Find Spot record MAB49630 - BIRKWOOD

Mesolithic artefacts, of flint, schistose grit and quartz, collected by Miss H.

Mesolithic artefacts, of flint, schistose grit and quartz, collected by Miss H. M. L. Paterson and now lodged in the NMAS (now NMS). The collection is mainly the result of the gleaning of ploughed fields on two river terraces of the Dee between the Water of Feugh to two miles downstream to Knappach, but also derived from a methodical excavation at NO 7103 9569 by H. Paterson, Lacaille and Dr G. Callender in 1935. The collection includes flakes, scrapers, micro-burins and cores and also microliths, some of which have been made by the micro-burin technique. This is also known as Dr Grieve's Site J. Recent analysis of the collection concluded that the site was in use in different periods, although dominated by Later Mesolithic material, with a notable Early Mesolithic component and some Upper Palaeolithic pieces. Test-pitting was carried out by Cameron Archaeology in conjunction with the Mesolithic Deeside project in October 2022. Six test pits were excavated, centred on NO7089595870, measuring 3 x 3 m though the topsoil, with a central 1 m square pit dug to a depth of circa 1.65. A number of 19th - 20th century finds were recovered from the topsoil of each trench. A total of 1,327 lithics were recovered, as well as hazelnut shells and charcoal from several contexts. The majority of the lithic assemblage comprised small flakes (37 percent), flakes (32 percent) and blades (21 percent), with cores and retouched tools also present. Material was largely pebble flint, with a flake of possible rhyolite and a small unworked agate pebble. A total of 34 cores were recorded, of which 23 are blade cores, mainly single platform. The high proportion of blades to flakes supports evidence from the cores for the use of a blade producing technology. The blades range from 4-23mm, clustering between 7mm and 10mm. A created blade and plunging blade from one test pit are evidence of specific techniques which may indicate a blade producing technique possibly of Early Mesolithic date. The presence of pebble cortex on most flakes indicates pebbles were being broken open on site and the core roughly shaped by removing the outer flakes, before working to produce blades. Retouched tools include narrow blade microliths (both scalene triangles, dating to the Late Mesolithic ) small awl, knife forms, and scrapers. The assemblage is predominantly Late Mesolithic, with no later material. Twenty-two flints also recorded as having been found (prior to 1993) by D Welch at NO71209585. The site is on the Camphill Terrace of the River Dee, the gravels of the terrace overlain by thicker layers of sand thought to have formed some time in the 7th or 8th millennia BC, sediment deposition slowing or ceasing in the later 5th or 4th millennium. It was only after this date that abundant evidence of human activity occurs. Thirteen lithics (NO79NW0201) of similar character, were recovered in 2023 immediately to the northwest.

ANDERSON, J, 1888, REPORTS ON LOCAL MUSEUMS IN SCOTLAND IN PSAS 22(1887-88) 331-422, 311-422 (Bibliographic reference). SAB17.

MICROLITHS

RITCHIE, J, 1919, PSAS 53(1918-19) 64-76, 64-75 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1510.

MICROLITHS

REID, RW, 1924, ILL CAT ANTHROP MUS MARSCH COL (Bibliographic reference). SAB1530.

MICROLITHS

PATERSON, HML, 1936, THE RIVER TERRACES NEAR BIRKWOOD, BANCHORY IN PSAS 70(1935-6) 419-84, 419-34 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1403.

MICROLITHS

DONATIONS & PURCHASES, 1949, PSAS 83(1948-9), 241 (Bibliographic reference). SAB428.

MICROLITHS

LACAILLE, AD, 1954, STONE AGE IN SCOTLAND, 179-83 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1048.

FLINTS

KENNY, J, 1992, DISTRIBUTION OF LATE MESOLITHIC AND EARLY NEOLITHIC SITES IN THE DEE VALLEY (Bibliographic reference). SAB1040.

KENNEY, J, 1993, THE BEGINNINGS OF AGRICULTURE IN GREAT BRITAIN: A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT (Bibliographic reference). SAB2784.

BJARKE BALLIN, T, 2019, THE GRIEVE COLLECTION: CHARACTERISATION AND DISCUSSION OF LITHIC ASSEMBLAGES ON THE DEE, ABERDEENSHIRE (Bibliographic reference). SAB3805.

CAMERON ARCHAEOLOGY, 2022, BIRKWOOD, BANCHORY, ABERDEENSHIRE: DATA STRUCTURE REPORT ON TEST PITTING OCTOBER 2022, DSR (Bibliographic reference). SAB8496.

CLARKE, A, 2023, REPORT ON THE FLAKED LITHIC ASSEMBLAGE FROM TEST PITTING AT BIRKWOOD 2022 CA599 (Bibliographic reference). SAB8557.

MCCHESNEY, J, 2024, COMPLETING THE GRIEVE COLLECTION: CHARACTERISING AND DISCUSSING THE MISSING ELEMENTS (Bibliographic reference). SAB7677.

TIPPING, R, 2024, MILTON COTTAGE AND BIRKWOOD (Bibliographic reference). SAB3414.

CLARKE, A, 2024, PREHISTORIC COMMUNITIES OF THE RIVER DEE: MESOLITHIC AND OTHER LITHIC SITES OF CENTRAL DEESIDE, ABERDEENSHIRE 2020-2022
(Bibliographic reference). SAB8671.

CLARKE, A, 2024, PREHISTORIC COMMUNITIES OF THE RIVER DEE: MESOLITHIC AND OTHER LITHIC SITES OF CENTRAL DEESIDE, ABERDEENSHIRE 2020-2022
(Bibliographic reference). SAB8671.

RCAHMS, n.d., N KINC LIST, No2 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1509.

FLINTS

Record last edited

Jan 17 2025 10:55AM