Cromartie Memorial Car Park Dingwall, Highland
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CROMARTIE MEMORIAL CAR PARK DINGWALL, HIGHLAND Archaeological Excavation 2012 Data Structure Report (with radiocarbon dates) REPORT INFORMATION SHEET Project Title THING Project / Dingwall Thing Project Council Area Highland HER Index MHG16352 NGR NH 54979 58911 Project Manager Dr Oliver J T O’Grady Contact Detail OJT Heritage 28B Wilson Street Perth, PH2 0EX t: 07821155677 e: [email protected] w: www.ojtheritage.com Text Dr Oliver J T O’Grady Illustrations Dr Oliver J T O’Grady Fieldwork Dr Oliver J T O’Grady Stephen Digney Schedule Fieldwork September 2012 Report March, May, June 2013 Front page: Local school pupils visit the excavation to learn about the THING Project (© Frank Bradford). Text and images are copyright to the author, unless otherwise stated. ©Dr Oliver JT O’Grady 1 CONTENT 1.0 NON TECHNICAL SUMMARY………………………………..……………………….3 2.0 INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………3-4 3.0 AIM & OBJECTIVES…………….………………………………………………………4 4.0 METHOD………………………………..………………………………………………..4 5.0 RESULTS………………………………………………………………………….…....5-9 6.0 INTERPRETATION…………………………………………………………………10-12 7.0 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………………...12 8.0 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………..12 FIGURES……………………………………………...……………………………..13-26 APPENDICES………………………………………………………………………..27-50 2 1.0 NON TECHNICAL SUMMARY 1.1 This report presents the technical results from archaeological excavation and geophysical survey at the Cromartie Memorial Car Park, Dingwall in Highland Council, during September 2012. The archaeological works were commissioned by Dingwall History Society on behalf of The Highland Council as part of a programme of public dissemination activities celebrating the THING Project, funded by the European Commission Northern Peripheries Fund. A schedule of outreach and educational activities were also delivered in parallel to the excavation, including guided tours for local school pupils, display of information posters, interviews with BBC Alba and local press, and a day conference. 1.2 The Cromartie Memorial Car Park has been identified as the site of Dingwall’s Viking assembly site or ‘thing’. The car park was previously the site of an earth mound known by the late medieval period as the Moothill and adapted as a burial mausoleum for the Mackenzie family from at least the early 18th century. The archaeological investigations aimed to undertake an initial evaluation of the site to assess the presence or absence of archaeologically sensitive remains and characterise the form, nature and date of any remains encountered. Results of this evaluation can now be compared with a review of the site’s history, landscape and other known Viking thing sites. 2.0 INTRODUCTION 2.1 Location 2.1.1 The excavation was undertaken in the Cromartie Memorial Car Park, which is flanked by Church Street on the west and north (FIG 1). The car park is located a short distance north of Dingwall High Street at approximately 3m OD and opposite Dingwall Old Parish Church. Dingwall is in Ross-shire part of the Dingwall, Seaforth and Black Isle Ward of Highland Council. The canalised lower reaches of the River Peffery are located a sort distance to the north, 1.5km from its confluence with the Cromarty Firth. Dingwall is located at the head of Strathpeffer. 2.2 Background 2.2.1 OJT Heritage was commissioned by Dingwall History Society to undertake an archaeological excavation at Cromarty Memorial Car Park. This formed part of a public dissemination event for the THING Project, in which The Highland Council was a partner organization. The event was delivered in collaboration with Dingwall History Society’s ‘Dingwall Thing Project’. The excavation was commissioned to broaden public appreciation and awareness of Dingwall’s archaeology and work of the THING Project, and to advance understanding of the archaeological remains of the mound site, which has been proposed as the site of Dingwall’s Viking thing. 3 2.3 Archaeological and Historical Background 2.3.1 A full archaeological and historic background for the site can be found in previous reporting on geophysical survey at the car park (O’Grady 2011) and in a full report on the site’s local history by Dingwall History Society (MacDonald 2013). 3.0 AIMS & OBJECTIVES 3.1 The objectives of the archaeological works and reporting were: i.) To determine the character, extent, condition, date and quality of archaeological remains at Cromartie Memorial Car Park, with specific focus on potential Viking Age archaeology. ii.) To assess the extent of survival of the archaeological remains following modern demolition activity and formulate a revised research agenda for the site that can guide future investigation and management of the site. iii.) Support outreach and public dissemination for the THING Project. 