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The Daily Thistle

The Daily Thistle – Archeological News From Scotland

Friday 1st June 2018

"Madainn Mhath” …Fellow Scot, I hope the day brings joy to you….  I managed to locate some interesting articles about discoveries in Scotland, when you read them in one go they certainly make you think…. Everything from castles to surveys, I often think what could be found if they flew a LIDAR radar plane over Scotland, I think the discoveries would be amazing, I’m off to get coffee, Bella has had her food and is snoring on the sofa.. enjoy the day…

17TH-CENTURY CLAN LANDS SURVEYED IN SCOTLAND….ARROCHAR, SCOTLAND—The Scotsman reports that a team led by Heather James of Calluna Archaeology found more than 80 archaeological sites dating to the seventeenth century during a survey of the western shores of Loch Lomond, which is located in west-central Scotland. The sites include farmsteads, bridges, sheepfolds, earthen banks, quarries, cairns, and almshouses for travelers. The territory has long been associated with Clan MacFarlane, whose castle was located on the loch’s island of Elanvow. A possible watchtower site, discovered on Tarbet Island, may have been used by the MacFarlanes to monitor the area. “They were a clan who struggled to keep their head above water, but they eventually made peace with their rivals, the Campbells, which helped them for a while,” James said. The lands were eventually sold in the eighteenth century to pay off debts at a time when many of the clan’s men moved to other parts of Scotland, Ireland, or America. The land is now part of a national park.

ABERDEEN ARCHAEOLOGISTS PLAN SEARCH FOR 16TH-CENTURY SCHOOL…. ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND—Archaeologists from the University of Aberdeen will look for traces of a sixteenth-century grammar school that was situated in front of King’s College, a site now occupied by King’s College Chapel. “It acted as a preparatory school for pupils who wished to study at the university and pupils underwent a grueling timetable, with prayers, classes on the Latin authors, and language lessons,” said project leader Gordon Noble. The team members hope to find evidence of the building’s ground plan, artifacts from the school, and develop a better understanding of educational practices in the years before the Protestant Reformation, which is thought to have brought about a more egalitarian educational system. For more on archaeology in Scotland, go to “Viking Treasure Trove.” They first searched in 2017 without success, but feel confident they will find it this year.

ROMAN ARTIFACTS RECOVERED AT FORT ANNEX IN SCOTLAND…. FALKIRK, SCOTLAND—Culture 24 reports that excavations at a settlement located outside the walls of Camelon Roman Fort in central Scotland have uncovered Roman socketed bolt heads, a spiraled ox-goad, 12 hobnails, traces of cereal grains, and the possible remains of a bread oven. Many of the artifacts, and industrial waste products from iron smelting, were retrieved from pits dated to between 41 B.C. and A.D. 116. Experts from Guard Archaeology say the bolt heads are blunted, suggesting that they may have been used by the soldiers stationed at the fort for target practice. The ox-goad, when placed on a wooden shaft, may have been used to control oxen pulling a plow. Some of the recovered nails bear traces of mineralized leather, but none of them were found corroded together, so they were probably not all from the same sandal or boot. The excavation also yielded pottery dated from the mid-first century to the third century that had been imported from Northern Gaul.

UNUSUAL STONE SLABS UNEARTHED AT NESS OF BRODGAR….ORKNEY, SCOTLAND—A structure constructed of stone slabs up to 13 feet long has been found beneath a huge midden at the Ness of Brodgar by a team led by researchers from the University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute. According to a report in BBC News, archaeologists think the building, which measures some 33 feet wide, may have been the first structure at the site. Its unusual stones have rounded edges and may have been brought from another site and reused. “Perhaps they may be part of a stone circle that predates the main Ness site. It is a bit of a mystery and we won’t know more until we do more work,” said site director Nick Card. Most of the other structures at the Ness of Brodgar were made of pieces of flagstone and may also have had slate roofs. The site sits between two Neolithic monuments, the Ring of Brodgar and the Standing Stones of Stenness, and is thought to have served as a gathering place for more than 1,000 years.

POSSIBLE PREHISTORIC SETTLEMENT UNEARTHED ON SCOTTISH ISLAND…. IONA, SCOTLAND—The Press and Journal reports that a site believed to have been a prehistoric settlement has been unearthed on the island of Iona. The island is best known for the monastery founded in the sixth century A.D. by the monk Columba, who took refuge there after being exiled from his native Ireland. The new discoveries, made during a survey prior to building an extension of the island’s primary school, include pottery, flints, and other materials that may date back as far as 2,500 years. The excavation, which was led by Clare Ellis of Argyll Archaeology, also unearthed an extension to the island’s medieval wall. “What is most exciting to me is that the lines of the property that exist now are very similar to the property lines that existed more than 2,000 years ago,” said Ellis.

MEDIEVAL CASTLE FOUNDATIONS UNEARTHED IN SCOTLAND….DUN, SCOTLAND—Teenaged students have assisted with the excavation of what could be a fourteenth-century castle in eastern Scotland, according to a report in the Brechin Advertiser. The volunteers were helping The National Trust for Scotland repair a mausoleum at the historic eighteenth-century estate known as the House of Dun when they uncovered the foundations of a medieval chapel and the nearby castle. The mausoleum is thought to have originally been part of the fourteenth-century chapel. Researchers believe the castle was built in the defensive form of a tower house that was surrounded by a curtain wall and other buildings. Damaged during the Civil War of 1644, the castle was eventually replaced with the Georgian house that now stands on the property. “This discovery of the site of the Castle of Dun is one more piece in the jigsaw that is the House of Dun estate,” said archaeologist Daniel Rhodes.

SCOTLAND’S 5,000-YEAR-OLD COCHNO STONE REVEALED….CLYDEBANK, SCOTLAND—BBC News reports that Kenny Brophy of Glasgow University is leading a team of researchers in a new study of the Cochno Stone. “This is the biggest and, I would argue, one of the most important Neolithic art panels in Europe,” he said. The stone, which measures about 26 feet by 42 feet and is located in an urban area, was buried in 1965 to protect it from the weather, foot traffic, and vandals who carved graffiti into its surface. As a first step, the team is uncovering the stone. Then they will use 3-D imaging technology to record its cup and ring marks, and produce a life-size copy. The facsimile will include the prehistoric surface and the pre-1965 graffiti.

On that note I will say that I hope you have enjoyed the archeological news from Scotland today,

Our look at Scotland today is by Mike Forbes who sent us this picture of racing yachts off Helensburgh.

A Sincere Thank You for your company and Thank You for your likes and comments I love them and always try to reply, so please keep them coming, it's always good fun, As is my custom, I will go and get myself another mug of "Colombian" Coffee and wish you a safe Friday 1st June 2018 from my home on the southern coast of Spain, where the blue waters of the Alboran Sea washes the coast of Africa and Europe and the smell of the night blooming Jasmine and Honeysuckle fills the air…and a crazy old guy and his dog Bella go out for a walk at 4:00 am…on the streets of Estepona…

All good stuff....But remember it’s a dangerous world we live in

Be safe out there…

Robert McAngus #robertmcangus #scotland #archeology