Document record MAB61286 - DUBTON FARM

A trial trenching evaluation was undertaken at this site in November 2010 by CFA in advance of a proposed residential development.

A trial trenching evaluation was undertaken at this site in November 2010 by CFA in advance of a proposed residential development. In total, 95 trenches were excavated, equivalent to 7 percent of the total site area. A scatter of generally shallow pits and linear features was recorded. Rig and Furrow cultivation furrows were also recorded across parts of the site, generally aligned northwest-southeast. Two suites of archaeological remains were exposed and tested. The first of these comprised the remains of a post-built roundhouse with a diameter of 6m. The second suite of features comprises the remains of a souterrain with associated post-built roundhouse. The souterrain, a curved underground passage, appears to follow the curve of an arc of pits along its inner edge, which is likely to be the remains of a timber built roundhouse with which the souterrain was associated. Further trial trenching was carried out by Headland Archaeology in December 2015 including along the line of a proposed access road. A total of 15 trenches were excavated but archaeological features recorded in only three, including three small pits, a large undated pit and a stone spread. The two roundhouses and associated souterrain found in 2010 were excavated by Headland Archaeology in 2016. Both may have been abandoned around the same time during the first half of the first millennium BC. Relatively few finds were recovered: six sherds of pottery, 10 lithic objects including an amber bead and a whetstone, a small amount of industrial waste (including hammerscale), a fragment of glass and a piece of possible ceramic building material. None of the finds could be closely dated, but some may be of early to mid first millennium AD. The souterrain comprised two chambers. The roundhouses produced radiocarbon dates ranging 0-320 cal AD, and the souterrain produced dates ranging 50-250 cal AD.

Period Notes
SUERC-37316 (GU40864) – Roundhouse 1: 1822 +/-29 BP – 90-320 cal AD (2 sigma); SUERC-67317 (GU40865) – Roundhouse 2: 1920 +/-30 BP – 0-200 cal AD (2 sigma); SUERC-69150 (GU41788) – Souterrain: 1892 +/-33 BP – 50-220 cal AD (2 sigma); SUERC-67315 (GU40863) – Souterrain: 1863 +/-29 BP – 80-230 cal AD (2 sigma); SUERC-69149 (GU41787) – Souterrain: 1838 +/-33 BP – 80-250 cal AD (2 sigma).

CFA, 2010, DUBTON FARM, BRECHIN, ANGUS: ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVALUATION (Bibliographic reference). SAB5257.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2012, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND. NEW SERIES, VOLUME 12, 2011, p.29 (Bibliographic reference). SAB5536.

HEADLAND ARCHAEOLOGY, 2015, WRITTEN SCHEME OF INVESTIGATION FOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVALUATION: DUBTON FARM, BRECHIN, ANGUS, WSI (Bibliographic reference). SAB4520.

HEADLAND ARCHAEOLOGY, 2016, DUBTON FARM, BRECHIN: ARCHAEOLOGICAL TRIAL TRENCHING - ADDENDUM TO CFA REPORT NO.1849, Evaluation report (Bibliographic reference). SAB4477.

HEADLAND ARCHAEOLOGY, 2016, RESULTS OF AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATION AT DUBTON FARM, BRECHIN, ANGUS, Excavation report (Bibliographic reference). SAB4476.

GINNEVER, M, 2017, AN IRON AGE SETTLEMENT AND SOUTERRAIN AT DUBTON FARM EAST, BRECHIN, ANGUS IN TAFAJ, 23, 1-12 (Bibliographic reference). SAB4222.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2017, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND, NEW SERIES, VOLUME 17, 2016, p. 24 (Bibliographic reference). SAB6497.

Record last edited

Jun 20 2023 10:36AM