Report of archaeological investigations at the Wemyss Caves July 2019 Joanna Hambly, the SCAPE Trust, University of St Andrews Section on the Sliding Cave by Gordon Noble, University of Aberdeen Incorporating specialist analysis by Gemma Cruikshanks (iron working residues); Derek Hall (medieval pottery); Catherine Smith (animal bone). Section on Promontory investigations based on text by Ellie Graham, the SCAPE Trust Geophysical sections based on work carried out by Edinburgh Archaeological Field Society. NOVEMBER 2019 Joanna Hambly jh105@st‐andrews.ac.uk 01334 462904 The SCAPE Trust, St Katharine’s Lodge, The Scores, St Andrews KY169AL Contents Summary project information ................................................................................................... 1 Project archaeologists ................................................................................................................ 1 Excavation and Visitor Centre Volunteers ................................................................................. 1 Edinburgh Archaeological Society Geophysics volunteers ........................................................ 1 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... 1 Summary of results .................................................................................................................... 2 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 3 2. Site location, project area and landscape context ............................................................ 3 3 Research context ............................................................................................................... 5 4 Threats to the Wemyss Caves and management context ................................................. 7 5. Overall project aim ............................................................................................................ 7 6 Project methods ................................................................................................................. 7 Excavation Results ..................................................................................................................... 9 7 Court Cave .......................................................................................................................... 9 7.1 Court Cave aims and objectives .............................................................................. 9 7.2 Court Cave results .................................................................................................. 11 7.3 Court Cave discussion ............................................................................................ 15 8 Doo Cave .......................................................................................................................... 20 8.1 Doo Cave aims and objectives ............................................................................... 20 8.2 Doo Cave results .................................................................................................... 21 8.3 Doo Cave discussion .............................................................................................. 26 9 Sliding Cave by Gordon Noble .......................................................................................... 29 9.1 Sliding Cave aims and objectives ........................................................................... 29 9.2 Sliding Cave results ................................................................................................ 31 9.3 Sliding Cave discussion .......................................................................................... 36 10 References ....................................................................................................................... 38 Archaeological investigation of the promontory adjacent to Macduff’s Castle Geophysical survey of part of Wemyss and Macduff Cemetery Summary project information NGR (centre): NT 344 970 Period of fieldwork: 10th-18th July 2019 Parish: Wemyss Date of report: November 2019 Local Authority: Fife Scheduled Monument ID: SM817 Project archaeologists SCAPE Trust: Joanna Hambly, Tom Dawson, Ellie Graham University of Aberdeen: Gordon Noble, James O’Driscoll Excavation and Visitor Centre Volunteers Charlie Clarke John Marshall Loida Garcia Prisca de Rozario Dave Anderson John Urquhart Lynn Armstrong Sarah Boyd Deely Cumming Julie Cook Lynn Marshall Su Kille Diana Macintyre Katrina Gilmour Magdelene de Rozario Sue Hamstead Elizabeth McGuire Ken Caldwell Michael Ballantine Veronica Laing Hannah Draper Kirsty Bain Mike Arrowsmith Janey Kirk Kriss Henderson Pam Cranston Edinburgh Archaeological Society Geophysics volunteers Alan Calder Don Matthews Michael Harris Val Dean Allan Mathieson Ian Hawkins Neil Simpson Christine Jill Strobridge Norma Johnstone McPherson Acknowledgements The Wemyss Estate kindly gave permission for the excavations and we thank Charles Wemyss and Angus MacDougall of Savills for facilitating this. David Paterson, Community Manager for Levenmouth area, Fife Council kindly arranged permission for the geophysical survey of Wemyss and Macduff Cemetery. The project is funded by Historic Environment Scotland, and benefited from advice from Richard Heawood, Senior Casework Officer. The project could not have happened without the huge input from SWACS committee and members who also organised the Open Day. Special thanks to Dave Anderson, Mike Arrowsmith, Kirsty Bain, Charlie Clarke, Pam Cranston, Hannah Draper, Sue Hamstead, Kriss Henderson and John Urquhart. Felicia Grynbaum, Moira Hughes, Jeanette Hoggan, Irene Bray and Rosemary Wood baked delicious refreshments for a capacity audience at our evening of talks in the Rosie Hall during the Archaeology Week. 1 Summary of results In July 2019, a partnership of the SCAPE Trust, Save the Wemyss Ancient Caves Society and the University of Aberdeen carried out targeted archaeological excavation in Court Cave, Doo Cave and Sliding Cave; three of the seven Wemyss Caves that form part of Scheduled Monument SM817. The research objectives addressed two overarching questions. Firstly, to learn something of the potential significance of the buried archaeological resource in Court Cave and Doo Cave because no modern investigations have ever taken place in them; and secondly, to further investigate stratified deposits in the Sliding Cave previously dated to the 3rd – 5th century AD, which have potential to contribute to wider research of national significance about the origin and dating of the Pictish symbols. A better understanding of the buried archaeological resource supports site management and interpretation objectives set out in the Wemyss Caves Conservation Management Plan. Two trenches inside Court Cave recorded shallow compacted layers of mostly relatively recent date and found bedrock approximately 30cm below the current cave floor surface. However, a single sherd of a Scottish White Gritty Ware green‐glazed jug (14th‐15th century) and five conjoining sherds from a Yorkshire Type Ware green‐ glazed jug (13th–14th century) were recovered from a context directly overlying the bedrock floor in Trench 2 at the side of the main entrance chamber. A trench just outside the entrance to Court Cave was excavated 2.3m to bedrock, and contained deeply buried midden material including animal bone, marine shell, and 5 pottery sherds from a possible Northern English Ware green‐glazed jug (14th‐15th century), as well as evidence of iron working in the form of slag and a fragment of tuyère. This is the first time that evidence for iron smelting or smithing has been identified in the Wemyss Caves, and given the location of the midden and the lack of deposits inside Court Cave, there is a real possibility that the midden derives from activities taking place inside the Court Cave in the medieval period. Scientific dating of the tuyère and sample of animal bone will hopefully provide more certainty on the date of activities resulting in the midden. A trench located at the back of the Doo Cave revealed an unexpected discovery of rock cut niches and a possible pit carved into the bedrock floor of the cave. These were buried beneath nearly 2 metres of inwash from the back of the cave, which contained only relatively modern finds. The in‐wash sediments are likely to be the result of the collapse of the West Doo Cave in 1914. It is puzzling that these recent deposits were found on clean bedrock floor. A thin layer of sand and pebbles filling features cut into the bedrock may hold the answer. In the early 20th century, changes in the coastline resulted in the migration of the beach right up to the mouth of the Doo Cave, putting the cave interior in reach of the erosive power of the sea. 2 The re‐excavation of the 2004 Time Team trench in the Sliding Cave successfully located the 3rd‐5th century occupation horizon and sampled additional material from it for analysis and radiocarbon dating. The excavation also discovered a bone‐rich layer below this occupation horizon that lay beyond the limits of the original trench. Both of these cultural deposits were present in a second trench opened up towards the centre of Sliding Cave, showing that extensive archaeological deposits fortuitously survive in one of the less accessible of the Wemyss Caves. 1. Introduction 1.1 In Wemyss Caves Archaeology Week 10th‐18th July 2019,