Here’s what you’ll learn after reading this story:
-
A road construction project in Scotland unearthed the remains of a pre-Roman hilltop fortress.
-
During the excavation of the fort, an underground chamber was discovered, which was built from river rocks.
-
Just what this camera, one of around 200 in Scotland, was used for remains a mystery.
Archaeologists excavating the remains of an Iron Age hilltop fort in Scotland have uncovered a semi-subterranean stone chamber with a stone floor. What it was meant for, however, remains a mystery even after careful analysis.
Research at Broxy Kennels Fort, near Perth, has revealed that the site was heavily used for centuries, beginning between 550 and 400 AD. Ave. AD, but it was abandoned before the arrival of the Romans. An underground, stone-fortified chamber known as a souterrain was not part of the site’s original design, but it may have played an important role in the evolution of the settlement.
Excavations at this site were carried out for a road project. Before work began on the Cross Tay Link Road, teams studied terrain information. They came across aerial photographs taken in the 1960s that revealed the settlement, Guard Archeology Project Officer Kenny Green said in a statement. “Without these aerial photographs, no one would have known there was a mound here because there was no trace of it on the ground,” he said. “Centuries of plowing have removed any traces of the surface.”
Excavations began in 2022 and specialists from across Scotland, including National Museums Scotland and the Universities of Glasgow and Stirling, analyzed the find. The most intriguing element turned out to be the earth, an underground structure of sorts, nearly 30 feet long, 13 feet wide, and about three feet deep. Boulders were evidently brought from the nearby River Tay to support the walls, and the cell even had a stone floor.
The southern relief is one of just 200 known in the whole of Scotland, mostly dating from the last centuries BC and the first two centuries AD, part of a characteristic Scottish Iron Age culture.
Green said the function of the land’s relief remains a mystery, even after intensive analysis of the site. The team found cereal grains on the floor, but not enough to suggest they were used to store grain. Chemical analysis of floor deposits was also inconclusive.
Dating has shown that the fort was still inhabited until the end of the first century AD, just before the Roman army arrived in that area of Scotland. Evidence suggests that residents filled in part of one of the moats around 400 BC. Ave. Cr. and installed an underground passage into the filled ditch. A third ditch and rampart was then newly dug to surround the underground passage, and another outer rampart.
The excavation team found evidence that the settlement began in the Iron Age, a common theme as there are 1,500 examples of Iron Age forts in Scotland. Rather than serving as military posts, they were fortified hilltop settlements. The location of Broxy Kennels was likely chosen because of the large bend in the River Tay visible to anyone traveling from the north or south.
Green suggested that the first phase of the settlement likely consisted of two massive ditches, followed by earthen embankments built from the soil removed by ditching. Radiocarbon dating reveals that this occurred between 550 and 400 BC. Ave. Cr. “Our team found charred remains of wicker slabs and pieces of gorse from round houses that belonged to that time,” he said. “They were thrown into the ditches when the settlement was once cleared of old buildings.
The team found bog ore and slag, waste from iron ore smelting. A fragment of vitrified clay indicated that it was part of a furnace used for metalworking.
“Some of the archaeological objects found in the interior of the fort may be the remains of round houses,” Green said. “But centuries of plowing have eroded the top of the hill, leaving only a few of the deepest posts, making it difficult to determine the full size and shape of the structures that once stood there.”
Experts don’t know why Broxy Kennels Fort was eventually abandoned before the Romans arrived, whether it was simply a change in societal habits or whether the incoming Roman army forced the inhabitants to flee.
“Many drivers and commuters traveling along the new road may have no idea they will be crossing the site of a prehistoric fort,” said Jillian Ferguson, head of roads and infrastructure at Perth and Kincross Council. “The construction of the Cross Tay Link Road at this site provided an unexpected but invaluable opportunity to learn more about how people lived near Perth more than 2,000 years ago.
[galleryCarousel id=’9e9354e9-d0c6-426e-ba21-7d41e95744de’ mediaId=’0ecfcab0-a1ae-4303-af4e-52b8f67175dc’ display=’carousel’ align=’center’ size=’medium’ share=’true’ expand=” captions=’true’ suppress-title=’false’ hasProducts=’false’][/galleryCarousel]
You may also like it