Nestled within a bend in the River Clyde, archaeological monitoring works at a quarry uncovered a remarkable discovery: a prehistoric settlement concealed under 2.5m of peat.
The settlement was a sub-circular fenced enclosure with brushwood pathways and surfaces linking three large timber roundhouses. Peat had preserved these structures in an astonishing condition, along with rare artefacts including shale and copper-alloy bracelets and two wooden wheels.
AOC Archaeology undertook the archaeological works on behalf of Breedon Trading Ltd, as advised by West of Scotland Archaeological Services (WoSAS)
Under Peat
The settlement was constructed on a peat bog, though it’s possible that the ground was drier at the time. Unlike crannogs, which are built over open water, this site bore more similarities with a typical terrestrial roundhouse settlement except that it had been built in a wetland environment (a ‘wettlement’). The houses were built with wooden posts while bundles of brushwood made up the floors. Softer materials such as ferns, bracken, straw, and reeds were likely used as an upper floor covering, but this did not survive well. At some point, the site may have become inundated with rising water levels, leading to the growth of sphagnum moss which eventually became peat. Peat continued to form over the site for possibly 1500-1700 years before its discovery in 2020. The unique anoxic environment slowed the decay process and preserved the remarkable structures and artefacts.
A Challenging Excavation
The site was discovered in October 2020 during archaeological monitoring of the removal of a peat bog. The delicate and complex nature of the site meant that all the structures were excavated by hand, a slow and methodical process that took several months to complete. The weather also presented challenging conditions with regular flooding from rain, snow, and the existing ground water. The archaeologists had to use wooden boards to create a network of walkways around the site. At other times, strong winds or sunlight started to dry out the site, threatening the carefully preserved deposits that needed to be kept damp.
The Roundhouses
The three roundhouses were built less than 0.3m apart and were likely constructed at the same time. Logs and brushwood bundles were used to form paths and platforms around the houses, including a long path leading to Roundhouse 1.
Each house had three rings of wooden posts: an outer double wall of small posts (less than 0.1m diameter); an inner ring of 11 posts (up to 0.2m diameter) which bore the structural load of the house; and a central ring of small stakes (less than 0.05m diameter) which would have enclosed the hearth. The walls were of woven wicker, which survived in places around the site.
The floors were made from brushwood bundles, which were best preserved around the edges of the houses. This may suggest that the inner area of the houses (around the hearth) was more frequently used. In some places woven mats were found, possibly at focal points where people were moving through more regularly. There were some differences in the construction and artefacts found in each house, indicating different activities that may have been happening.
Heart of the House
Each house featured a large central hearth built with flat stone slabs. The layers of stones indicate that the hearths had been replaced at least three times, sometimes with new layers of brushwood flooring woven around the edge of the new stones. The hearths in Roundhouses 2 and 3 had ‘post-shoes’ on their southern sides. These were logs with postholes cut into them, possibly to support a removable frame.
While the lower hearths and flooring had sunk somewhat into the peat below they were still in very good condition, hinting that the creation of a new hearth was not a purely functional activity. The hearth was an important element in the daily lives of inhabitants and the replacement of such a feature would have been significant. It may have taken place at specific times; perhaps representing ideas of renewal and rejuvenation.
Personal Adornment
Three bracelets were found on the site, providing evidence for the personal adornment of the people living there. Fragments of shale bracelets were found in the floor surfaces of Roundhouses 1 and 3, and a complete copper-alloy bracelet was found in Roundhouse 1. Inside Roundhouse 1, several fragments of shale were also found, suggesting that such bracelets may have been made here. Intriguingly, a cup-marked stone was found alongside the shale fragments and may have been associated with bracelet-making. Bracelets were used throughout the Bronze Age and Iron Age and may have had a particular significance.
Stone Tools
Cobble stone tools were found in all the roundhouses, scattered amongst the sub-floor surfaces. The tools, which would have originally been functional items for everyday tasks, appear to have been deliberately deposited. The reuse of stone tools within roundhouse structures has been seen on many sites across the country and hints at a significance beyond their mundane uses. One of these stone tools found near the hearth of Roundhouse 2 was a decorative loom weight.
Sampling Strategy
As part of the excavation, soil samples from different locations above, below, and within the roundhouses were taken. These samples contain a wealth of microscopic data that can help understand the houses and their local environment. Laboratory analyses of soil samples can reveal the materials used to construct the house floors and offer clues to the activities happening in different parts of the site. They can also give evidence for the ground conditions when the houses were built and suggest reasons for the site’s abandonment. Wood samples from the floors and posts can identify the trees species used and can be dated to discover when the houses wereconstructed and repaired.
Two Wooden Wheels
Two of the most spectacular finds on the site were well-preserved wooden wheels. The first was a spoked wheel with finely turned and carved spokes and hub. It was discovered outside the main enclosure to the east and had been deposited in a fragmentary state, with only one spoke fully intact. It may have once been part of a chariot.
