Early Christian Long Cists at Pitkerro, Drumsturdy Road, Dundee and Market Knowe, Longforgan Ray Cachart and Derek Hall

49 Early Christian Long cists at Pitkerro, Drumsturdy Road, Dundee and Market Knowe, Longforgan Ray Cachart and Derek Hall Introduction 410; Nicolaisen 1979, 152, 154). Presumably Pitkerro was the fourth part of an earlier larger estate. Iron Age Two recently discovered burial sites on Tayside, one settlement in the area is indicated by the presence of a in Perthshire, at Longforgan and the other within the souterrain (NMRS, NO43SE 64) in the field to the east present boundaries of Dundee City Council, at Pitkerro, of the new cemetery; of a settlement of seven possible have revealed evidence of burial practices dating to the souterrains with associated round houses in a field to mid 6th/early 7th centuries AD. the south-west (NMRS, NO43SE 499); and of another Although the burial cairn near Longforgan had settlement of two, possibly three souterrains with two previously been recognised as a possible prehistoric associated round houses to the south (NMRS, NO43SE monument, locally known as the Market Knowe or 498) (Illus 2). Roman Knowe, the archaeological origin of the small About 600m E of the present investigations at mound at Pitkerro was unsuspected until a mechanical Pitkerro is the upstanding prehistoric mound of Cairn excavator broke into a long cist during construction Greg on the Linlathen estate, excavated in the 19th work, somewhat ironically on a new, modern cemetery. century and found to be of Bronze Age date but re- Despite differences in the way these sites came to used in the Pictish period (Stuart 1866). A Pictish Class light, subsequent investigations at both Longforgan 1 symbol stone was found at Cairn Greg (Stuart 1866, and Pitkerro represent the process and outcomes of 101) but is now lost. rescue archaeology in a rural context. The similar Approximately 2km to the NW of Pitkerro, up chronologies revealed by radiocarbon dating, evidence to 44 long cist burials were excavated at Ballumbie, of burial practices, relative geographical proximity and Angus. The Ballumbie cist burials were aligned W–E positioning of the cists in an area with a wide panoramic and located within a ditched enclosure which predated viewpoint, allow them to be considered together here. the medieval Chapel of Ballumbie with its associated graveyard (Hall and Cachart 2005; Hall 2007, 46–8). History Market Knowe, Longforgan Pitkerro The earliest known mention of the place name Longforgan appears as Forgrund in 1178–82 and The place-name Pitkerro is a hybrid of the Pictish ‘pet’ or as Langforgrunde in 1377–82 (Watson 1926, 381). ‘pett’ and Gaelic ‘ceathramh’ or quarter (Watson 1926, Watson (ibid) states that Forgrund is compounded Illus 1 General location of sites at Pitkerro and Market Knowe, Longforgan. Tayside and Fife Archaeological Journal vol 19–20 2013–2014, 49–60 50 Ray Cachart and Derek Hall Illus 2 Location of site at Pitkerro. of the placename elements for, over, on, and gronn, Pitkerro: the archaeology and means ‘on or above the bog’. The prefix ‘long’ Ray Cachart may derive from the Brittonic lann ‘enclosure, church’ (Philip 1895, 5) or perhaps lòn ‘marsh’. Introduction Hutcheson (1904, 64–7) claimed that the current church at Longforgan stands on the site of an earlier In August 2012, during construction works for the one dedicated to St Modwenna who died in 541 internal pathway for a new cemetery at Pitkerro, AD. A fragment of Class 1 Pictish symbol stone Drumsturdy Road, for Dundee City Council, a with a double disc design was ploughed up in a field mechanical excavator uncovered a long cist aligned adjacent to the site of a house called ‘Wemys’ which W–E. A large portion of the covering slabs was lies due West of Longforgan church (Taylor 1966, removed, revealing well preserved skeletal remains 38). and causing spoil to enter the cist void. Rathmell The development area itself is immediately Archaeology, the archaeological advisor to Dundee adjacent to the Market Knowe (Scheduled Monu- City Council, was contacted and an archaeological ment 2879), a possible large prehistoric burial assessment, excavation and watching brief were re- cairn, locally known as the Roman Knowe. Recent commended. The work was consequently undertaken by research has identified the Market Knowe as being Alder Archaeology. A visit to the cist site also revealed the ‘Hundhil of Longforgan’, the site of the Barony the presence of an unrecorded low mound just east of Court of Longforgan from at least the 14th century the cist which had previously been concealed by dense (O’Grady 2008). It is also claimed that the market vegetation. The area of the new Pitkerro Cemetery is of Longforgan took place at the Market Knowe until extensive, but the cist and mound cover a small area, 1633 (Philip 1895). The Ordnance