Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 128 (1998), 581-617 Excavation t Castlsa e of Wardhouse, Aberdeenshire Peter A Yeoman* with contribution BoardmanS y sb Carter,S CundhillP , , K Cuthbert, D Davidson, B Finlayson, B Ford, T Gabra-Sanders, D Gallagher, S Hamilton-Dyer, I Mate, F McCormick, HolmesQ Mc SpearmaM ,M N WilR n& l ABSTRACT Advanced plough erosion prompted rescue excavation moatedthe at site Castleof Wardhouseof in 1988. integratedAn programme of work involving aerial photography, field survey, remote sensing, palynological analysis and excavation enabled interpretation of the complex development of the site historicinits environment (beyond this, palynology indicates human intervention environsthe in since at least 5000 BP). The defences of the 13th-century moated enclosure were well preserved, although plough damage removedhad almost tracesbuildingsall the enclosed the of on platform. Documentary evidence clearly indicates that laterthe castle form the that of was ofstonea tower house. This too has been ploughed away. The project was funded by Historic Scotland. INTRODUCTION The Castle of Wardhouse (NGR: NJ 593 289) is located in the valley of the Shevock Burn, 4 km west of Insch in Aberdeenshire, and 2 km west of the vitrified hillfort and medieval castle of Dunnideer (illu s sitalway e s 1)eha .Th s been identifie castla s d a Ordnanc n eo e Survey mapsd an , was brought to prominence by W D Simpson (1935). The writer first examined the site in 1986, as survea par f o tf medievayo l settlement remain lordshie Garioce th th n i sf o p h (Yeoman 1988a). This survey revealed thabeinsitthe was te g seriously erode ploughinby d g and, consequently Historie ,th c Building Monuments& s Directorate (HBM) predecessoe ,th r bodo yt Historic Scotland, agreed to fund a limited rescue excavation. This took place over a four-week period during August and September 1988 and was directed by the writer under the auspices of HBM's then in-house field unit, Archaeological Operations and Conservation. The twin strategy was to assess the condition of the site, while at the same time retrieving data concerning its origins, datdevelopmentd ean . The site stands at approximately 170m above sea-level. It is surrounded by good agricultural land, with well-drained sandy soils of the Countesswells Association overlying a granitic till (Glenworth 1954). The upstanding earthworks comprise an oval summit platform, 3 m in height and measuring 70 m north/south by 40 m, enclosed by a visible single shallow ditch * 37 Bellevue Road, Edinburgh EH7 4DL I SOCIET 2 58 ANTIQUARIEF YO SCOTLANDF SO , 1998 !!1!H'| Ordnance Survey Computer plot froP mA ILLU S1 Location map. (Based upon Ordnancee th CrownSurvey© p ma copyright) YEOMAN: EXCAVATIONS AT CASTLE OF WARDHOUSE, ABDERDEENSHIRE I 583 moatee ILLUTh Sd2 site with associated cropmark enclosures (Royal Commission Anciente th n d o an Historical Monuments of Scotland© Crown copyright) counterscarw lo d an p bank lattee Th .discontinuou s ri interruptes i d seasan e th t o wherdt e eth side of the natural mound is very steep and the land below quite boggy. Wardhouse is one of the handful of Scottish moated sites which have been excavated; it belongs to a fairly common type of medieval earthwork or 'earthwork castle' which used to be know homesteas na d moats chiee Th . f difference betwee morne thesth ed commoean n mottes si that the area enclosed by the ditch (moat) has not been artificially mounded up. Compared to most mottes, moated sites had the added benefit of offering greater residential space within the enceinte. Both forms, introduced by incoming lords from England and from the European mainland, were first buil Scotlann i t e 12tth hn di centur served yan d primaril s seigneuriaya l residence centres a d f locasan so l feudal administration. Abou moate0 2 t d site knowe ar s n ni north-east Scotland between Stonehaven and Inverness, compared with perhaps as many as 100 | SOCIET 4 58 ANTIQUARIEF YO SCOTLANDF SO , 1998 mottes (Yeoman 1988a). More may have existed, but being flatter than mottes they are easier to destroy (ibid, 130). New research is currently under way on these sites in Tayside (Coleman & Perry 1997). HISTORICAL BACKGROUND The site at Wardhouse lay within the area encompassed in the 12th and 13th centuries by the great lordshi Garioche th f po , whic hels Davidy hdwa b , Ear Huntingdof lo n (died 1219) youngee th , r brother of William the Lion (1165-1214) (Lynch 1992, 56). This enormous domain stretched from Kennethmon wese th beyono t tn i t d Inveruri easte th ,n ei encompassin ggroua f 1po 1 contiguous medieval