Monument record MAB9335 - WAULKMILL

Remains of a Bronze Age stone circle of which only one stone now remains, and later Roman Iron Age graves.

Remains of a stone circle of which only one stone now remains. The rest of the stones (10 or 12 of them) were removed in 1835 to enable better cultivation of the field. There is a tradition that before their destruction, the surviving stone had projections from its two edges, so that it resembled a cross. These were knocked off when the circle was destroyed. The remaining stone is circa 1.6m high, circa 1.1m wide, circa 0.4m thick. Excavation carried out by R Bradley in September 2012 recorded features from the Neolithic to Roman Iron Age periods. A single shallow pit contained earlier Neolithic pottery, dating from between 4000 and 3500 BC, the fragments representing several vessels. The second phase of activity on the site is represented by the surviving traces of the stone circle. Four stone sockets were found suggesting the original monument was circa 16m in diameter: the stump of another standing stone remained in the ground. The arc of stone holes followed the same curve as a series of shallower features interpreted as the setting of a kerb, possibly defining an open area in the centre of the monument. It is unlikely to have been a recumbent stone circle and more likely it was a low circular cairn with an open space at its centre, the inner court defined by a wall of slabs, the outer kerb incorporating a circle of standing stones. There was no direct dating evidence for the circle, but it may have been built during the Early Bronze Age. Two deposits of cremated bone associated with the stone circle (one in a pit in the centre of the monument) are attributed to a phase of secondary use during the Late Bronze Age. Two Roman Iron Age graves were found beside the monument. One had probably contained a wooden coffin (or which no trace survived). A bronze penannular brooch and set of gaming pieces (similar to those found in a nearby quarry in the 19th century - see NJ40SE0024) were recovered. The second was a larger oval pit, in which the base of a wooden coffin survived Finds included two bronze rings. They possibly form part of a larger cemetery extending to the east.

Period Notes
Radiocarbon dating samples from the 2012 excavations: GU29421 - dating failed because of insufficient carbon: SUERC-44434 (GU29422) from cremated human bone 1673+/-29; 259 - 428 cal AD (2 sigma OxCal 4.2 run 03/05/13); SUERC-44435 (GU29423) from cremated human bone 1802+/- 29 (130 - 323 cal AD at 2 sigma OxCal 4.2 run 03/05/13)

AB 2451 (1904), AB 2451 (1904) (Ground Photograph). SAB13048.

COLES, JR, 1905, PSAS 39(1904-5) 206-218, 213-17, ILL (Bibliographic reference). SAB297.

OGSTON, A, 1931, PREHIST ANTIQ HOWE OF CROMAR, 96 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1358.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2013, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND, NEW SERIES, VOLUME 13, 2012, p.23 (Bibliographic reference). SAB5487.

BRADLEY, R, 2016, THE USE AND REUSE OF STONE CIRCLES: FIELDWORK AT FIVE SCOTTISH MONUMENTS AND ITS IMPLICATIONS (Bibliographic reference). SAB3816.

BRADLEY, R, n.d., EXCAVATIONS AT WAULKMILL, TARLAND, Interim report (Bibliographic reference). SAB3778.

Record last edited

Apr 9 2026 9:08AM