Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 127 (1997), 677-685

A medieval grain-drying kiln and earlier mill-lade at Lhanbryde, Derek Alexander* with a contribution by Timothy G Holden

ABSTRACT The remains ofseriesa of ditches Lhanbrydeat interpretedare remainsthe as ofmill-ladea system. The northern lade ofthe end subsequently contained remainsthe possibleofa grain-drying kiln from which burnt sherda oatsand of pottery indicate llth-an 13th-centuryto date.projectThe was Nationalfundedthe by Roads Directorate Historicvia .

INTRODUCTION e Centr Th r Fielfo e d Archaeology undertoo n archaeologicaa k l assessment, excavatiod an n watching brie t Lhanbrydea f , near Elgin 199n i , 4 constructio e Lhanbrydprio6 th A9 o r t e th f eo n Bypass (illu swor e fundeNationa1)e s .Th th k wa y db l Roads Directorat Scottise Th f eo h Office managed behals an it Historiy n b o df c Scotland numbeA . isolatef o r d features were recorded alon e rout th gf constructio o e e majoritth t bu ny containe o artefactn do n d thers an swa e indication of their function or date (Alexander 1996). However, in the field to the south of the ease Statiof th o t villag o t d n eRoadan , sealed belo wdeea p topsoi buried lan d ploughsoila s wa , series of ditches, interpreted here as a mill-lade system. Built into the northern end of the disused mill-lade wer burne eth t remain grain-dryina f so g kil medievaf no l date (NGR 272J N : 6 6104).

MILL-LADE The mill-lade was located c 80 m east of a later, 19th-century mill-lade which led to a pond supplying a woollen mil Lhanbrydn i l ee remain (illuTh . s2) s were uncovere Trencn di durinh9 archaeologicae gth l assessment werd an ,e further investigate durind e excavatioan th e , th y gC b d d f Trencheo nan B , A s subsequent watchin ge ditche brieTh . f s2) (illu wer& 1 se sealed belo w0.7-1.c f ploughsoilo 2m . They comprised two narrow, iron-panned ditches (Ditches 1A & 2A) cut into the sandy subsoil, which led into two wider and deeper ditches (Ditches 1 & 2) to the north-east (illus 3). Ditch 1A was up to 1.95 m wide and 0.25 m deep while Ditch 2A was 1.65 m wide and 0.35 m deep. The fine silty fills of these ditches, together with the iron-panning along their sides, is consistent with gradual silting of open channels owing to running water. Two patches of stiff pink clay located below ploughsoil beside Ditch 2A may indicate that this ditch originalls wa y luted with clay.

* Centr Fielefor d Archaeology, Universit Edinburghyof Infirmar12 , y Street, Edinburgh EH1 1LT 678 SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND, 1997

ILLU S1 Location maps. (Based upon Ordnancee th CrownSurvey© p ma Copyright)

paire Th f ditcheso s suggest tha remaine th t represeny sma phaseo tw t f constructionso , althougt hi was impossibl determino et sequencee eth . DitcDitcd an hcombine1 2 foro dt mlarga e elongated mill- wide m pon e 8 Th .o d t north-easterdeeps variem p it u t 3 lon pondm d A .1. d5 gan d 2 betweec ,an m n 7 n0. end the pond narrowed to 2 m wide and continued outwith the Trench C excavation area to the north-east. Thi presumabls si positioe yth sluica r nfo e gat controo et outfloe lth watef wo r fro ponde mth t thi.A s point the present ground surface slopes downwards in a north-easterly direction, forming a slight terrace to the south of the existing burn. If this series of ditches was used to supply water for a mill then the area just outside the road corridor, to the north-east, would be the probable site of the mill (illus 3). The Lhanbryde Burn turns north-wese th o t t thia t s poin thid an st would have allowe watee dth r returnefroe milb e e mth o t l th o dt stream here. The fills within the pond suggest that the lower portions of the lade silted up over time before the upper portio infilles nwa d more rapidl loay yb m ploughsoi onle l (illuTh y . finds4) s from these fills werea numbe piecef ro irof so n slasomd gan e animal teeth.

