Building record MAB29065 - SANDS OF FORVIE

Remains of kerb cairns, midden, stone built structures and cultivation remains in an area north of settlement NK02NW0002.

Remains of kerb cairns, midden, stone built structures and cultivation remains in an area north of settlement NK02NW0002. This area (Area II) which lies on the west facing side of a rounded glacial ridge, appears to have been under a considerable depth of sand when the settlement (Area I - NK02NW0002) was excavated in the 1950s, and so not recorded by those earlier investigations. In1970 the OS Archaeology Division surveyors noted two cairns, then beginning to blow clear of sand. A third cairn was noted emerging from the sand in 1976, to the west of which an old land surface was also revealed. A programme of archaeological investigation was carried out between 1976 and 1980 by I Ralston and K Sabine. The three kerb cairns sit on the summit of the rounded glacial ridge at approximately 29 m OD. All have kerbs composed of boulders, predominantly of granite and metamorphic rock. few of which have maximum dimensions greater than 1 m. Excavation was carried out on the northeastern cairn (A). It measured circa 4.4 m east-west by 4.05 m north-south. Cremated bone was recovered from a central deposit and also distributed in small quantities elsewhere in the cairn fill. Small finds from the cairn fills included sherds of pottery (though no indication of a burial urn), and pebbles and chips of flint and quartz. The cremated bone appear to be the remains of a single adult male, aged between circa 30 and 45 years. Cairn B, the best preserved of the group, measured 5.3 m by 4.2 m, the kerb stones generally evenly sized. Cairn C measured circa 5 m by 4.6 m, but was also flanked on its inner margin by two further arcs of stone, the central area was marked by a low setting of stones. Sampling by 1 m sq excavations in the area west of Cairn A recorded a number of more ephemeral features, including ard markings indicating that much of the area had been cultivated, remains of a large midden, post and stake holes post-dating the ardmarks, a cobbled surface, pebble and beaten-earth floor levels distinguished in the build-up of the midden, and structures set into the upper surface of the midden (including Cairn (A). The features suggest plot divisions, field clearance and domestic structures. Finds included a quantity of flint debitage was seen, and other finds include two fragments of a disc rotary quern with upright handle, fragments of coarse pottery, and a piece of metal slag. Radiocarbon dating suggests these activities took place between the later second millennium BC and the first half of the first millennium BC (the latter the date for the cremation in Cairn A). The flint material recovered from the investigations indicates on-site knapping, the assemblage comprising a wide range of functional types, including flint flakes and pebbles and possible hammer stones. Site visit in 2013 as part of SCAPE coastal zone assessment recorded that three cairns were visible, the furthest north with a substantial kerb structure, No trace of the midden was observed. The features were also recorded by SCAPE in 2022.

Period Notes
Radiocarbon samples of wood charcoal from 1977-80 excavations: GU-1824 from interface between midden deposits and infill of Cairn A (providing terminus post quem for cairn construction - 2656+/-140 BP, calibrated to 1021 BC - 379 BC (OxCal 4.2 run 01/11/13); GU-1825 from the base of midden deposits providing an indication of the earliest activity stratified on this part of the site - 3170+/-140 BP, calibrated to 1769 BC - 1047 BC (OxCal 4.2 run 01/11/13); GU-1826 from sample in close liaison with central cremation burial (best indication for date of burial) - 2510+/-125 BP, calibrated to 910 BC - 370 BC (OxCal 4.2 run 01/11/13); GU-1827 from base of midden deposits - 3070+/-140, calibrated to 1630 BC - 933 BC (OxCal 4.2 run 01/11/13).

PRINTS, GEOG DEPT, AU, PRINTS, GEOG DEPT, AU (Ground Photograph). SAB14931.

RALSTON, IBM, 1977, DES,3,5,8,9,19, 3 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1514.

RALSTON, IBM, 1978, DES,8,9,13 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1532.

RALSTON, IBM, 1979, DES,13,14, 13 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1538.

RALSTON, IBM, 1980, DES (Bibliographic reference). SAB1554.

RALSTON, IBM, 1980, INTERIM, SANDS OF FORVIE, TYPESCRIPT (Bibliographic reference). SAB1565.

RALSTON, IBM, 1981, FETTERANGUS CIST TYPESCRIPT, TYPESCRIPT (Bibliographic reference). SAB1564.

RALSTON, IBM, 2001, EXCAVATIONS OF SECOND AND FIRST MILLENNIA BC REMAINS ON THE SANDS OF FORVIE, SLAINS, ABERDEENSHIRE. O'DELL MEMORIAL MONOGRAPH 28 (Bibliographic reference). SAB3071.

SCAPE, 2023, COASTAL ZONE ASSESSMENT SURVEY ABERDEENSHIRE AND CITY OF ABERDEEN: CULLEN TO MILTON NESS, ID 12668 (Bibliographic reference). SAB4866.

Aug 8 1979 , AAS/79/05/R3/3, AAS/79/05/R3/3 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB14928.

Aug 10 1978 , AAS/78/03/S3/4,8,11, AAS/78/03/S3/4,8,11 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB14927.

Aug 10 1978 , AAS/78/3/CT11,40-2, AAS/78/3/CT11,40-2 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB18957.

Jan 1 1977 , AAS/GR/77/CT218, AAS/GR/77/CT218 (Ground Photograph). SAB32519.

Jan 1 1978 , AAS/GR/78/CT49-72, 97-115, AAS/GR/78/CT49-72, 97-115 (Ground Photograph). SAB32525.

Jan 20 2000 , AAS/00/01/CT8-11, AAS/00/01/CT8-11 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB12225.

Jan 20 2000 , AAS/00/01/G1/12-4, AAS/00/01/G1/12-4 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB12224.

Mar 1 1976 , AF 39-42, AF 39-42 (Ground Photograph). SAB14930.

Sep 2 1988 , HR 19, HR 19 (Ground Photograph). SAB14929.

Record last edited

Jan 13 2026 4:56PM