Building record MAB29076 - SANDS OF FORVIE

Three midden mounds, mainly consisting of mussel shells, sit on a main post glacial raised beach.

Three midden mounds, mainly consisting of mussel shells, sit on a main post glacial raised beach. A detailed topographical survey of two of the middens was carried out in 1999. Two short seasons of fieldwork were carried out on the shell middens in April and October 2010. Excavations at Midden C (the southernmost), located near the present shoreline limit, showed that the midden sequence consisted of 2.9 m of deposits, extending for over 35 m in length. An upper midden lay on top of a significant sand dune (up to circa 1.3 m deep), which had formed above a series of earlier more discrete shell deposits. Various pits were found dug into the sand dune, one of which, an intact fire pit, consisted of a layer of fire-cracked stones on top of a charcoal deposit. It has been interpreted as a steaming pit used to open the mussels for consumption. There were few finds apart from a net sinker in the lowest level and one or two lithic pieces, including one in the fire pit. Six radiocarbon dates were obtained from the lowest levels to the upper parts of the upper midden deposits. The basal charcoal-rich layer dated to 325-555 cal AD with all the layers above this forming rapidly in the period of 715-985 cal AD. Midden A (the next one north) is a low roughly circular mound, circa 20 m in diameter, located on the main raised beach. Within three test pits located on the western face of the midden, two major shell midden layers were found slumping down the raised beach. The midden layers, like those at Midden C, were located on top of a major sand blow event, suggesting that this midden is also likely to be of later date, probably in the 1st millennium AD. The only finds were intrusive pieces of Victorian glass. Midden B (the northernmost of the three) is an irregularly shaped mound, roughly horseshoe in plan, circa 35 m long and circa 10-15 m wide with a depression at its centre. This was mainly made up of mussel shell with a small percentage of periwinkle and the occasional cockle. Five test pits were excavated, three on the east part of the horseshoe and two near the shoreline edge on the west part of the midden. The midden was much shallower than A and C, a maximum of three shell bearing layers were recorded in each test pit. Fire pits were found dug into the underlying sand layers. One test pit towards the southwest limits of the site found midden layers of an unusual character, although still dominated by mussel, there was a much higher percentage of cockle and periwinkle shells and the upper layers also contained animal and fish bone. An iron rivet or nail was also found in this part of the midden, suggesting that this zone may date to the 1st millennium AD or later. No direct dating evidence is yet available for Middens A and B, but evidence suggests they may be contemporary with Midden C. A series of five soil test pits was excavated in an area circa 200 m northeast of Midden A (NK 008 261), to investigate the soils and land use of the surrounding area before, during and after the formation of the middens. This area contains the remains of rig and furrow and a field boundary. This indicated a period of agricultural activity predating a a major episode of aeolian sand deposition and formation of sand dunes in the area sometime in the 1st millennium BC. This windblown sand deposit was subsequently buried in the medieval or post-medieval period by the field boundary, which was constructed of sandy turf and large stones. Following the excavations in 2010 a series of geophysical, topographical and geoarchaeological landscape surveys have been conducted in the vicinity of the midden. Site visit in October 2022 as part of the SCAPE Coastal Zone Assessment Survey noted middens A and B situated behind the coast edge and well vegetated, but midden C eroding from the bank.

Period Notes
Calibrated dates from Canmore entry: the basal charcoal-rich layer dated to 325–555 cal AD with all the layers above this forming rapidly in the period of 715–985 cal AD. Midden A: SUERC-29371 1220+/-40 BP, calibrated to 680-900 AD at 2 sigma; SUERC-29372 1200 +/-40 BP, calibrated to 680-950 AD at 2 sigma; SUERC-29373 1130 +/- 40 BP, calibrated to 770-990 AD at 2 sigma; SUERC-29377 1210 +/- 40 BP, calibrated to 680-940 AD at 2 sigma; SUERC-29378 1590 +/- 40, calibrated to 390-560 AD at 2 sigma; SUERC-29379 1665 +/- 40 BP, calibrated to 250-540 AD at 2 sigma. Midden A: SUERC-38442 1130 +/- 30 AP, calibrated to 770-990 AD at 2 sigma. Midden B: SUERC-38444 1550 +/- 30 BP, calibrated to 420-580 AD at 2 sigma.

WARREN, G, 1999, DES : SANDS OF FORVIE, 10-11 (Bibliographic reference). SAB2069.

SHELL MIDDENS

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.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2011, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND. NEW SERIES, VOLUME 11, 2010, pp.28-9 (Bibliographic reference). SAB5535.

NOBLE, G, 2016, EARLY MEDIEVAL SHELLFISH GATHERING AT THE SANDS OF FORVIE, ABERDEENSHIRE: FEAST OR FAMINE? IN PSAS 146, 121-152 (Bibliographic reference). SAB3006.

SCAPE, 2023, COASTAL ZONE ASSESSMENT SURVEY ABERDEENSHIRE AND CITY OF ABERDEEN: CULLEN TO MILTON NESS, ID 14553, 15734 (Bibliographic reference). SAB4866.

NOBLE, G, n.d., EARLY COASTAL HABITATION OF SCOTLAND (ECHOS) PILOT PROJECT; NORTH EAST SHELL MIDDENS AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT, Exc report (Bibliographic reference). SAB1335.

Record last edited

Feb 21 2024 10:18AM