Document record MAB54519 - TAVELTY FARM

Site of a short cist, found while ploughing in 1983.

Site of a short cist, found while ploughing in January 1983. It was damaged in efforts to remove massive cap-stone.

On excavation the cist, which was aliged east-west, was found to be defined by substantial slabs on its west, north and east sides, the south side severely damaged, the fill at that time consisting mainly of redeposited ploughsoil. The farmer had previously noted the presence of skeletal material, as well as the beaker which had stood upright in the north-east corner of the cist. The beaker was tall and exceptionally well made (type N2) with precise decoration in six zones. Traces of clay luting were seen at the northeast and northwest angles of the cist.

Skeletal remains were fragmentary, of a young adult, probably male. A a few worn teeth were found at the east end of cist. The position of one long bone suggests tentatively that the body had been interred on its right side. The floor of the cist was pebbled. Also found within the cist were two sherds of the beaker, six flints (two barbed and tanged arrowheads, a probable waste flake, one core of red flint, one chunk, one flint spall) and a fragment of bronze dagger.

Pollen evidence indicaes a fairly open landscape, of sparse woodland and heath with somewetter areas is suggested, with the use of at least some of the immediate environs for mixed farming.

A sample of bone collagen gave a calibrated radiocarbon date of 2290-1890 BC (2 SD).

Period Notes
1760 +/- 70 (GU 2169) - 2300-1880 cal BC.

RALSTON, IBM, 1983, DES,10, 11 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1547.

BEAKER

GALLAGHER, D.B., 1992, KINTORE BYPASS:DESKTOP ASSESSMENT (Bibliographic reference). SAB716.

DESK ASSESSMENT

RALSTON, I B M , 1996, FOUR SHORT CISTS FROM NORTH-EAST SCOTLAND AND EASTER ROSS, PSAS 126 (1996), 121-155 (Bibliographic reference). SAB3062.

Record last edited

Jun 16 2026 10:06AM