Document record MAB56192 - STANDINGSTONES

Pits recorded during evaluation and excavation by Headland Archaeology ahead of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route.

Pits recorded during evaluation and excavation by Headland Archaeology ahead of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route. A single sub-circular pit was recorded in trial trenching by Headland Archaeology in 2013 ( NJ81SE0641). Abundant nutshells, a significant quantity of debitage and two microliths were recovered from the environmental sample. Radiocarbon dating of the nutshell gave a Mesolithic date for the pit (7071-6816 BC). Further excavation was carried out by Headland Archaeology in 2014. North of the previously recorded pit this uncovered a series of pits in a circular arrangement overlain by a larger spread of material/ Eight pits, roughly oval in plan, lay in a broad arc enclosing an area just over 3 m in diameter. Worked flint was common and burnt hazel nutshell was common throughout the pit fills. Radiocarbon dates from the fills ranged from 7070 - 6710 BC, the Mesolithic period. The plan of the pits suggests a possible structural origin, but the evidence is not conclusive. The hollow, which masked the three northern pits, contained frequent charcoal and nutshells and yielded an assemblage of 470 lithic artefacts. The fills, dated to 7030-6600 BC, indicate that the hollow was not deliberately created but may have been a geological subsoil burnt and loosened by a hearth set above it, and into which other debris had been incorporated. A total of 2,432 pieces of debitage were recovered from the site, dominated by blades and microblades, but including flakes, microliths and cores. The flint cortex suggests that it was most likely collected at a local pebble source such as the beaches of Aberdeen.

Period Notes
Radiocarbon dating SUERC-49726, calibrated to 7070-6820 cal BC; SUERC-68126, pit, calibrated to 7040-6710 BC; SUERC-57938, pit, calibrated to 7040-6780 BC; SUERC-68125, pit, calibrated to 7040-6780 BC; SUERC-68124, hollow, calibrated to 7030-6710 BC; SUERC-57937, hollow, calibrated to 6740-6600 BC.

HEADLAND ARCHAEOLOGY, 2014, ABERDEEN WESTERN PERIPHERAL ROUTE/BALMEDIE-TIPPERTY LOT 2 - NORTHERN LEG: REPORT -TRIAL TRENCHING AND SAMPLE EXCAV. (VOLS 1-3) (Bibliographic reference). SAB4452.

HEADLAND ARCHAEOLOGY, 2015, AWPR/BALMEDIE-TIPPERTY LOT 2 NORTHERN LEG POST-EXCAVATION AND MITIGATION EXCAVATION ASSESSMENT REPORT (Bibliographic reference). SAB5841.

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 9 2024 9:41AM