Document record MAB54720 - KINTORE SUBSTATION

Survey and excavation in advance of construction of an electricity substation have recorded the remains of a 14th-15th century medieval farm building.

Survey and excavation in advance of construction of an electricity substation have recorded the remains of a 14th-15th century medieval farm building. A desk-based assessment and trial trenching evaluation was carried out by Amey and GUARD in 2013 in advance of a proposed new electricity substation. Eight small features were concluded to be the result of 19th or early 20th century woodland clearance or agricultural activity. Four upstanding drystone walls comprised modern field boundaries. Two banks formed the west and south boundaries of a subrectangular enclosure in the east of the development site. No artefacts of archaeological significance were recovered, but the enclosure is suggested to be earlier than 20th century in date. Further excavation was carried out in 2014, revealing a medieval farm building, with rounded corners and an internal space measuring 14.6m by 3.5m. The enclosure measured 87m by 94.7m with no obvious entrance although this may have been in the missing part of the southern end. Eight radiocarbon dates were obtained, ranging from the Bronze Age through to the Medieval. While it is possible this relates to earlier occupations of the site, the contexts that the samples were recovered from suggest these earlier dates are more likely to be as a result of burning peat or using peat in the construction of the building, which could have been considerably older than the structure itself.

Period Notes
SUERC-68734 (GU41606); 2384 +/- 26 BP; 540-396 cal BC (2 sigma); SUERC-68735 (GU41607); 1512 +/- 29 BP; 529-618 cal AD (2 sigma); SUERC-68736 (GU41608); 2413 +/- 29 BP; 550-401 cal BC (2 sigma); SUERC-68737 (GU41609); 2330 +/- 29 BP; 364-268 cal BC (2 sigma); SUERC-69656 (GU42152); 3388 +/- 30 BP; 1750-1619 cal BC (2 sigma); SUERC-69655 (GU42151); 2954 +/- 30 BP; 1260-1054 cal BC (2 sigma); SUERC-68741 (GU41610); 1448 +/- 29 BP; 565-651 cal AD (2 sigma); SUERC-68742 (GU41611); 291 +/- 29 BP; 1493-1602 cal AD (2 sigma). The prehistoric dates may relate to earlier activity, but are more likely a result of burning or using peat in the construction of the building - which would be much earlier than Medieval.

AMEY, 2013, EAST COAST 400KV REINFORCEMENT PROJECT: ROTHIENORMAN AND KINTORE SUBSTATIONS, WSI FOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSESSMENTS, WSI (Bibliographic reference). SAB5466.

AMEY, 2014, EAST COAST 400KV REINFORCEMENT PROJECT: KINTORE SUBSTATION, ABERDEENSHIRE SSE - WRITTEN SCHEME OF INVESTIGATION ADDENDUM , WSI addendum (Bibliographic reference). SAB5492.

AMEY, 2014, EAST COAST 400KV REINFORCEMENT PROJECT: NEW KINTORE SUBSTATION: DATA STRUCTURE REPORT ON ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT, Evaluation report (Bibliographic reference). SAB5465.

GUARD ARCHAEOLOGY, 2014, KINTORE DATA STRUCTURE REPORT, DSR (Bibliographic reference). SAB2653.

ARCAHEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2015, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND. NEW SERIES, VOLUME 15, 2014, pp29-30 (Bibliographic reference). SAB5542.

KILPATRICK, MC, 2017, EXCAVATION OF A RURAL MEDIEVAL FARMSTEAD IN KINTORE, ABERDEENSHIRE (Bibliographic reference). SAB2783.

GUARD ARCHAEOLOGY, 2017, THE COMPLEX HISTORY OF A RURAL MEDIEVAL BUILDING IN KINTORE, ABERDEENSHIRE (Bibliographic reference). SAB4223.

Aug 14 2014 , AAS-GR-14-08-233 - 236, AAS-GR-14-08-233 - 236 (Ground Photograph). SAB34415.

Jul 16 2014 , AAS-GR-14-07-195 - 201, AAS-GR-14-07-195 - 201 (Ground Photograph). SAB34391.

Record last edited

Jun 20 2023 12:19PM