Document record MAB55963 - NETHER BEANSHILL

Excavation was carried out by Headland Archaeology in 2014, following on from earlier geophysical survey (NJ80SW0461) and trial trenching (NJ80SW0465) ahead of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route.

Excavation was carried out by Headland Archaeology in 2014, following on from earlier geophysical survey (NJ80SW0461) and trial trenching (NJ80SW0465) ahead of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route. Remains of a post-built roundhouse, dated to the Middle Bronze Age and a small, roughly contemporary, cremation cemetery were recorded on a plateau of a south-facing hill. The roundhouse was formed of two rings of post-holes, with an elaborate south-east facing entrance formed of two gullies. The entrance way was metalled, the surface formed of small pebbles. A fragment of charcoal from one of the gulies was dated to 1600-1430 BC. Two sections of ring-ditch were present within the interior of the building. . The interior also included a hearth, just off-centre. A small amount of pottery was recovered from the entrance gullies and some of the postholes, and small quantities of struck flint and pottery from the fills of the ring ditches. Some 7m to the southeast of the roundhouse were four small postholes forming a rectangle. To the east of the roundhouse a cluster of features included the remains of three urns from different pits and cremated human bones from multiple features. The primary cremation was surrounded by a small ring-ditch, and there were two further small ring-ditches in close proximity. Charcoal from one of the pits containing an urn was radiocarbon dated to 1410-1240 BC. Worked flints from the excavation included three cores and an edge retouched flake, and are consistent with a Middle Bronze Age date. A copper alloy object was found on the surface of the interior or the roundhouse, but was a small lump in poor condition with no identifying features. A watching brief was subsequently carried out in September 2015 on a strip of land on the east and south sides of the previously excavated area to investigate the areas below two dykes. No further features of archaeological significance were recorded.

Period Notes
Radiocarbon dates: SUERC-58495, calibrated to 1600-1430 BC; SUERC-58510, calibrated to 1500-1420 BC; SUERC-58515, calibrated to 1490-1310 BC.; SUERC-58844, calibrated to 1430-1290 BC; SUERC-59290, calibrated to 1410-1240 BC; SUERC-58514, calibrated to 1490-1310 BC.

HEADLAND ARCHAEOLOGY, 2015, INVASIVE ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS FOR THE AWPR/BALMEDIE-TIPPERTY LOT 3 - SOUTHERN LEG: SITES SL/003 - SL/005 ABERDEENSHIRE (Bibliographic reference). SAB5872.

HEADLAND ARCHAEOLOGY, 2015, NETHER BEANSHILL - TOPSOIL STRIP MONITORING (AMA12) (Bibliographic reference). SAB5848.

HEADLAND ARCHAEOLOGY, 2015, 2015, WRITTEN SCHEME OF INVESTIGATION FOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL WATCHING BRIEF, ABERDEEN WESTERN PERIPHERAL ROUTE (Bibliographic reference). SAB5859.

HEADLAND ARCHAEOLOGY, 2017, AWPR: CONSTRUCTION PHASE AREAS - RESULTS OF ARCH MONITORING AND MITIGATION DURING POST-EX ASSESSMENT AND ASSESSMENT REPT (Bibliographic reference). SAB5858.

DINGWALL, K, 2019, THE LAND WAS FOREVER: 15,000 YEARS IN NORTH-EAST SCOTLAND. EXCAVATIONS ON THE AWPR/BALMEDIE-TIPPERTY (Bibliographic reference). SAB4064.

Record last edited

Aug 12 2024 11:37AM