4.0 METHOD 4.1 The excavations were informed by a dedicated Project Design (O’Grady 2012). A machine digger was used to remove the tarmac and aggregate overburden. Deposit (002) was then excavated in spits using a machine with a toothless bucket. The machine encountered difficulties exiting the trench due to the inexperience of the driver. This led to a small amount of disturbance of clays at the south-east end of the trench by the machine tracks. Following exposure of in situ archaeological deposits all cleaning and excavation was undertaken by hand. The 2m wide trench was stepped to 1m wide when it became apparent that the deposits would extend to depth in excess of 1m. Deposits and archaeological features were recorded in plan and section using individually numbered context records. Finds and environmental samples were assigned individual index numbers. A photographic register and a reflective day book were also kept. A topographic survey was commissioned by Ross and Cromarty Archaeological Services to record in 3D the trench location, main archaeological deposits, levels and find locations. The site was returned to its original condition by a separate certificated contractor under supervision of The Highland Council. Further information regarding excavation methods can be referred to in the Project Design (O’Grady 2012). 4 5.0 RESULTS 5.1 Introduction 5.1.1 The fieldwork was undertaken by a team of two archaeologists, supervising two to five local volunteers, during September 2012. The weather conditions were variable, with occasional prolonged periods of heavy rain. 5.1.2 The various data gathered from the fieldwork are presented as a series of appendices: i) Appendix 1 Site plans; ii) Appendix 2 Context register; iii) Appendix 3 Stratigraphic matrices; iv) Appendix 4 Drawing register; v) Appendix 5 Photographic register; vi) Appendix 6 Finds and bone register; vii) Appendix 7 Sample register; viii) Appendix 8 Pottery assessment; ix) Appendix 9 Radiocarbon date technical reports; 5.2 Geophysical Survey 5.2.1 A ground penetrating radar survey was undertaken by OJT Heritage over the Cromartie Memorial Car Park in 2011 (O’Grady 2011). This revealed the historic footprint of a mound beneath the car park tarmac and indicated the location of reclaimed estuary muds on the north and east side of the car park (these deposits were initially interpreted as a man-made ditch, but this interpretation was subsequently revised following examination of historic maps). The survey also provided indications of structures, disturbance and modern services across the mound site, including remains of a large rectangular enclosure wall around the obelisk memorial garden. Other features identified included an indentation at the north-west side of the mound edge, which was rectangular in plan and posited to be a bridge point or landing place. The excavation trench was located to investigate this area of mound with the aim of revealing the mound deposits, the rectangular enclosure wall and possible bridge/landing place. In the event a modern manhole was located too close to the proposed trench location and so the final location was moved a short distance to the NE, but still within target sample area. 5.3 Excavation 5.3.1 A 20m x 2m trench was opened across the NW side of the car park through the mechanical removal of surface tarmac and underlying aggregate (001). The trench was also positioned to avoid areas of modern services and suspected post-medieval ground disturbance (FIG 2). 5 Car park: 5.3.2 Loosely compacted aggregate (001) was removed from beneath the tarmac by machine. The aggregate was only a thin covering at the SE end of the trench adjacent the memorial garden wall. The aggregate was progressively deeper toward the NW at a maximum depth of 0.6m. In the section 5m from the NW edge of the trench this contained large sandstone rubble and masonry with cement fragments. This rubble may be the partial remains of a demolished post-medieval enclosure wall that previously surrounded the historic Hillyard (see O’Grady 2011). It was apparent that the differential depth of the aggregate had been laid down to create the gradual slope of the car park’s surface and has masked the original, more pronounced slope of the mound and its interface with the historic shoreline (FIG 3). 5.3.3 Below aggregate (001) in the NW half of the trench was mixed clay and sand (002). This comprised firmly compact bands of dark brown and bluish grey sands and clays. The exposed area of this deposit was 0.58m at thickest extent, 8.5m length and 2m wide. This was partially machined in spits and contained occasional sandstone and mortar fragments with frequent charcoal flecks and post-medieval pottery (FIG 4). The remainder of (002) was excavated by hand and treated as a single event. This was interpreted as a mixed demolition layer relating to bulldozing of the mound for construction of the car park in 1947. The mixed deposit appeared to contain re-deposited material from the upper deposits of the mound, with turf and possible fragments of the old Hillyard enclosure wall. Memorial garden: 5.3.4 At the S end of the trench the concrete plinth (006) for a garden memorial wall sat in cut [007], which truncated sandy clay (008).