EAB11997 - Excavation and Watching Brief 2009 - CASTLE FRASER STONE

A small-scale excavation was undertaken by Murray Archaeology Services in April 2009, commissioned by National Trust Scotland. Previous observation between 2007-2008 had shown that there was considerable rabbit activity around the stone. A major consideration of the project was to identify the extent of the rabbit disturbance and to record any archaeological evidence prior to the stabilisation of the base of the stone. The watching brief failed to reveal any direct evidence to prove that the standing stone was prehistoric. The stone’s proximity to the nearby stone circle remains a very strong argument for regarding it as a prehistoric standing stone. A single sherd of Medieval to Late Medieval pottery suggests cultivation in the vicinity of the stone prior to the improvement of the estate. A furrow was noted which related to pre-improvement cultivation of the ground beside the stone. The furrow avoids the stone, suggesting the stone was already in position in the Medieval period. The excavation revealed nothing to suggest that the stone had been erected in 1617 and the best evidence for the date of its transformation into a memorial stone comes from documentary evidence, which indicates that this probably occurred in the late-18th Century or early-19th Century.