Data Structure Report, 2005
Excavation Season Summary
The 2004 season saw continued excavation in Sector 2 (north) within a selected area measuring 24.0m x 14.0m, being ten modules aligned east-west across the sector at this point (Modules B4 to B7 inclusive, and the northern 6m of Modules C2 to C4 and D2 to D4 inclusive). This area represented a larger area than the preceding season and was known to contain those features under examination during 2003, namely, the remains of a stone-built road serving two craft-working areas, the continuation of these features and workshops, as well as several large stone-built features and associated deposits.
Due to the excavation procedure necessitated by the complexity of the archaeological sequence, modules to the south of the site 994 northing still contained the archaeology of the latest phases of the monastic settlement. Remains in this area represent activity later than the destruction layer characterised by scorched sand, burnt organic building materials and smashed Pictish sculpture. Significantly, the 2004 season established that this episode of destruction did not mark the end of the monastic settlement, which experienced a revival before being abandoned.
Reappraisal of the site sequence is part of the ongoing wider post-excavation programme, and analyses in 2004 suggested that the late medieval settlement at the site is represented only by post-built structures, shell middens and some iron-working features. This settlement was previously thought to have been served by a metalled road which overlay a monastic predecessor; this is now thought to be unlikely and that the metalled road represents a late resurfacing within the monastic phases of the site. The accompanying roadside ditches and preparation layers of this phase of road were excavated during the 2004 season.
The two industrial areas to either side of the road were also investigated further. Excavation in the ‘leather workshop’ continued, and focussed on its possible eastern and southern walls, which are partially extant as a stone rubble foundation, and also present as a collapsed wall made of organic building materials. Deposits, features and dumps thought to belong within the workshop and to derive from its occupation were also excavated. To the east of the road, the metalworking industrial complex was investigated, and a series of small clay hearths and a stone-lined hearth were excavated. These features were confirmed to represent activity postdating the extensive layer of burning and the deposition of sculptural fragments in the roadside ditch. In addition, the adjacent eastern terrace wall was investigated and the sequence of construction in stone and wattle hurdle and destruction by fire are now better understood. Beneath the layers of in situ burning, another suite of metal-working features were found underlying the preceding phase, suggesting continuity at some level; these features await excavation in 2005. The reappraisal of the sequence and the confirmation that the monastic settlement survived at least one episode of destruction is of fundamental importance to the story of the site and to the placing of Tarbat within its wider context.
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Last updated 3 April, 2006.
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