Document record MAB54305 - HILLHEAD, HILLS OF BOYNDIE

A complex large irregular scoop feature, pits, post-holes and dark stains excavated by CFA in 2019, following on from identification of features during a watching brief within the cable route corridor for the Moray East Offshore Wind Farm (EAB9174).

The scoop feature measured 4.8 m north-northwest to south-southeast by 3.5 m, with very gradual sides to an uneven base. It contained a pit, two post-holes and a single possible stake-hole. The scoop feature was isolated. Its size, contents and the presence of postholes cut into it suggest that this could be the remains of a small round-house.

Prehistoric pottery, including Flat-Rimmed Ware was present, as well as worked flint and quartz, fired clay or daub, a possible worked stone, and a saddle quern fragment from the basal fill. Radiocarbon dating on two separate hazelnut shells from the basal fill of the scoop dated to 1196 BC - 931 BC, placing it within the Late Bronze Age. The archaeobotanical assemblage supports a second millennium BC date.

An earlier truncated, irregular kidney-shaped pit was situated 0.5 m from the northern edge within the overlying scoop, measuring 0.84 m by 0.6 m and 0.12m deep, with moderate sides and a concave base. The fill contained charcoal and was indicative of waste material from burning and suggests a phase of earlier activity prior to the construction of the complex scoop feature.

Approximately 15 m east-southeast was a semi-circular arrangement of small circular dark stains investigated as potential footings for a structure, consisting of eight features at relatively uniform intervals in a circa 7 m diameter arc. They ranged from 0.18-0.28 m in diameter and between 0.05-0.27 m deep, with steep sides, truncated bases and had been severely affected by burrowing. No archaeological finds were recovered. The interpretation of these features was inconclusive.

CFA ARCHAEOLOGY, 2018, MORAY EAST OFFSHORE WINDFARM PROGRAMME OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORKS: WRITTEN SCHEME OF INVESTIGATION, WSI (Bibliographic reference). SAB8552.

CFA ARCHAEOLOGY, 2019, MORAY EAST OFFSHORE WIND FARM, ONSHORE CABLE ROUTE, ABERDEENSHIRE, SECTIONS 2, 5 & 12: ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATION DSR , Excavation DSR (Bibliographic reference). SAB8546.

CFA ARCHAEOLOGY, 2019, MORAY EAST OFFSHORE WINDFARM, ONSHORE CABLE ROUTE ABERDEENSHIRE: WATCHING BRIEF, Watching Brief (Bibliographic reference). SAB8544.

CFA ARCHAEOLOGY, 2020, MORAY EAST OFFSHORE WIND FARM, ONSHORE CABLE ROUTE, SECTIONS 2, 5, 8, 9, 12, 15 & 29: POST-EXCAVATION RESEARCH DESIGN, PERD (Bibliographic reference). SAB8547.

CFA ARCHAEOLOGY, 2021, MORAY OFFSHORE WINDFARM (EAST) LTD, ONSHORE CABLE ROUTE SECTION 2, 5, 8, 9, 12, 15 & 29: ARCHIVE REPORT, Excavation Report (Bibliographic reference). SAB8545.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2022, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND, NEW SERIES, VOLUME 22 (2021), p.11 (Bibliographic reference). SAB8314.

Record last edited

May 21 2026 3:06PM