Bulletin
3, 1997
Introduction
The Tarbat Discovery Programme has been devised to explore, explain, display and reconstruct the Early Medieval site discovered at Tarbat Old Church, Portmahomack, in north-east Scotland, and to investigate its regional and international context.
Figure 1: Location map showing areas of study of
the Tarbat Discovery Programme
The evaluation and project design resulted in the programming of four interlinked projects, comprising excavations in and around the church and survey on Tarbat Ness and in the wider area of the Moray Firth (Bull. 2, 27-29).
The programme for 1997 was influenced by the need to complete excavation in advance of certain stages in the development of Tarbat Discovery Centre, notably the repair of the church and its refurbishment as a Visitor Centre, and the provision of a car-park. Accordingly work was concentrated on:
- The excavation of the interior of Tarbat Old Church (St Colman's).
- The excavation of a service trench through the churchyard to provide for the connection of mains services.
- Excavation at the north end of Sector 2 (in advance of the car park).
We also ran a Field School, which was allocated the task of commencing the excavation of Sector 1 at its easternmost point.
The creation of the Tarbat Discovery Centre began in earnest in 1997, following the completion of archaeological investigations. The church building was made sound, and the interior was equipped to house the eventual display. The display is intended primarily to report the results of the research programme to the visiting public, and the main theme remains that of "discovery". After several versions, the proposed contents of the display has at the time of writing reached the design phase, with an official opening scheduled for the summer of 1999.
The local and regional surveys continued at a restrained pace, but in a separate operation commissioned by Tain and Easter Ross Civic Trust, the site of the Chapel at Hilton of Cadboll was given a preliminary evaluation, and a Project Design sent to Highland Council, Historic Scotland, and Morangie Estate for their consideration.
The principal results of the archaeological work in 1997 concerned discoveries within the church of StColman, and this edition of the Bulletin is mainly dedicated to presenting them in summary and interim form. St Colman's Church was found to have had at least nine principal phases of development. It was preceded by a cemetery of cist burials and had incorporated in its fabric several important fragments of early medieval sculpture. The sculpture and the cist burials should be ninth century or earlier in date, while the first church is unlikely to be later than the twelfth.
In the next few years the priority will be the completion of excavation of Sector 2, with Sector 1 following and currently due for completion in 2001.
Martin Carver
University of York, 1st July 1998
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Last updated 10 October, 2003.
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