Building record MAB35824 - LOCH KINORD

A crannog, built on the Loch Kinord, also known as Prison Island.

A crannog, built on the Loch Kinord, also known as Prison Island. The OS Name book records that the island was believed to be used as a prison for the nearby castle (NO49NW0010). Antiquarian investigations recorded traces of piles driven vertically through the island and interlaced by a framework of horizontal timbers traversing the superstructure of stones and earth. No piling is now visible, and it is possible the antiquarian reference to construction was based more on conjecture than surviving remains. A sample of timber from the island gave a radiocarbon date of the 10th-11th century AD. A submerged survey and excavation was carried out by Michael J. Stratigos in February, March and October 2015. The underwater survey confirmed the presence of a range of timber elements that remain on the loch bed. A small trial trench revealed little or no in situ archaeological remain within the crannog mount, but that substantial archaeology remains below the waterline. Samples from the trial trench provided a fragment of charred roundwood that provided a radiocarbon date of 779-1013 cal AD. A topographical survey recorded a naust within the rubble on the south-eastern portion of the island. Five wooden canoes (NO48NW0011) have been found nearby in the loch, several of which still remain in the loch.

Period Notes
Poz-72879 - 925+/-30 (calibrated to 1026 -1182 AD at 2 sigma - OxCal 4.2 run 11/08/15). Poz-79916 - 1115 +/-30 BP (calibrated to 779-1013 AD at 2 sigma - OxCal v4.2.4)

BLUNDELL, FO, 1913, PSAS 47(1912-3) 267-8, 267-8 (Bibliographic reference). SAB170.

SIMPSON, WD, 1943, PROVINCE OF MAR, 66-8 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1676.

DONATIONS & PURCHASES, 1948, PSAS 82(1947-8), 297 (Bibliographic reference). SAB2422.

AXE

STRATIGOS, M J, 2013, THE CRANNOGS OF NORTHEAST SCOTLAND: QUANTIFYING THE RESOURCE. UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON MA DISSERTATION (Bibliographic reference). SAB1743.

STRATIGOS, M.J., 2015, PRISON ISLAND: DATA STRUCTURE REPORT, DSR (Bibliographic reference). SAB1769.

STRATIGOS, M, 2017, A NEW CHRONOLOGY FOR CRANNOGS IN NORTH-EAST SCOTLAND. IN PSAS 147, 147-173 (Bibliographic reference). SAB4836.

Apr 27 1981 , AAS/81/4/CT6-7, AAS/81/4/CT6-7 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB18979.

Apr 27 1981 , AAS/81/4/S5/9,11-2, AAS/81/4/S5/9,11-2 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB18978.

Feb 10 2011 , AAS/2011/1/DG3222, AAS/2011/1/DG3222 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB20723.

Feb 22 2010 , AAS/10/01/DG034, AAS/10/01/DG034 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB20217.

Jan 1 1991 , AAS/GR/91/CT34, AAS/GR/91/CT34 (Ground Photograph). SAB32827.

Jul 4 1996 , AAS/96/07/CT22, AAS/96/07/CT22 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB19632.

Mar 16 2000 , AAS/00/06/CT14-6, AAS/00/06/CT14-6 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB12833.

Mar 16 2000 , AAS/00/06/G20/14-5, AAS/00/06/G20/14-5 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB12834.

Oct 31 1996 , AAS/GR/96/CT189, AAS/GR/96/CT189 (Ground Photograph). SAB32990.

Record last edited

Jun 20 2023 12:20PM