Document record MAB58747 - DEER ABBEY

Small scale excavation was carried out in 2017 and 2018 by Cameron Archaeology and volunteers as part of the Book of Deer Project.

Small scale excavation was carried out in 2017 and 2018 by Cameron Archaeology and volunteers as part of the Book of Deer Project. Excavation in June - July 2017 recorded stone and post-hole structures in Trench 1. Pottery from above the structures was radiocarbon dated to 1276-1395 AD. A hearth within a stake-hole windbreak (in Trench 2) was dated to 1147-1260 AD. Six trenches were opened in June - July 2018, five revealing archaeological features. At least five structures were recorded in Trench 5, including one consisting of post-holes, one dated to 669-777 AD, three stake-hole alignments and a stone wall and associated stone rubble. Trench 7, closest to Deer Abbey (NJ94NE0004) produced a small number of finds but no features were observed. Trench 8 contained a path dated to 1041-1211 AD, and may be associated with a hearth excavated in 2017 which was dated to the late 12th - early 13th century. Two small test pits (Trenches 9 and 10) revealed a large number of stake holes running along what appeared to be a watercourse, and these may have been the remains of fencing. One of the larger stake holes was dated to 1030-1155 AD. Finds from the excavations included a rounded flat stone on which a gaming board, possibly for some form of strategy game, had been scratched. A small selection of hand-made medieval pottery was recovered, as well as other local and imported medieval wares. In total, from the two seasons of investigation, there are 63 sherds of micaceous handmade redware, all of which appear to be from vessels used in cooking or possibly an industrial process. There are also eight sherds of Rhenish stoneware, but the assemblage is dominated by wheelmade Scottish redwares, many from jugs. Further excavation was carried out in September 2022, with two trenches opened to extend the areas previously investigated. Trench 11, in the northwest area incorporated Trenches 2 and 8 and revealed a number of features. A 19.64 m length of path constructed from fieldstones ran roughly east-west. A linear stone feature with stones lining a shallow channel within which two stakeholes were recorded, and the south end of which contained as broken rotary quern stone placed in a small stone setting. A heavily truncated hearth, surviving to 0.2 m deep and contained heavily fire-cracked stone in the stone lining was of similar construction to that found in 2017. A series of test pits were also excavated to assess certain features that are possibly early medieval in date, including a shallow ditch recorded on drone photography. Trench 12 to the east, incorporated Trenches 1 and 5 and revealed a further 14 post-holes scattered over an area 15 m by 12 m and all below the stone building rubble and later furrows. A stone wall foundation found in 2018 (Structure 1) was re-excavated to clarify relationships. Stone rubble from the building was spread over the area to the west, and a sherd of 13th-14th century pottery had found amongst the stones. Further investigation of the rubble in 2022 recovered a sherd of post-medieval glass.

Period Notes
Radiocarbon dating: SUERC-75405 (GU45356) - 860+/-34 bp, calibrated to 1046 - 1260 AD at 2 sigma. From 2018 exc: SUERC-81176 (GU48490)1263 +/- 24 calibrated to 669 - 777 AD at 2 sigma. SUERC-109422 (GU63480) 4840+/-26, calibrated to 3698 - 3529 BC; SUERC-109423 (GU63481) 869 +/- 26, calibrated to 1050 - 1257 AD; SUERC-109427 (GU63482) 945 +/-24, calibrated to 1033 - 1159 AD; SUERC-109428 (GU63483) 1009 +/- 26, calibrated to 991 - 1150 AD; SUERC-109429 (GU63485) 947 +/-026, calibrated to 1031 - 1160 AD; SUERC-109430 (GU63486) 1072 +/- 20, calibrated to 896 - 1024 AD; SUERC-109431 (GU63487) 998 +/- 24, calibrated to 993 - 1151 AD; SUERC-109432 (GU63488) 1085 +/= 24, calibrated to 892 - 1020 AD; SUERC-109433 (GU63489) 990 +./- 25, calibrated to 994 - 1154 AD; SUERC-109437 (GU63490) 863 +/- 25, calibrated to 1053 - 1257 AD (all at 2 sigma).

BBC NEWS WEBSITE, , BBC NEWS WEBSITE, 08/01/18 (Bibliographic reference). SAB3784.

CAMERON ARCHAEOLOGY, 2017, BOOK OF DEER 17, DEER ABBEY: DATA STRUCTURE REPORT, DSR (Bibliographic reference). SAB7973.

HALL, D, 2018, ASSESSMENT OF HANDMADE AND WHEELMADE POTTERY ASSEMBLAGE FROM EXCAVATIONS AT DEER ABBEY, ABERDEENSHIRE (Bibliographic reference). SAB5878.

CAMERON ARCHAEOLOGY, 2018, BOOK OF DEER 17, DEER ABBEY, MINTLAW: PROJECT BRIEF FOR 2018 EXCAVATION (Bibliographic reference). SAB8203.

CAMERON ARCHAEOLOGY, 2018, BOOK OF DEER PROJECT, DEER ABBEY, MINTLAW: DATA STRUCTURE REPORT (DSR) FOR 2018 EXCAVATION , Excavation report (Bibliographic reference). SAB7961.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2019, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND, NEW SERIES, VOLUME 19, 2018, p. 18 (Bibliographic reference). SAB6524.

CAMERON ARCHAEOLOGY, 2022, BOOK OF DEER PROJECT, DEER ABBEY: DATA STRUCTURE REPORT FOR 2022 EXCAVATION (INCORPORATING 2017 AND 2018 EXCAVATIONS), Excavation DSR (Bibliographic reference). SAB8563.

Record last edited

Jan 5 2024 3:31PM