Earthwork record MAB43334 - STARHILL

Remains of two probable stack-stands, situated in a triangular shaped piece of ground formed between a ruinous dyke and top of old field 280m wes-southwest of Mains of Starhill.

Remains of two probable stack-stands, situated in a triangular shaped piece of ground formed between a ruinous dyke and top of old field 280m wes-southwest of Mains of Starhill. The most easterly of the two (NJ 4371 4328) is a well-defined ring-bank which is overlain by old field boundary. To the east of the field boundary is a ditch and bank. The perimeter of the ring-bank itself has been removed but has an external ditch. At the centre of the interior there is a low stone plinth circa 6m in diameter and 0.2m in height. The second, 15m to the south-southwest (NJ 4369 4326), is of slightly different design, comprising a shallow ditch about 2m in breadth enclosing an area 4m in diameter. In places there are slight traces of an upcast bank. The identification of the eastern one rests on the comparisons with examples from the Borders, as stack-stands of this type have not been previously recorded outside Northumberland. The provision of the stony plinth to provide a well-drained stance plus an external ditch to the bank to help ward off grazing stock are typical features of this earthwork. The remains were recorded by CFA field survey in 2009.

CFA ARCHAEOLOGY, 2009, PROPOSED WIND FARM AT HILL OF DAVIDSTON, NR KEITH: CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSESSMENT, Site 10 (Bibliographic reference). SAB6677.

Record last edited

Jun 19 2020 3:23PM