GRAIN-DRYING KILN Trench C revealed four distinct layers within the north-eastern terminal of the pond. The base was lined with thick yellow clay, part of which had been burnt (illus 5.1). This hardened, black burnd re d t patcan f claho y forme singlda e concentrated area (which continued beyone dth excavation) and indicates the position of a fire. A single plain body sherd of 12th- or 13th-century pottery was located to the east of this clay layer. Both the clay and the pot sherd were covered in an even layer of carbonized seeds (illus 5.2, burnt seed deposit 1), the majority of which are ALEXANDER: GRAIN-DRYING KIL MILL-LADD NAN LHANBRYDT EA 9 67 I E

0 500m

C - site of church W - site of 19th-century woollen mill '"•••- postulated line of medieval lade ILLUS 2 Location of excavation trenches and mill lades

identified as oats (see below). The carbonized remains spread down the south-eastern side of the pond (illus 5.2, burnt seed deposit 2). This latter deposit appeared on examination in the field to be slightly different in character with a more fibrous content. Laboratory analysis of the seed type layero s tw presen e s supporteth n i t d this observation (see below) seede Th . s producee dth following radiocarbon date:

LAB No MATERIAL DATED BP 513(%o) GU-4371 Avena sp. 830 + 50 -28 680 SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND, 1997

10 20m

possible locatiof no mill site

Ditch 2

projected line of ditch

Ditch 2A

silty loam limit of area stripped during watching brief

ILLU S3 Pla milf no l lad locatiod ean kilf no n

The calibrated results from these samples produced a two-sigma calibrated range of AD 1042-1270 (following Stuive t ale r 1993) thicA . k laye f burno r t wattle (mostly haze oakd an l ) burnd an t daub sealed these layer carbonizef so d seeds (illus 5.3). After this episod f burnineo north-eastere gth n termina pone th f ds thio l A siltes . dup proces siltinf so g occurred pitso tw ,, each containin glarga e undressed stone, wer t inte ecu o th accumulating througd silan t layee h th f burn o r t wattl daud ean b (illue Th s . 5.3B) , pit& sA ALEXANDER: GRAIN-DRYING KILN AND MILL-LADE AT LHANBRYDE | 681

2m

Ijloam/ploughsoil |=-^=^ silt

I liiliiilifl silt/loam gg|| clay

Ji f^5J3 gravel |||l|lj!|| modern turf/topsoil

« [•,• • '; .] sand ILLU S4 Sections through mill lade larger of the two stones (stone A) was 0.76 m long, 0.87 m wide and 0.30 m thick as exposed. A cylindrical hole diamete0.1n i 5m t int0.2 d middle uppecu e deeor an 0th m s th f pewa ro surface. There were no remains within this socket to suggest what its function had been. The horizontal positioning of the stone with the hole facing upwards suggests it was placed there for a purpose, although the other stone, without a socket, argues against this and they may simply have been burie preveno dt t them being struck during ploughing possibls i t I . e that both stone havy sema been deposited following demolitio adjacene th f no t mill.

CARBONIZEE TH D PLANT REMAINS Timothy G Holden The samples from the two layers of burnt seeds (1 & 2) were processed and sorted at the Centre for Field Archaeology. Identifications were made using modern comparative material from the collection of AOC (Scotland) Ltd. The results are presented in Table 1 (below). Both samples were dominated by the grains of oat (Avena sp.), a number of which were still held withi enclosine nth g hulls (lemm palea)d aan . This latter categor wholf yo e florets enabled the identification of the oats to the black oat (Avena strigosa Schreb.). This implies that the majority of the naked grains were also of this species. In addition to the grains and florets considerable quantitie lightee th f so r chaff elements suc lemmas ha fragmentn , paleaaw d an , s were present, indicating that when charring occurred much of the crop was still in the form of florets. 682 | SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND, 1997

2 ! 7Nf- ;'-• later pil ™*-\rM;&\

ILLU S5 Sequenced plan depositf so kiln si n earlies lateso t t) (I-3 ALEXANDER: GRAIN-DRYING KILMILL-LADD NAN LHANBRYDT EA E 683

Other cereals were presen burnn i t t seed deposi only2 t ; these included hulled barley (Hordeum vulgare — hulled), rye (Secale cereale L.) and bread/compact wheat (Triticum aestivo- compactuni). Of these, barley grain was the most common, but because of the highly vesicular natur graie th f neo mos thif to s identifie e coulb t dno d beyon levee d indeterminatth f lo e cultivated barley. Weed seeds (here use includo dt e seeds, fruits etc) were recovered from both samples. From deposi the1 t y consiste considerablf do y tota e lesth sf l o thanumbe % n1 identifief ro d itemt sbu from layer 2 they amounted to approximately 45%. They are most likely to have been harvested along with the cereals and represent contaminants remaining in the part-processed product. They provide some evidence, therefore r agriculturafo , l field ecology speciee Th . s presen typicae ar t l component arabln a f so e weed flora varietA . f differenyo t ecological tolerance notee sar d with species such as corn spurrey (Spergula arvensis) indicative of moderate to acid soils with a good to average nutrient supply. Fat hen (Chenopodium album L.) is more prevalent on nitrogen-rich soils while sheep's sorrel (Rumex acetosella L.) is more commonly associated with acidic, nutrient- deficient soil and poor arable land (eg Hanf 1983). Both corn spurrey and fat hen are common weed element n spring-sowi s n cereals including barle d oatse differinan yTh . g ecological preference thesf so e seeds might well reflect differing patche soif so l quality withi same nth e field coulr o d indicate tha crope tth s were being brough site eth froo t m field varyinf so g fertility.