Survey Name centred on NGR NO 46121 33867, just south Book of 1861 records the discovery of stone coffins of Drumsturdy Road (Illus 3). in the vicinity of the Knowe, however the exact The main aim of this investigation was to record location of these burials is unknown (OS Name the mound and cist disturbed by landscaping works, Book 1861). to prepare the cist burial for preservation in situ, Early Christian Long cists at Pitkerro, Drumsturdy Road, Dundee and Market Knowe, Longforgan 51 Illus 3 Site at Pitkerro showing location of mound and location of cists. recover a small bone sample for radiocarbon dating and to mitigate any unforeseen disturbance of other monuments in the vicinity. During the archaeological work the west end of a second long cist, also aligned W–E, was uncovered. Only the west end of the second cist was recorded and then reburied. A watching brief was conducted on the clearing of vegetation and topsoil along the line of a newly aligned footpath (avoiding the cist location) passing nearby (Illus 3) but this revealed nothing of archaeological significance. The site (Illus 1) Illus 4 Site at Pitkerro, looking south-south-east. Pitkerro lies on the eastern outskirts of Dundee, on the south side of Drumsturdy Road (B961), and directly adjacent to the boundary with Angus Council. Dundee City Council is developing an extensive area of agricultural land as a new cemetery, which will a new reception building for visitors and the intended come into use in phases over the coming years. The site of the maintenance compound. This area has been present investigations relate to a very small area near set aside for the scattering of ashes, with footpaths and the NE corner of the development, less than 100m S of various other landscape features. Drumsturdy Road. The area was heavily overgrown by scrub and saplings until recently cleared for the Archaeological background and method (Illus 2) development. This location is about the highest point of the development area, some 55m above sea level. Most of the development site was archaeologically It commands wide views over the Tay estuary to investigated and extensively trial trenched by GUARD Norman’s Law in Fife, to Dundee Law, and to the in 2009 but no significant archaeology was found Sidlaws. Most of the development area is intended (James 2010; GUARD 2010). The site of the cist for burials, but the archaeological investigations were burial and mound was, however, just outwith the close to the main entrance of the cemetery, in between eastern boundary of GUARD’s area of investigations. 52 Ray Cachart and Derek Hall The investigation of the cist burial required removing the deep overburden of glacial till towards the east end of the cist by machine and hand cleaning the remaining covering slabs. The in-situ cover slabs were recorded and then removed. The recent spoil from inside the cist was removed and the cist structure and the human remains within were recorded. As far as possible the skeleton was not disturbed and areas of primary fill were not removed. The skeleton was left in situ but a metatarsal from the left foot was removed for 14C dating. After recording was completed, the cist was covered using a newly formed large slab and reburied (Illus 8). During the removal of the overburden material from the east end of the cist a second cist was found 1.8m to the E. The second cist was not fully excavated and Illus 5 Long Cist 002 with second cist (007) in only the disturbed and exposed west end was cleaned, background, looking south-east. recorded and then reburied. No skeletal remains were observed within the fill, which was not removed. The skeleton (Illus 6 and 7) A watching brief was carried out on the groundworks for the newly aligned footpath. The body was laid out in an extended position, facing The surface of the mound was inspected by the east and with hands placed on pelvis. Most of the bones archaeologists and surveyed by the development had survived remarkably well. Where the cover slabs surveyors. had been damaged by machining at the west end of the cist, loose silt and stone had fallen onto the upper part Results of investigations of the skeleton, and between the skeleton and the north Cist (Illus 5–7) wall of the cist. The loose recent spoil was carefully removed revealing some earlier compacted silting at The cist was formed from green-grey sandstone, flat the skull area and at the left side of the chest. More fragments of which are abundant in the natural glacial primary silting had entered the cist where the middle till. It was aligned on a W–E axis and measured 1.90m slab on the south side of the cist had shifted inwards. in length and from 0.40m to 0.50m in width, tapering Within this earlier silting were some stone flakes which very slightly towards the east end.

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