Document record MAB60941 - PITSKELLY, UPPER VICTORIA, CARNOUSTIE

A trial trenching evaluation was carried out by AOC Archaeology in late 2022 ahead of proposed development (Upper Victoria Phase 1B).

A trial trenching evaluation was carried out by AOC Archaeology in late 2022 ahead of proposed development (Upper Victoria Phase 1B). In the southeast corner of the development area this identified a late prehistoric souterrain and a small number of pit features. No significant features were uncovered across the rest of the area, although two remnant furrows, two stone rubble drains and a ceramic field drain were recorded. Further excavation in early 2023 over an area around the souterrain uncovered a second souterrain to the southwest. Souterrain I was aligned east-west, but narrowing and turning southwards to the east to create a southeast facing entrance; the curved shape typical of souterrains is present but irregular. It is circa 15.4 m long, the main body circa 2.9 - 3.1 m wide, and the recorded depth was up to 0.9 m. The consistency of fills along its length suggests a deliberate act of infilling. A flagstone floor covered the entire base of the structure and it appears to have been laid after the walls had been constructed. The majority of flags sat on a bedding deposit, which also contained small stones to level the flagstones. The walls comprised large 'foundations' set into the natural subsoil with smaller stones used to create coursed stonework above. A single pit feature was recorded below the flagstone floor, and there were two pit features close to the entrance but it is not clear whether they related to the structure. Souterrain II (circa 70 m to the southwest) comprised an entrance passage, main chamber and side passage. In total it was circa 20.1 m long, up to 3.65 m wide and 0.95 m deep. the entrance to the east. The main fill again suggested deliberate backfilling: this fill yielded a pivot stone/mortar, rubbing stone, quern fragment and spindle whorl. The flagstones, which were particularly well laid, were almost entirely thin red sandstone slabs across the western end of the structure with a wider array of stones (like those commonly used in Souterrain I) to the east. A bedding deposit was again present and contained fragments of rotary quern, a struck quartz tool. The walls, which appear to predate the floor, are of similar construction to Souterrain I, the western end primarily consisting of just the large foundation stones. On the south side a complete saddle quern was positioned with the face exposed. The entrance was elaborate, with a clear step down to the southwest, marked by an edge-set stone, the rest of the entrance passageway level with edge set stones and door check where it meets the main chamber. An upper rotary quern stone had been reused as a door pivot. On the south side of the main chamber, the entrance marked by two orthostats, was an annex, with base slightly higher than the main chamber and with no indication of a stone floor. Below the western end of the main chamber a circular pit was recorded below the flagstone floor, the fill containing a lot of charcoal with some animal bone and a possible quern fragment. A cluster of features around the entrance were probably post-holes rather than pits, perhaps relating to some form of wooden above ground structure. A large deeply cut curvilinear feature immediately south of Souterrain II was interpreted as an earlier proto-souterrain. A number of pits and postholes especially around Souterrain II indicate other activities and possibly heavily truncated structures. One of the pits, cut inti the curvilinear feature, contained a deliberate deposit of animal bone.

AOC ARCHAEOLOGY, 2019, UPPER VICTORIA LINK, CARNOUSTIE, ANGUS, ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORKS: WRITTEN SCHEME OF INVESTIGATION ADDENDUM, WSI Addendum (Bibliographic reference). SAB8280.

AOC ARCHAEOLOGY, 2022, UPPER VICTORIA LINK, CARNOUSTIE, ANGUS: PHASE 1B ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORKS: WRITTEN SCHEME OF INVESTIGATION ADDENDUM, WSI Addendum (Bibliographic reference). SAB8363.

AOC ARCHAEOLOGY, 2022, UPPER VICTORIA LINK, CARNOUSTIE: PHASE 1B STRIP, MAP AND EXCAVATION: WRITTEN SCHEME OF INVESTIGATION, WSI (Bibliographic reference). SAB8386.

AOC ARCHAEOLOGY, 2023, UPPER VICTORIA LINK, PHASE 1B, CARNOUSTIE, ANGUS: ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATION: DATA STRUCTURE REPORT, Excavation DSR (Bibliographic reference). SAB8748.

Record last edited

May 6 2025 3:07PM