Building record MAB26003 - LOIRSTON PARK

Remains of burial cairn of probable Bronze Age date and consumption dyke of post-medieval date, situated circa 220m northeast of Cat Cairn (NJ90SE0004).

Remains of burial cairn of probable Bronze Age date and consumption dyke of post-medieval date, situated circa 220m northeast of Cat Cairn (NJ90SE0004). The cairn survives as a prominent circular mound measuring circa 18m in diameter and is circa 3m high, roughly circular in plan although partly obscured by the removal of stones and overgrown whin and gorse. The two sections of consumption dyke adjoin the northeast and southwest quadrants of the cairn, and are each roughly 4m wide, 5m long and 1.5m high, comprising inward-leaning retaining walls and a rubble core. This dyke is located on what was the estate of Tullos. The estate was feued by Aberdeen Town Council to David Morice, advocate in Aberdeen, in the last years of the 18th century. Morice embarked on a policy of tree planting on Tullos Hill. This policy failed on the seaward side of the hill. After the trees failed he cultivated the ground. Presumably the consumption dykes date from that period. Although consumption dykes are not entirely unique to the north east of Scotland they are not found in any substantial numbers elsewhere in the world. They are dykes which result from the very rocky nature of the ground in the north east of Scotland and are associated with the period of agricultural improvements from the 18th century. Part of this movement involved clearing new ground of stones to create new fields. The excessive number of rocks and boulders in Aberdeen made this particularly arduous. The cleared rocks could be put to a number of different uses: if it was economical they could be sold off and shipped elsewhere. Many of the boulders and stones cleared in the north east were made into paving slabs in London. But where there were too many or where the distance to move them to the coast for transportation was too high they were often formed into consumption dykes. These dykes 'consumed' the stones cleared from the land. Technically these dykes may be defined as ones which are broader than they are tall. Historically they have also been known as Aberdeenshire Dykes and Consuming Dykes. They perform two functions: firstly to delineate a field boundary as all dykes do and secondly to use up the excess of stones. In some cases they also perform a third aesthetic function. In certain cases they have paths laid out along the top of them and are very much monuments to the taste of the estate landowner who had them created. It was recorded by CFA field survey in 2004 (NJ90SE0586). A watching brief was carried out by Aberdeen City Council Archaeological Unit in 2009 during ground works for a kissing gate in proximity to the cairn, but no archaeological features were observed.

CFA ARCHAEOLOGY, 2004, TULLOS HILL, ABERDEEN, WALKOVER SURVEY (Bibliographic reference). SAB7086.

ABERDEEN CITY COUNCIL ARCHAEOLOGICAL UNIT, 2010, REPORT ON AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL WATCHING BRIEF AT NESS FARM AND TULLOS HILL LANDFILL SITE, NIGG, ABERDEEN (Bibliographic reference). SAB6477.

Record last edited

Nov 12 2024 2:23PM