EXCAVATIO E SCULPTOR'TH F NO S CAVE, COVESEA7 17 . I. THE EXCAVATION OF THE SCULPTOR'S CAVE, COVESEA, MORAYSHIRE. BY Miss SYLVIA BENTON, M.A., F.S.A.ScoT. The cave is situated 1£ mile due north of Gordonstoun House, 6 miles north of Elgin, on the south shore of the Moray Firth. It takes its name from, the so-called Pictish sculpturings outlined on the walls and published in Sculptured Stones of Scotland and Early Christian Monuments Scotland.of When I obtained permission to see these in 1928, my companion, Miss Mollie Hair, calle attentioy m de fac th t o t nthae floos th twa r strewn with human bones. A knife stuck into the soil showed fat- looking occupation earth. The late Sir William Gordon-Gumming, Bart., was sympathetic to r projectou readild san y gav permissios eu mako nt furtheea r examina- tion. A week's work at trial trenches gave us objects of Bronze Age d Romaan n hop a date d f stratificationeo an , , thougo n thee d hw nha idea of the richness of the deposit. The following yea Williar s son e presenSi hi r ,th d r Alastairman Si t , with wonderful archaeological interest and a most unusual generosity, put at my disposal the tools of the Gordonstoun estate and a team of four men led by Mr Charles White. Whe nI starte d cave diggin I gsough vaitechnicain t nfor l advice. I should like to record here a few hints gained from my own experience. A dum always pi nuisancesa insidt bu , cavea t produceei s intolerable confusion of mind. Everything was put on a barrow and taken into the daylight. Here we soon learnt that the top soil was full of small bronzes which were quite invisible inside. Oncbarroa n eo e eart wth h migh t throug s pu welusen a te b lme d ha sieve e thiTh s. even when examining material whic he riddled b coul t no d , suc s claya h . Each receive s portioe siev hi dkned th ean n wo n whetheexamined ha e h r d notr o .t i Layer beed ha sn mad haphazarn ei stratup d to fashio e y mth b n ni burning and trampling on the various floors. Owing to their irregularity friable th d ean naturshinglee th f eo , these were useles stratificationr sfo . It was, however, found that a spade inserted above a floor went through easily and safely. If it "was an inch too high or too low considerable force had to be exerted, and there was great danger of breakage. In e invisible frailtvieth th f f wo o y e bronze this observatioe th f o s wa n greatest assistance to us. 2 1 VOL. LXV. 8 17 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F O S , JANUARY 12, 1931. The same system was adopted when dealing with much of the clay. Layers of sand were interspersed among it, and the spade ran easily among these. Tearing lump f claso pieceo yt s hour after hou mosa s ri t severe test of human patience. In 1929 I had the advantage of the help of Mr David Wernham, who worked most manfully at these and other ungrateful tasks suc washins ha g bones. misse We verdhim y muc 1930hin , whe dealnwe t even more faith- fully with the clay. Sir Alastair again gave me the same team, and, as in 1929, we worked eight hours a day for five weeks. THE CAVE. The cave faces north, looking across the Firth to the Caithness hills neven su e ra nort toucheTh d (fig. han 1) , .win it s d made sievint ga the entrance an unpleasant proceeding. Fig. 1. Sculptor's Cave, Covesea, Morayshire. Even now it is difficult to find and difficult to reach. It is cut off at high tide in stormy weather; on two occasions I wondered whether I should climb round without being drowned. At the time of our earliest inhabitants, when the sea was little below the level of the passages, access could only have been possible at low tide t musI . t then have bee nmuca h less comfortable, thoug evenn ha more secluded, residence than it is to-day. The cliffs are red sandstone, and have been used for quarrying. The cave itself, as shown on the plan made by Mr W. Whittet, is abou fee0 fee9 t0 t 4 tlon d widgan e (fig . Sinc2) . e plas madeth nwa e ew have cleared anothe fee0 f 1 roofro t . Ther a passag s ei e behind going o ffi W en O .