Earthwork record MAB43806 - THE HOUFF

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Summary

Possible defensive site, suggested as a medieval ringwork.

Protected Status/Designation

None recorded

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Location

Grid reference	Centred NJ 5503 0297 (34m by 33m) Centred at - Polygon: Unknown Extent
Map sheet	NJ50SE
Authority	Aberdeenshire
Civil Parish	Lumphanan

Type and Period (5)

Full Description

Possible defensive site, suggested as a medieval ringwork. The New Statistical Account records that The Howff was at one time 'a place of strength' with ancient buildings, a well and surrounded by a dry moat. It was the private burial ground of the Duguids of Auchinhove between 1634 and 1755. OS site visit 1968 noted that this is a small natural hillock partly destroyed by quarrying, with the remains of two rectangular buildings on its summit. One measures 7.7m b 4.2m internally with walls 1.1m thick surviving to 1.0m the other largely destroyed, but remaining walls up to 1.7m high and 0.8m thick. OS suggested these are possibly small mausoleums of the 17th century burial ground. The site has also been suggested as a possible crannog which lay within the former Loch Auchlossan. Topographical survey and sample excavation was carried out by M Stratigos in 2015 and results of sample excavation supported identification of the Houff as a crannog. It sites on an oval-shaped rise of apparently natural origin. A radiocarbon dating sample returned a date of 1490 - 1650 AD.

Period Notes
Radiocarbon sample: Poz-77625, roundwood - 205+/-30 BP, calibrated to 1490-1605 AD at 2 sigma.

SIMPSON, WD, 1929, DEESIDE FIELD 4,23-24, 24-5 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1656.

BOGDAN, N, 2008, EARLY CASTLES OF ABERDEENSHIRE (Bibliographic reference). SAB3811.

STRATIGOS, M J, 2013, THE CRANNOGS OF NORTHEAST SCOTLAND: QUANTIFYING THE RESOURCE. UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON MA DISSERTATION, 35-41 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1743.

STRATIGOS, M, 2015, THE HOUFF: DATA STRUCTURE REPORT, DSR (Bibliographic reference). SAB1766.

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

Jun 6 1996 , AAS/96/03/CT15-17, AAS/96/03/CT15-17 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB19681.

Jun 6 1996 , AAS/96/03/G6/12-16, AAS/96/03/G6/12-16 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB16320.

SDD, n.d., BLDS OF ARCH & HIST INTEREST, LUMPHANAN No12 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1827.

Other Statuses/References

Authority: ASH;
NMR Card Number: NJ50SE4;
NRHE Numlink: 17500;
Old Historic Environment Record Ref: NJ50SE0026;

External Links (1)

https://www.trove.scot/place/17500 (trove.scot link)

Sources/Archives (8)

--- SAB16320 Air-oblique Photograph: Jun 6 1996 . AAS/96/03/G6/12-16. Black & White. AAS/96/03/G6/12-16.
--- SAB1656 Bibliographic reference: SIMPSON, WD. 1929. DEESIDE FIELD 4,23-24. 24-5.
--- SAB1743 Bibliographic reference: STRATIGOS, M J. 2013. THE CRANNOGS OF NORTHEAST SCOTLAND: QUANTIFYING THE RESOURCE. UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON MA DISSERTATION. 35-41.
--- SAB1766 Bibliographic reference: STRATIGOS, M. 2015. THE HOUFF: DATA STRUCTURE REPORT. DSR.
--- SAB1827 Bibliographic reference: SDD. n.d.. BLDS OF ARCH & HIST INTEREST. LUMPHANAN No12.
--- SAB19681 Air-oblique Photograph: Jun 6 1996 . AAS/96/03/CT15-17. Colour Transparency. AAS/96/03/CT15-17.
--- SAB3811 Bibliographic reference: BOGDAN, N. 2008. EARLY CASTLES OF ABERDEENSHIRE.
--- SAB4836 Bibliographic reference: STRATIGOS, M. 2017. A NEW CHRONOLOGY FOR CRANNOGS IN NORTH-EAST SCOTLAND. IN PSAS 147, 147-173. Y.