Document record MAB57876 - PETERSEAT, TULLOS HILL

Site of a World War II anti-aircraft battery, visible on RAF aerial photographs taken in 1946, although by this time the guns had been removed.

Site of a World War II anti-aircraft battery, visible on RAF aerial photographs taken in 1946, although by this time the guns had been removed. It has 8 emplacements in an S-formation, with a central command post within the arc of the 5 southernmost emplacements. The GL-mat (the gun laying radar) site is also visible adjacent to the hutted accommodation camp (NJ90SE0039) for the crew which is situated on both sides of a field boundary 150m to the northwest of the emplacements. The battery was designated AB2 by the war office. Only four guns were operation in 1942 but by 1943 it had been supplied by an additional four 3.7in guns. The battery had been disarmed by December 1945, and following vacation by the army the site was adapted to house German prisoners of war. Internally it comprised a number of nissen huts as well as a football field. It remained in use until 1947 when it was sold to a local farmer. As part of archaeological assessment by Aberdeen City Council Archaeological Unit in 2001 (NJ90SE0214) of an area of Tullos Hill, excavation was carried out prior to redevelopment. This recorded possible hut bases and the floor of the command post, a camp road, remains of five gun emplacements, and large rubbish pits. RCAHMS site visit 2002 recorded that most of the remains of the battery and camp have been removed but several concrete platforms indicating the positions of buildings or huts could still be seen in uncultivated ground between Cat's Cairn and Baron's Cairn. A watching brief was carried out by Aberdeen City Council Archaeological Unit in 2009 during groundworks associated with the closure of the Ness Far and Tullos Hill landfill site. Monitoring recorded 57 features, 36 of which probably related to the battery, and which included some previously unrecorded hut bases. See also NJ90SE0025, NJ90SE0026 and NJ90SE0030. Archaeological evaluation by A Cameron in February 2011 (NJ90SE0447) on a 2ha development site uncovered two further gun emplacements, including one with associated ordnance store and electricity supply.

ABERDEEN CITY COUNCIL, 2016, A GUIDE TO THE HISTORY, ARCHAEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY OF TULLOS HILL (Bibliographic reference). SAB8382.

ABERDEEN CITY COUNCIL ARCHAEOLOGICAL UNIT, 2016, PETERSEAT, TORRY BATTERY AND ST FITTICK'S CHURCH, ABERDEEN (Bibliographic reference). SAB6419.

Apr 16 2046 , 106G/SCOT/UK/F20.540/7082, 106G/SCOT/UK/F20.540/7082 (Air-vertical Photograph). SAB36441.

Mar 20 1945 , 106G 544 SQDN 3002, 106G 544 SQDN 3002 (Air-vertical Photograph). SAB36183.

Record last edited

Feb 15 2023 1:05PM