TABLE 1 Summar carbonizef yo d plant remains Deposits Latin name Plant part Common name 2 1 L 3 2.5L Polygonumperiscaria/lapathifolkium nutlet persicaria/pale persicaria 7 Bilderdykia convolvulus ) Dumor(L t nutlet black bind weed 10 Rumex acetosella agg. nutlet sheep's sorrel 4 Rumex sp. nutlet dock 1 Chenopodium album. L nutlet fat hen 117 Spergula arvensis. L seedcorn spurrey 7 16 Raphanus raphanistrum L. siliqua wild radish/charlock 2 1 cf Raphanus sp. seed wild radish/charlock 2 Galium aparine L. fruit cleavers 1 Galeopsis tetrahit agg. nutlet common hemp nettle 6 cf Plantago lanceolata seed ribwort plantain 2 Triticum aestivo-compactum caryopsis bread/club wheat 1 Triticum aestivo-compactum sprouted grain bread/club wheat 1 caryopsis Secale cerealeL. caryopsis rye 3 cf Secale cereale caryopsis rye 2 Hordeum vulgare indet. caryopsis barley indet. 15 cf Hordeum vulgare indet. caryopsis barley indet. 4 Hordeum vulgare (hulled) caryopsis hulled barley 1 Avena strigosa Schreb. floret black oat/bristle oat/smalt loa 247 4 Avena sp. awn oat + + + + + Avena sp. caryopsis oat 3557 176 Avena sp. lemma/palea oat + + + + + Gramineae indet. caryopsis grass indet. 5 Cereal indet. culm node 1 Indeterminate seed 11

With regard to the cereals, black oat, bread/compact wheat, hulled barley and rye all have precedents from other medieval site Scotlann si d (Boy t unexpecteno de ar 1988 r thid dfo an )s period. The dominance of black oat followed by hulled barley is also in keeping with the known importance of these cereals between the llth and 13th enturies. Wheat and rye are less common | SOCIET 4 68 ANTIQUARIEF YO SCOTLANDF SO , 1997

components and, as argued by Boyd (1988), might reflect, to some extent, the presence of particularly productive agricultural areas on parts of the coastal strip of eastern Scotland. mixture Th crof eo p specie burnn si t see dinterpretee deposib n wayso ca tw 2 t n :di eithe r they were growing together in the fields or they were mixed after the harvest. The evidence from burnt seed deposit contrasty 1b , , indicates tha croa t f purpo e beinoats swa g processede Th . deposi assemblage2 t , therefore probabls i , y best interprete croa s f oatdpa o s into whicd hod grain wheabarleyd f s o becom an d e ha t ry , e mixed during processing, storag depositionr eo e Th . presence of a much higher percentage of weed seeds in this latter context probably represents a crop less rigorously cleaned prio charringo t r alss i t oI . possibl sampleo e tw thae th st represent crops from different sources (producers r cropo ) s destine r differendfo t useanimag (e s l food rather than human food).

DISCUSSION The excavation at Lhanbryde revealed the remains of a mill-lade and a grain-drying kiln, both of which reflect medieval milling practices in the area. At the western end of the field the line of a further elongated pond feedin a woolleg n mil n Lhanbrydi l t editio 1s recordes i e e nth n do Ordnanc ethir Survefo s p areyma a (surveyed 1870-1, published 1874). Thilocates e swa th n di field by trial trenching. It is possible that such long thin mill ponds are characteristic of this part of Moray, perhaps resulting from the local topography. The earlier example discussed here was coveragep seales ma t markedeea y wa no y an t dpb I . n deposido burief o t d ploughsois it d an l cours truncates ewa constructioe th y db railwae th f no earlye linth yn e i 19th century onle Th y. finds recovered from the buried ploughsoil consist of two sherds of medieval pottery, perhaps 14th centur datn yi e (George Haggarty, pers comm continentaa d an ) l imitatio Englisn a f no h silver penny of late 13th- or 14th-century date (Holmes in Alexander 1996). broaA d terminus ante mill-lade quernth r fo provides ei calibratee th y db d radiocarbon determination, the pottery evidence and the coin. These combine to suggest that the grain-drying kiln date betweeo dt llte nth 13to h t h centuries discusses A . d above thiy b mille s d th lade, fe , , must have been situated outwit roae hth d corrido onld ran y further excavation migh able b t o et determine its form. charree Th d remain represeny sma debrie th t s fro mcorn-dryina g kiln whic burnd hha t down. The composition of the samples would certainly be compatible with this interpretation. t croevidentls oa pwa fore e th f floretTh m o n yi stile (i s l hulleds veri yd similaan ) thao t r t presente Fairweathey db r (1988) fro corn-driee mth site Capof th eo t ra , Kincardineshire. Based upon ethnographic evidence, Fairweather relates that oats were usually storefore th f m o n di floret thef si y threshewere b o e t alsd doan that parchin usualls gwa y undertake removae th n i l hulle millingr th sf fo o dominane Th . t crotoa p from Lhanbryd moss ei t likely, therefore havo t , e become charred either as a kiln structure was accidentally burnt down while the crop was being prepare storager dfo durinr o , g parching remova e prio th hullse o casrth e t thif f th I .l eo s si the n the barley, wheat and rye recovered from burnt seed deposit 2 probably represent traces of previous crops thabeed ha tn dried prio storageo rt same th en i , kilnaccidentae Th . l burninf go crops during kilning was, by all accounts (Fenton 1978), a relatively common occurrence in the past. Medieval grain-drying kilns have been found at Abercairny, Perthshire and Capo, Kincardineshire, producing date llt e earl13td s sth a h an s hya centuries (Gibson 1988). These keyhole-shaped kiln stone-flagged sha d floors with superstructures mainl f turvesyo . Although the form and alignment of the kiln at Lhanbryde remains unknown, the evidence suggests some ALEXANDER: GRAIN-DRYING MILL-LADKILD NAN LHANBRYDT EA 5 68 | E