parishes (Stringer 1985, 91). Inverurie was the caput of the lordship, with earl'e th s motte-and-bailey providin royae gfocua th r l sburghfo . Smaller estates were carvet dou foincominn a r g clas f minoo s r lords, which included English, Norman d Flemingsan s . This helped extend Crown influence northwards, while also creatin a gstrategi c buffer between Inverurie (along with the nearby royal castle at Kintore) and the Highlands and Moray which were held by native Celtic lords traditionally opposed to the Crown (illus 3). publishep Ama Stringey db principao s r r (1985o 0 ) chart4 l 61 ,unite th s s withie nth f whico lordshiplikele — h ar l havo yt al t e, no beeman f i ny — centre fortifiea n do d residence. Survey work, however, has revealed only a few other earthwork castles within the Garioch, apart from thos t Wardhousea Inverurid ean e (ther likele remaine b ear o yt f anotheso r beneate hth 13th-century stone castle at Dunnideer): these are at Caskieben (NGR: NJ 788 213), Pitcaple 262)(NGR723 , Premnay/Auchleve:NJ n 242)(NGR Lesli622 and , e:NJ 248 (NGR599 ) NJ : (Yeoman 1987) face tTh . that Wardhouse occupie importann da t strategic position overlooking the main highway throug westere hth n Garioc Morao ht offey yma r some explanatioy wh o t s na this site was provided with substantial earthworks which have survived down the ages. The earliest documentary reference to Wardhouse does not appear until after the death of Earl David. The chartulary of the monastery of Lindores, on the Tay near Newburgh in Fife, contain deesa Bartholomef do Fleminge wth , dated 122 81239x whicn i , grante hh se lanth o dt church at Insch and promises that the church shall not suffer 'by reason of his chapel (De Capella de Weredors) madd whic Abboha e leav y e th b h Convenh d f ef o an to e Lundorf us o t e th r sfo householdhimsels hi d fan ' (Simpson 1935, 467). Earl Davi granted dha income dth ee froth l mal churches and chapels in the Garioch to the monastery. Simpson notes that 'Sir Bartholomew Fleming appears in later writs, one dated 1253; and others of his family — Edward, Everard and Simon — are on record in the same chartulary' (ibid). So it seems highly likely that the fortified residenc t Wardhousea existencn i s earle th ewa yy eb 13t h century home incominn a th f s eo a , g Flemish lord, and was of sufficient scale to have been associated with a chapel. By this time it would have been remarkabl chapee th r havo elt fo e bee nmateriay builan n ti l other than stone. The history of Wardhouse is obscure from this time until around 1465 when it was in the possession of the Balquhain Leslies. They held it for another two centuries during which time a charte issues rwa d from Wardres Williar Si y b m Lesli Balquhainf eo site e.Th figured briefle th n yi Wars of the Covenant when it fell into the hands of royalist soldiers. It was subsequently besieged captured famoue an th y db s general, Alexander Leslie reporteo Marc5 wh ,2 n do h 1647 that 'Wardhous reduces ewe d without much disput, wherein were fourteen captai a Iris l d al han n— of which I caused to be put to death, and left a sergeant there with twenty fyve men' (Simpson 1935, 469). A description of what was probably a tower house on the site was published in the late 18th century assessinf o y . reliabilitwa There go th n s ei thif yo s account, which referrea o dt ditch enclosin gruinea d 'high house', possibly wit hvaultea d ground floor (Simpson 1935,470). YEOMAN: EXCAVATIONS AT CASTLE OF WARDHOUSE, ABDERDEENSHIRE 585 BOUNDARY OF THE LORDSHIP OF GARIOCH. 10Km 1 ILLUS 3 Wardhouse and the lordship of the Garioch (after Stringer 1985, 61 ) PLACE-NAME EVIDENCE The earliest versions of the place-name occur in the 13th- and 14th-century documents — as Weredors, Wardris, consideree ar Werdrisd Gaelice an b o d— t ; thethis snwa assimilateo tw o dt Scots elements, waird/ward (enclosure housed ) an Taylor S ( , pers comm). SURVE EXCAVATIOD YAN N AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY Aerial photographs take 197n i 6 (illu NMR; s2 AB/6092/CNg Sne ) reveale impressivn da e series of buried outer defences with what appeare three b o det set bankf so ditchesd san outee .Th r ditch appears to continue to the north to enclose the boggy area to the east of the platform. An alternative interpretatio thas ni t this much narrower cropmark, along wit mirror-imagha o t e eon 586 | SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND, 1998 the south (creating a 'hornwork' or funnel shape), and two linear cropmarks, one each to the north and south of the platform, may represent more ancient boundary features of unknown date.