sketch, illus 11).
n Othniilsy kiln were pestholes found e e bsphethoales ontstfswheAo a ugtfwneoa d .ll s
pestholes appeared to be sealed by the stonework, but this was probably a result of the walls
'creeping' inwards whene ht vertical supports disappeared.e hT upright timberst on era likelyo t pre-
e dihanttter od se dnefhulcauctoe tnfiodon floor, dese pahipttpe arently contradictory evidenfoce
the stratigraphy.
Kil3 nr eplaced Ki, l4rne movie nfhigtr debnplaiot ckie nbhgtu rieds p tfir lfeuode ecessonrI.
size, shape, fabric and alignment it is similar to the first kiln built, but like Kiln 4 it incorporated no
dressed ss twe tocih aanntf r lsKeinfolo esli io lsonAs rp4t. ia, ssage bo osrnief g foni re. oTn hseawre
flue built into this ke hidtl dnena,a rtf hof ire damae hgpt neai ssage indicatesa short working life.
When Kilns aw 3 builte ht earliesto wt were stilln i use;e ht oldest kiln) 2( wene tsu fo tuo first,
followed by the two others (see below).
366 SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND, 1985
4 Kiln
Posthole/Stakehole/Disturbance
upper floor
lower (original) ttoor^f
__——-^. base of pit
IL0 L1UCS hapelton: ki4 l(nC H26)
KILN 4 Reconstruction
_Drying Flotoar
^•- _ Ground Level
Timber* Separating Two Floors
ILLUS 11 Chapelton: kiln 4, reconstruction