±*-rT__j. ____ i ____ i ____ i _________ i ____ I ____ i 3 o = ROCKS. W= ROMANO- BRITISH HEARTH IN 3/TU. XYZ > BOTTOM OF BRONZE AGE. LAYER. RS- STRIP OF ORIGINAL SURFACE. LEFT ALONG THE. BASE LINE.. o Fig. 2. Plan of the Sculptor's Cave. oO W Fig. 3. Section of Floor of the Sculptor's Cave. 0 18 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F O S , JANUAR , 1931Y12 . some 30 feet into the rock. Progress along this is by rolling, and it has not been shown on the plan. The two passages at the entrance are separated by a wall of rock. Falls of rock have occurred at various times in the south-west corner and outside. The surface of the rock is sculptured friablol e somd th ean muce f eo sar h decayed. originae stria Bth Ss f i p o l surface left alon base gth s i e lineZ ,XY the hard crust below the Bronze Age layer. W is a Romano-British hearth left -in situ above the Bronze Age layer. Strips of layer 2 have been left along the inside wall of both passages and in -CO. A good deal of excavation has been done outside the cave. The height above sea-leve s foun wa Majoly b d r Sleight, R.E. THE STRATIFICATION. There are three main layers of stratification (fig. 3). Layer 1, Occupation Earth.—This extends over the whole cave, varying deptn i h fro minche2 composes i feet 2 t I e blaco st . th f manf ko do y fires mixed with sand, gravel, and debris. As described in the intro- duction s dividei t i , y floorb d s hardene d tramplingfiry db an e e Th . gravel was so loose that coins were found in every layer, and pottery from different levels joined. Objects from the Bronze Age to a Viking rivet were foun thin i d s layer t objectbu , s fro e seconmth d centuro yt the fourth century A.D. predominated. Bronze Age objects were found in it chiefly at the back of the cave and along the east side. They were not found within 40 feet of the entrance (ABCD 4) to base line. Layer , ClayLayeredd 2 an Sand.—These mixee e uppear th n di r part. This dotted division belo ws composei f glutinouo d s clay t containI . s laminations from outsid e doos thi th eo ha ( t Asr d 2)characte,an n i r crevice e rocth kf o sbeyon d this point. Frofee0 4 fee5 tm 2 o frot t m base th e ful s lini f burn o t lei t black marks, charcoal Bronzd an ,e eAg objects. The clay dies out where the beach slopes up, about 45 feet from the door. The Laigh of Moray to the south has just such clay, more than 60 feet brick-yarde deeth t p a Elgin-Lossiemout e th n so h railway linke th s s A . between Lossiemouth and Covesea lighthouse are recently made land, s conceivabli t i e thae Lossieth t , flowing throug e Laighhth , entered 2a £ se mile e th ss presenwesit f o t t mouth. Probabl e wholyth e beach was muddy at this time when the sea had already started to retreat from the cave, and river and sea between them carried the mud into a sanse k e further th e cave s th A . , wind-blown sand covere e outdth - side clay, but while (A 3) - (D 3) was still moist the Bronze Age people came and lived in it and trampled their goods and chattels into it. The black line of their smoke can be traced from (A3)-(A1) outside, where we EXCAVATIO E SCULPTOR'TH F NO S CAVE, COVESEA1 18 . found separates potteri ) 3 D ( ypottery) - d3 ) lik 3 D fro( e A e - ( (m) Ath . 3 Roman layer by a hard burnt floor which has proved impenetrable to the smallest coin, although it is only about 1 foot below the surface. Near the door it is about 6 feet down. The intermediate sand was almost barren abov e clearlth e y defined Bronz e levelAg e . Opposite e rocth k wall, betwee e passageth n s outside a fal,f roc o l k seemo t s have crashed inhabitants e dowth n no , leavin t leas ga crushee on t d skull. Layer 3.—The shingl 25-fooe th f eo t beac s barrehwa n e excepth r fo t bonesblacw fe ka . lind ean Explanation of Marking.—Throughout, letters and numbers in brackets refer to the divisions of the cave. See plan (fig. 2). Objects stratified in the Bronze Age layer are marked 2nd. Objects not so marke froe e mixedar m th d layer. HEARTH (B3).—The only struc- tur were ew e abl identifo et s ywa an apsidal hearth, set with curbs roun dapse parth ef (figo t .