Earthwork record MAB44494 - BALNAGASK

Remains of a possible motte situated on land which was owned by the De Nug family in the 12th century.

Remains of a possible motte situated on land which was owned by the De Nug family in the 12th century. The mound rises at least 8 m above the surrounding ground, and its top, which measures about 10m across, has been levelled and enclosed by a low bank about 2 m in thickness and 0.4 m in height. A break in this bank on the south southeast opens on to a path leading down to the foot of the mound on the south. On the northeast flank of the mound there are several narrow terraces. The top was re-modelled in the early 20th century obscuring any traces of medieval remains on the upper surface. The 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (1867-9) shows the mound at least partly wooded within the designed policies surrounding the house. The 2nd edition of the map (1901) shows the path and depicts the summit enclosure with a circular dashed line. Both editions of the map show that the top of the mound was surmounted by an Ordnance Survey triangulation pillar, but of this nothing can now be seen. The mound was within the grounds of Balnagask House (until its demolition in the 1980s), opposite Mains of Balnagask, overlooking the Dee estuary and Nigg Bay. It has been suggested that this large grass-grown mound, is possibly no more than a natural knoll that has been adapted as a garden feature in the policies of Balnagask House. Ahead of remedial works, a watching brief was carried out by MAS in April 2014 on two trial pits excavated to determine the nature of the soil deposits against the north foot of the retaining wall. No surviving early deposits were identified. Two trial pits were dug by Cameron Archaeology in March 2016 adjacent to the retaining wall in advance of remedial works. The trenches indicated that the wall and adjacent path were terraced into the natural slope of the ground. The finds, including numerous pottery sherds, of 19th and 20th century date suggest that the soil banked up behind the boundary wall has accumulated or been dumped in the 19th century and later.

Period Notes
Scheduled 30/10/2002.

MURRAY ARCHAEOLOGICAL SERVICES, 2014, BALNAGASK MOTTE, BAXTER PLACE, ABERDEEN: WATCHING BRIEF, WB report (Bibliographic reference). SAB7333.

ARCAHEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2015, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND. NEW SERIES, VOLUME 15, 2014, p. 10 (Bibliographic reference). SAB5542.

CAMERON ARCHAEOLOGY, 2016, A REPORT ON TRIAL PITS AT BALGNAGASK MOTTE, TORRY, Report (Bibliographic reference). SAB6853.

CAMERON ARCHAEOLOGY, 2016, BALNAGASK MOTTE, TORRY: WRITTEN SCHEME OF INVESTIGATION, WSI (Bibliographic reference). SAB6852.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2017, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND, NEW SERIES, VOLUME 17, 2016, p.10 (Bibliographic reference). SAB6497.

CAMERON ARCHAEOLOGY, 2024, BALNAGASK MOTTE, TORRY, ABERDEEN: WRITTEN SCHEME OF INVESTIGATION, WSI (Bibliographic reference). SAB8703.

Apr 19 2017 , AAS-GR-17-04-011 - 022, AAS-GR-17-04-011 - 022 (Ground Photograph). SAB34139.

Jan 29 2017 , PUB-GR-17-01-008-015, PUB-GR-17-01-008-015 (Ground Photograph). SAB34259.

Sep 29 1989 , 1 image, 1 image (Ground Photograph). SAB36376.

Record last edited

Nov 12 2024 2:33PM