Document record MAB61425 - HEUGHHEAD

An excavation was carried out in on the weekend of 30 September - 1 October 2017 by a group from Mesolithic Deeside, directed by Cameron Archaeology.

An excavation was carried out in on the weekend of 30 September - 1 October 2017 by a group from Mesolithic Deeside, directed by Cameron Archaeology. It was on an area where flints had previously been found by members of the public and a platform area is visible, which was the focus of the excavation. Three trenches were excavated, with structural remains in the form of four post-hole bases recorded and 162 flints recovered. The flints were recovered from all three trenches, although a greater proportion was recovered from Trench 3. The flints mostly date from the late Mesolithic or early Neolithic but there is also a small group of late Neolithic flints. Possible ballast flint was recovered from one of the post-holes, and the earlier flints were recovered from outside the limits of the structure suggesting it is later, with the possible ballast suggesting its last use was historic. Further excavation took place in March 2019, and another 451 flints were recovered as well as slag from two areas of the excavation. It appears that the site has been disturbed with soil, probably from the construction of the railway and road, dumped on the site. Fieldwalking to the north of this site revealed Mesolithic flints (see NO59NW0117). A total of 833 flaked lithics have been recovered from surface collection before excavation, the two seasons of test-pitting and the fieldwalking to the north. The assemblage is mainly of flint, with one quartz core and one piece of flaked siltstone, and indicates two main periods of activity, in the Late Mesolithic/Early Neolithic and in the Late Neolithic, including both knapping and use of tools. At least a quarter of the lithics were burnt. A total of 54 pieces relate to the production of blades in the Late Mesolithic and Early Neolithic, but a small group also represent Late Neolithic flint working. The collection also includes six microliths and seven scrapers.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 1991, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND, 1990, pp. 18-19 (Bibliographic reference). SAB6462.

CLARKE, A, 2017, HEUGHHEAD, ABERDEENSHIRE: AN INTERIM REPORT ON THE FLAKED LITHICS, Flint report (Bibliographic reference). SAB7066.

CAMERON ARCHAEOLOGY, 2017, HEUGHHEAD, ABOYNE: DATA STRUCTURE REPORT (DSR), DSR (Bibliographic reference). SAB7063.

CAMERON ARCHAEOLOGY, 2017, HEUGHHEAD, ABOYNE: WRITTEN SCHEME OF INVESTIGATION (WSI), WSI (Bibliographic reference). SAB7064.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2018, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND, VOLUME 18, 2017, pp. 10-11 (Bibliographic reference). SAB6463.

CAMERON ARCHAEOLOGY, 2019, HEUGHHEAD, ABOYNE: DATA STRUCTURE REPORT (DSR) 2017 AND 2019 EXCAVATIONS, Excavation report (Bibliographic reference). SAB8060.

Author unknown, n.d., DEESIDE PIPER, 12/10/2017 (Bibliographic reference). SAB4060.

Author unknown, n.d., EVENING EXPRESS, 29/11/2018 (Bibliographic reference). SAB446.

Record last edited

Nov 11 2021 12:21PM