Excavations at Iona Abbey 2018 Data Structure Report Ewan Campbell & Cathy MacIver Excavations at Iona Abbey 2018 Data Structure Report National Grid References (NGR): Site B NM 28659 24586 (centred) Site D NM 28681 24389 (centred) Scheduled Monument No. 12968 Canmore No. 21664 OASIS No. universi22-323685 Prepared by: Dr Ewan Campbell Cathy MacIver Illustrations by: C. MacIver Date of Fieldwork: 05/05/2018-02/06/2018 Date of Report: 30/08/2018 Iona Abbey 2018 DSR Contents Page Abstract .............................................................................................................................................................................. 6 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................... 7 1.1 Project Background ....................................................................................................................................... 7 1.2 Site Location and Description ........................................................................................................................ 7 1.3 Archaeological and Historical Background .................................................................................................... 8 1.4 Summary of the landscaping around Site B – St Mary’s Cathedral Church................................................... 9 2 Methodology ........................................................................................................................................................... 11 2.1 Personnel .................................................................................................................................................... 11 2.2 Excavation ................................................................................................................................................... 11 2.3 Sampling ..................................................................................................................................................... 12 2.4 Objectives .................................................................................................................................................... 12 3 Excavation Results ................................................................................................................................................. 12 3.1 Site B (site code HY18B) ............................................................................................................................. 13 Summary of 2017 results .......................................................................................................................................... 13 2018 results: Early medieval – medieval deposits .................................................................................................... 14 Medieval deposits ..................................................................................................................................................... 19 Abbey demolition and re-construction ....................................................................................................................... 21 Twentieth-century landscaping ................................................................................................................................. 27 Synthesis and phasing .............................................................................................................................................. 33 Finds ......................................................................................................................................................................... 33 Discussion ................................................................................................................................................................ 37 3.2 Site D (site code HY18D) ............................................................................................................................ 40 Lynchet [420] ............................................................................................................................................................ 45 Ditch [408]................................................................................................................................................................. 45 Interior....................................................................................................................................................................... 46 Finds ......................................................................................................................................................................... 47 Discussion ................................................................................................................................................................ 49 Post-excavation strategy........................................................................................................................................... 49 4 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................................................ 51 5 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................................ 52 6 References .............................................................................................................................................................. 52 Appendix 1: List of Contexts .......................................................................................................................................... 55 Appendix 2: List of Samples .......................................................................................................................................... 62 Appendix 3: List of Finds ............................................................................................................................................... 64 Appendix 4: List of Photos ............................................................................................................................................. 72 Appendix 5: List of Drawings ......................................................................................................................................... 81 Appendix 6 Wet-sieving results ................................................................................................................................... 83 3 Iona Abbey 2018 DSR List of Illustrations Illus 1: Site Location Illus 2: The Abbey buildings pre-1870s consolidation and landscaping from the south-west, showing heaps of collapsed masonry and the high level of the ground to the south of the Abbey church Illus 3: The church from the south-east during the 1870s consolidation, showing piles of sorted stone from clearance work Illus 4: Sketch of profiles across Site B (Abbey church to left, boundary wall to right, wall [501] in middle), showing the sequence of landscaping activities Illus 5: West- and south-facing section of Thomas’s Cutting 11d with radiocarbon dates Illus 6: New resistivity survey of abbey, compared to GPR survey. Illus 7: West facing section of Thomas’ Cutting 11d with newly exposed stone setting [514] overlain by charcoal-rich layer (211) Illus 8: Post-excavation plan of the medieval contexts at the full extent of 2018 excavation Illus 9: Wall [501] fully exposed in northern extension Illus 10: Northernmost extension, showing charcoal-rich layer (528) to left, cut by wall robbing trench [538], with clay-bonded eastern extension to the wall [549] Illus 11 Cobbling (537) exposed after removal of masons’ yard deposits, looking east Illus 12: North extension with L-shaped stone structure [525] and landscaped terrace edge [547]. Note location of display board Illus 13: Window tracery of Carsaig Sandstone SF590, broken during manufacture and embedded in floor of masons’ yard (532) Illus 14: Sleeper beam slot [535] for south wall of masons’ yard building, looking east Illus 15: Surface of (529), compacted chips of Carsaig sandstone and stone Illus 16: 20th-century mortar-mixing surface (541) and mortar line (522) overlying robbed out wall Illus 17: Early 20th –century features with masons’ yard timber beam-slot [535], stone chippings deposits (532) and shell deposit (510) Illus 18: Plan of the modern levelling and landscaping features Illus 19: East facing section of north extension demonstrating turf immediately overlying medieval structure [525]. Note how the shelly deposit (510) overlaps the terrace cut [547]. Illus 20: Levelled surface of (504) under modern turf Illus 21: East facing section of main trench and north extension Illus 22: South facing section of west extension and main trench Illus 23: Detailed south facing section of main trench, north-east end Illus 24: East facing section of west extension Illus 25: East facing profile demonstrating depth of modern overburden onto medieval deposits Illus 26: Early medieval copper alloy nail-headed pin SF570 Illus 27: Silver penny of Alexander III SF618 Illus 28: Box hasp or clasp SF623 Illus 29: Chape with wood inside SF570 Illus 30: Copper alloy leatherworker’s needle (note angular point) SF615 Illus 31: Re-used ashlar block SF574, and chamfered block SF 558 (right) with mullion SF590 and stone chips Illus 32: Early medieval features in terraced