Earthwork record MAB45238 - BARNS OF AIRLIE

Souterrain, almost completely intact, (Wainwright's Airlie I), discovered circa 1794.

Souterrain, almost completely intact, (Wainwright's Airlie I), discovered circa 1794. One of two souterrains known to have existed on the farm of Barns of Airlie, the other being the site of a souterrain (NO35SW0043). This souterrain consists of a curved passage about 24.38 m long which shows the characteristic features of souterrain construction. It has a basic course of large boulders, corbelled upper courses of smaller boulders and flagstones, massive roof-slabs, a terminal bulge and flagstone doorway between the main passage and the entrance passage at which point a roof-slab has been removed to provide a modern entrance. The original entrance has never been examined.The passage or chamber is 1.6 m high, 1.5 m wide and completely dry. Among finds from the souterrain, Jervise (1865) notes that querns occurred both within the souterrain and in its vicinity. This suggests the former existence of surface structures. Other finds included animal bones, and a bronze pin. On one of the roof-slabs there are several serpent-like figures which Jervise regarded as natural but which Childe and Graham (1943) describe as being 'executed in the Bronze Age pecking technique'. They seem to associate them with cup and ring marks. The souterrain now lies under a stone wall on the crest of a ridge and in recent years cracks have appeared in some of the roof-slabs. A small quantity of stone has been dumped against the west side of the wall to protect the roof from damage during regular cultivation of the adjacent field. The plans show: two lintelled openings, one on either side of the present entrance; two upright slabs framing the neatly blocked original entrance; the lack of a terminal bulge; the group of serpent-like figures on the eighth lintel slab from the entrance.

Period Notes
Removed from Listed Buildings 28/07/2015.

AN/3, AN/3 (Photograph). SAB27395.

AN/78, AN/78 (Photograph). SAB27396.

DC/17375/CO, DC/17375/CO (Photograph). SAB27397.

MS/662/8, MS/662/8 (Photograph). SAB28207.

Jervise, A, 1865, Proc Soc Antiq Scot 5, 353-4 (Bibliographic reference). SAB12144.

Childe and Graham, V G and, 1943, Proc Soc Antiq Scot 77, 37-8 (Bibliographic reference). SAB7385.

WAINWRIGHT, F. T., 1963, THE SOUTERRAINS OF SOUTHERN PICTLAND, 154-6 (Bibliographic reference). SAB2085.

RCAHMS, 1983, [Untitled], 29, No. 235 (Bibliographic reference). SAB9008.

Sherriff, J R, 1984, [Untitled], 2 (Bibliographic reference). SAB9793.

Bryson, S, 1990, Discovery and Excavation, Scotland, 39-40 (Bibliographic reference). SAB10723.

ARMIT, I, 2000, THE ABANDONMENT OF SOUTERAINS: EVOLUTION, CATASTROPHE OR DISLOCATION? IN PSAS 129 (1999), 577-596 (Bibliographic reference). SAB8747.

BRYSON & WOOD, S & J.S., 2005, SURVEY OF BARNS OF AIRLIE SOUTERRAIN (Bibliographic reference). SAB2287.

PLANS AND DRAWINGS

Record last edited

Apr 16 2025 11:26AM