form of wattle-and-daub superstructure, with a clay floor, set into the partly infilled remains of mile th l pond f lighte. o Thi e sus r organic materials rather tha nsuperstructure stonth r efo f eo grain-drying t inconsistenkilnno s si t wit evidence hth e from Abercairn Capod yan . Unfortunately there is very little documentary information regarding the early history of Lhanbryde (Jim Inglis, pers comm) which could confir presence mth mila f t thiea lo s time. Since therevidenco n s e i mott a r eever fo eo latena r stone castlvicinite th n ei y unti constructioe lth f no 16th-centure th y towe t Coxtona r likels i t i , y that Lhanbryd ecclesiastican a s ewa l land holding, nams it s ea (churc t BridgetS f ho ) suggests village probablTh .s ewa y focuse churce th n do h with a mill situated on the outskirts of the settled area. The lade and pond are at least indicative of the presenc milla f eo , althoug t locatedno s sits hit e wa . Generally, medieval mills have proven elusive o archaeologistt s whic surprisins hi g given that they must have been, along with castled an s churches, a ubiquitous feature of the feudal system in the landscape of medieval Scotland.

ARCHIVE archivn projece A th f eo t record bees sha n deposited wit Nationae hth l Monuments Recorf do Scotland finde Th .s have been reporte Treasure th o dt e Trove Advisory Pane allocatior lfo n a o nt appropriate museum.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The project was commissioned by Historic Scotland on behalf of the National Roads Directorate Scottise ofTh h Office Development Department woulA CF . d lik thano et Andrer kM w Millef ro Nationae th l Roads Directorat manageo ewh constructioe dth Lhanbryde th f no e Bypasd an s Chris Angui f Halcrono w Scotlan helr dfo p throughout identificatioe Th . planf no t remainy sb Tim Holden was undertaken at AOC (Scotland) Ltd. The author is also grateful to George Haggarty and Nicholas Holmes (National Museums of Scotland) who undertook examination pottere th coinf d o yan , respectively. Kirsty Cameron produce illustrationse th l dal thanky M . s are also extended to Jim Inglis, formerly of Elgin Museum, who provided historical information on Lhanbryde.

REFERENCES Alexander, D 1996 Aberdeen-Inverness Trunk Road A96 Lhanbryde Bypass, Archaeological Excavations — Archive Report. ReporA CF 209o tN . Edinburgh. Boyd 198E W , 8 'Cereal Scottisn si h Antiquity', Circaea, 5(2) (1988), 101-10. Fairweather 198D A ,8 'Carbonised Grain' Gibson i , (ed)A n , 'Medieval corn-drying kiln t Capoa s , Kincardinshire, aiid Abercairny, Perthshire', Proc Antiqc So Scot, (1988)8 11 , 219-29. Fenton, A 1978 The Northern Isles: Orkney and Shetland. Edinburgh. Gibson, A 1988 Medieval corn-drying kilns at Capo, Kincardineshire, and Abercairny, Perthshire, Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 118 (1988), 219-29. Hanf, M 1983 The Arable Weeds of Europe. Hadleigh, Suffolk. Stuiver , Long DevineM ,& , Kra S A 199, M R ,J , 3 'Universit f Washingtoyo n Quaternary Isotopb eLa Radiocarbon Calibration Programme, rev 3.0.3', Radiocarbon, 35 (1) (1993), 215-30.

This paper is published with the aid of a grant from Historic Scotland