Figure 2: Evaluation Map, showing areas tested by excavation in 1996

The Settlement

Within the settlement area defined by the enclosure ditch, deposits were explored using the technique now known as "strip and map", in which the top 250mm of topsoil is removed by a mechanical excavator, and the land then cleaned by hand to reveal the surface of the undisturbed archaeology ("Horizon 2&qout;). This horizon appears at Tarbat in the form of shallow stone foundations, and pits, ditches and hollows cut into the sand. These features are recorded by drawing and photography, and they may then be reburied under plastic sheeting ("strip, map and wrap"). Horizons examined in this way have been successfully returned to cultivation and re-exhumed more than once without damage. The deposit-mapping in 1996 concentrated on the west end of sector 1 (Int 11), adjacent to the oval building contacted in 1995 (Bulletin 1, Fig 13), and in the north end of sector 2 (Int 14), about which we knew very little.

At the South end of the enclosure, Sector 1, Int 11, the curious building (S1) first seen in 1994 and pronounced round, and then in 1995, when it promised to be rectilinear with round ends, kept us in suspense to the last: when fully revealed it was bag-shaped: circular at one end and straight at the other. To the west of it, the deposits faded rapidly, dominated by cultivation marks and containing only one possible structure (S5). Some progress was nevertheless made with the understanding of the enclosure ditch: on the south side there were clear signs (including hoof marks) that cattle had been brought there to drink, and the ditch as whole seems to have functioned as a water-collector.

In the Glebe Field, Sector 2, Int 14, the deposits proved to be unexpectedly rich, deep and long in their historical span. The most recent features to survive beneath the ploughsoil were dumps of winkle and mussel shells, which overlay a complex of walls, surfaces and pits. The pottery which occurred on and in these layers was medieval, 13-15th century, and there seems little doubt that we had found Medieval Portmahomack. The walls formed buildings which are likely to be rectangular; they stood beside a surface which is composed of rammed small pebbles and will probably prove to be a metalled track. Beside the buildings were hearths for high temperature activities, such as smithing.

Across the road from the church, Sector 3, Int 15, the deposits proved to be largely sand dunes, with debris of the 17th century and later. No early buried strata were encountered (to a depth of two metres), and it seems unlikely that there was much early occupation of the area leading down from the church to the beach.

The Church

In the church, Sector 4, an initial opportunity to inspect strata was offered by the digging of a service trench needed for the development of the church (Int 16) and the work was then extended to explore deposits in the north aisle (Int 17). This small-scale investigation revealed a buried wall perhaps belonging to an earlier church, which incorporated two large pieces of early medieval sculpture. It was also clear that within the church was a potentially large sample of burials, which should date to the period before the Reformation. It was predicted that most traces of early structures in the nave were likely to have been rendered unreadable by intensive later burial. However, it was possible that evidence for earlier times, including Pictish, would survive under the crypt, and in the area of the crypt steps. The medieval burials themselves would be a welcome addition to northern Scottish archaeology. On this basis it was decided that a major excavation should take place in the church in 1997 before its redevelopment as a display centre.

The deposit-mapping in 1996 therefore greatly extended the period for which there was good archaeological evidence at Portmahomack. This is now reflected in the revised project design (below) and in the display, where the focus has shifted from the Picts themselves, to the transitions from the Iron Age to the Christian Picts and from the Picts to medieval and modern times.

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Last updated 10 October, 2003.

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