Neolithic Timber Halls And A Bronze Age Settlement With Hoard At Carnoustie, Angus

Excavations at Carnoustie produced exceptional archaeological results from the prehistoric past. The remains of the longest early Neolithic timber hall so far found in Scotland were identified. Beside it were the postholes and pits of another contemporary but less well preserved large hall. A final but smaller timber hall was constructed at one end but within the footprint of the largest timber hall. This latter structure indicated the importance of the place and the perpetuation of ideologies and traditions of the earlier building. During the later Neolithic, other evidence included the sparse remains of an oval house built over the remains of one timber hall with temporary re-occupation of part of another. The main focus of activities during the middle and late Neolithic were groups of pits whose presence indicated changes in social structure and possibly economic conditions.

A period of abandonment with only sporadic use of the area during the early Bronze Age was followed by a roundhouse settlement. A small number of buildings of the middle and late Bronze Age were replaced in rotation. The last buildings were intimately associated with a rare late Bronze Age metalwork hoard, buried close to them. The hoard included a sword, spearhead with gold decoration and a long pin wrapped in textile and sheep-skin.

Beverley Ballin Smith is the Publications Manager for GUARD Archaeology and editor of ARO (Archaeology Reports Online). She also specialises in the analysis of prehistoric pottery and coarse stone tools. She has published widely: the Howe Broch and the Crantit Tomb, both on Orkney; the Neolithic and Bronze Age aspects of Iain Crawford's work on the Udal, North Uist; and with Barbara Crawford on the Norse site of the Biggings at Papa Stour, Shetland.

Alan Hunter Blair has over 20 years experience working on and directing a wide range of rural and urban archaeological projects in Scotland and England, including major projects such as the prehistoric Carnoustie excavation in Angus and the medieval to post-medieval Tram Scheme in Edinburgh. He has co-authored several published reports on these excavations.

Warren Bailie is the Managing Director for GUARD Archaeology and has more than 20 years' experience in commercial archaeology. During this time, he has directed a wide range of archaeological excavations dating from the Mesolithic to the post-medieval across Ireland and Scotland, and has managed major archaeological works including at St Kilda and the Antonine Wall.