Document record MAB55571 - BORROWSTONE QUARRY, KINGSWELLS
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Summary
Site of a cist (Borrowstone Cist 3) discovered during gravel quarrying in 1980, and destroyed by quarrying following excavation.
Protected Status/Designation
- None recorded
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred NJ 8520 0787 (40m by 40m) Centred at - Polygon: Unknown Extent |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | NJ80NE |
| Authority | Aberdeenshire City |
| Civil Parish | Newhills |
Type and Period (2)
Full Description
Site of a cist (Borrowstone Cist 3) discovered during gravel quarrying in 1980, and destroyed by quarrying following excavation. The cist was situated on the crest of a rolling hillside. Excavation recovered a beaker, skeleton, flint flake and several quartz flakes. The internal dimensions measured 1.18 metres long by 0.6 metres wide. There were two capstones, imbricated pairs of side slabs and small angular slabs paved the floor. Charcoal was found beneath the capstones and the floor. A decayed skeleton lay on its left side with the skull to the east, facing south. Placed at an angle to the body's legs were quartz flint flakes and a relatively early beaker appeared to have been deliberately smashed on burial. In around 2500 B.C. migrants settled in Britain, later named the Beaker People because of the shape of their pottery vessels, which are so often found in their graves. It is also believed that they introduced metallurgy to Britain. The Beaker People buried their dead curled into the fetal position in individual stone lined graves or cists. The term cist comes from the shape of the grave being box like. With the body were placed personal possessions such as jet buttons and necklaces, bronze daggers, armlets and earthenware beakers. Six short stone cists were found on the site of the quarry at Borrowstone Farm from 1976 to 1984. See also NJ80NE0025, NJ80NE0030, NJ80NE0033, NJ80NE0034 and NJ80NE0042 for other cists found in this quarry.
COUNCIL FOR SCOTTISH ARCHAEOLOGY, 1981, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND 1980, pp.9-10 (Bibliographic reference). SAB8212.
SHEPHERD, A, 2012, STEPPING OUT TOGETHER: MEN, WOMEN AND THEIR BEAKERS IN TIME AND SPACE' IN ALLEN ET AL (EDS) IS THERE A BRITISH CHALCOLITHIC? (Bibliographic reference). SAB1775.
May 30 1974 , NJ80N 2415229, NJ80N 2415229 (Air-vertical Photograph). SAB36334.
Other Statuses/References
- Authority: ACY;
- NMR Card Number: NJ80NE72;
- NRHE Numlink: 149903;
- Old Historic Environment Record Ref: NJ80NE0027;
External Links (1)
- https://www.trove.scot/place/149903 (trove.scot link)
Sources/Archives (3)
- --- SAB1775 Bibliographic reference: SHEPHERD, A. 2012. STEPPING OUT TOGETHER: MEN, WOMEN AND THEIR BEAKERS IN TIME AND SPACE' IN ALLEN ET AL (EDS) IS THERE A BRITISH CHALCOLITHIC?.
- --- SAB36334 Air-vertical Photograph: May 30 1974 . NJ80N 2415229. Black & White. NJ80N 2415229.
- --- SAB8212 Bibliographic reference: COUNCIL FOR SCOTTISH ARCHAEOLOGY. 1981. DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND 1980. pp.9-10.
Finds (0)
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (1)
Record last edited
Dec 22 2022 6:15PM
