HERITAGE GROUP DIG INTO THE HISTORY OF KIPPEN
An archaeological dig is to be carried out at a historic village this weekend.
Kippen Heritage are hosting the archaeological dig on Saturday afternoon which will take place at Keir Hill of Dasher, in the village.
Keir Hill is a short walk from Kippen Cross, via Station Road. The Keir and the adjacent field have long been purported to be the site of a Roman camp, a very early Christian church, and much earlier the Keir, given its prominent position directly overlooking the Fords of Frew, it was strategically placed to guard the boundary between the lowlands and the highlands.
Irene Chapman, of Kippen Heritage, said:“it certainly would have been fortified and may well have been part of an Iron Age settlement; indeed an archaeological dig in 2019 produced Neolithic tools and carbon which was dated to the end of the 10th century, indicating it was occupied at the time of Kenneth II, King of Alba.”
The group have organised the latest dig, which will be led by Stirling Council’s archaeologist, Dr Murray Cook, in an attempt to find out more of Kippen’s early history.
The volunteer list is now complete, but on Saturday, between 1pm and 3pm, anyone who would like to attend is welcome.
Teas will be available and a £3 donation will go towards the repair of Kippen Old Kirk, the ruins of which stand in the old kirkyard at the Kippen Cross.
No parking is available on the site of the dig but parking is available in the village.
In November 2018, we told how Kippen Heritage had launched a bid to raise £24,000 to restore Kippen Kirk’s belfry and churchyard.
The group was on a mission to crowdfund the rescue project. If they could raise the £24,000 target then Stirling Council’s cemeteries department offered‘support in kind’to stabilise 19 memorials at risk of falling.