Arran round house found to date back 3,300 years
An ancient round house uncovered on Arran has been found to date back 3,300 years.
It has taken nearly 20 years to discover this and it is still not certain what the building was used for. However, radiocarbon dating of burnt wood unearthed on the highest altitude round house on Arran, has given archaeologists at the National Trust for Scotland an insight in to Bronze Age life on the island.
In 2017 the trust’s Thistle Camp participants joined the charity’s head of archaeological services, Derek Alexander, at an excavation of the island’s highest round house at 384m above sea level, in Coire a’ Bhradain above Glen Rosa.
The dig revealed a central hearth area of stone and clay, with remnants of hazel charcoal. The charcoal was submitted to the laboratory at the Scottish University Environmental Research Centre (SUERC) for a radiocarbon date, which revealed that the round house was occupied around 1400-1300 BC.
The conservation charity commissions radiocarbon dating on a number of select items each year to aid in the charity’s work to protect
Scotland’s heritage. With no chronologically diagnostic artefacts on the site, the dating process was the only way to place the round house in to the timeline of the island’s past.
In a report published on the findings, Derek and his team suggest the Coire a’Bhradain site was used as temporary shelter during deer hunting trips through ‘the Bowman’s Pass’ at the top of the coire. Alternatively, it could have been used as seasonal shieling site to keep grazing animals out on the hill.
But the site of the roundhouse was originally discovered by accident in 2001 by Henry Murdo and Ali Hume of the Arran Mountain Rescue Team. It was exposed by the huge wild fire which burnt off the tall heather to reveal a raised circle with two prominent ‘doorway’ stones.
Derek said: ‘This was a challenging site to investigate, as it required a physically fit team for the long walk up to the site, carrying all our digging equipment.
‘The post-excavation analysis helps us to build a picture of life on Arran over three thousand years ago and our findings can be used to shape the visitor experience at the replica round house at Brodick Castle and Country Park.
‘Given the great weather and spectacular views we experienced it’s easy to understand why Bronze Age people would also have been attracted to this spot. Round houses are characteristic of the later prehistoric period in Scotland. The date of the site indicates it is of a similar date to some of the larger round houses, excavated at Tormore on the western side of Arran.’
The National Trust for Scotland has been badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic, creating a £28 million loss in essential income. The charity is running the Save Our Scotland appeal to raise £2.5 million to help it continue its vital work to protect Scotland’s built and natural heritage.
Check www.nts.org.uk for latest information on all properties and to donate to the SOS appeal, go to www.nts.org.uk/ campaigns/emergency-appeal