The second wheel was of a different type: a tripartite-plank wheel that may have been part of a cart. It had been integrated into the floor of Roundhouse 2 and might have been visible from just inside the entrance.
Post-Excavation Work at Hyndford
Following completion of the fieldwork phase of work at Hyndford, a post-excavation research design (PERD) was produced, which set out a programme of works to maximise the archaeological potential of the remains identified during monitoring and excavation. A detailed sampling strategy was carried out during excavation and micromorphology of floor deposits, plus ecofact and artefact analysis will provide insights into the construction, occupation, and abandonment of the structures. Environmental processing and analysis of the artefacts and materials from different areas of the site will allow us to identify specific on-site activities and to consider the relationship between the site and the wider environment.
The incredible level of preservation at Hyndford will allow the analysis of a range of unusually well preserved / rare types of ecofacts / artefacts, such as worked wooden objects, wooden wheels, tools and vessels, and personal adornments (beads and bracelets), which will provide us with insights into the lives of the people who resided at Hyndford with a degree of precision that is rarely possible on archaeological sites.
The reconstruction of past environments and patterns of vegetation change investigated through pollen analysis of samples from the c.2.5m of peat recorded in both Bog 1 and Bog 2 at Hyndford. Dendrochronological analysis and species identification will allow us to date the construction and occupation of the site to a precise degree while informing our understanding of prehistoric landscape interactions. Further comprehensive analysis of the evidence produced from the excavation will provide an opportunity to heighten our understanding of prehistoric architecture and habitation more widely. It will contribute significantly to our understanding of wetland settlement and interactions.
The post-excavation phase of work is now well underway, and highlights of the work will be added to this page as they become available.
Soil Micromorphology
Micromorphological analysis of thin sections slides from occupation deposits from the three roundhouses is ongoing. Preliminary analysis has revealed that the roundhouses were constructed directly on top of the peat, likely during a period of relatively drier ground conditions (Slide 5). Numerous phases of floor replacement have been identified (Slide G) within Roundhouse 2 as well as period of settlement hiatus during which the house may have become unroofed and soil formation was able to occur (Slide V). Preservation of organic matter within the slides is excellent and has allowed for identification of food and fuel waste as well as a range of flooring materials (Slide V). The analysis has also indicated evidence for differential use of space between the inner and outer areas of roundhouse and also left and right of the entrance.
Stone Axehead
The axehead was found in peat (context 435) to the south of Roundhouse 2, between two wooden trackways/paths. This is a short, squat, ground stone axehead, measuring 70.5 mm in length, 51.6 mm at its widest point (around 2/3 down the body), c. 23 mm and 52.2 mm wide at the butt and blade respectively, and 24 mm in maximum thickness. Weight: 98 g. It is slightly asymmetrical in plan and more markedly asymmetrical along its long axis. The butt is slightly convex, with the ‘front’ and ‘back’ sides tapering to a ridge.
The sides are convex to differing degrees, each with a broad facet with rounded edges; and the blade is convex and blunt – although apparently not blunted through use or deliberate alteration. It has a plump, gently faceted cross-section. There are flake scars at the butt and at each side of one surface, relating to the use of a hard hammer to shape the axehead; these were too deep to be ground, but their edges are smooth. There is also a small, lenticular hollow on one of the facets that has not been ground smooth. Two small flake scars at the blade, both worn, may relate to the axehead’s use – although the bluntness of the blade, together with the softness of the stone, makes it unlikely that this was ever an efficient chopping tool.
Iron Knife
The Hyndford blade was uncovered as an unstratified find from within an area designated as Bog 2, which was located to the immediate northeast of the substantial remains of a Late Iron Age roundhouse complex. The knife fragment (SF131) survives in a moderate to heavily corroded state with some loss of material though is completely lacking in corrosion product with all surfaces freely visible. The knife survives as a long section of blade (125.6mm) with a straight back and parallel cutting edge that survives to its full height (18.2mm) over most of its length. Both ends are broken, with a missing tip and the opposing end broken across a punched perforation that is placed slightly off centre towards the cutting edge. The perforation either represents a rivet hole to secure a set of scale tang handle plates, or may also have functioned as a pivot point, which would identify this as a folding knife. The blade is lacking in any form of shoulder or choil and is of uniform thickness over its entire length (3.5mm) with no bolster present to provide additional strength at the junction between the blade and the handle. There is a slight sideways curve to the blade, which in bending, may have been the cause of the break along the weak point across the perforation.
It is possible that the blade fragment may be associated with post-medieval peat cutting activity, or potentially the nearby 18th and 19th century Bonnington Estate or Caledonian railway, likely representing an accidental breakage and deposition. A potential Romano-British date contemporary with the Iron Age settlement, cannot be ruled out, however, as the nearby Hyndford Crannog, investigated in the late 19th century, was found to contain an artefact assemblage distinctly Romano-British in character, so it is not out of the realm of possibility for this blade fragment to be of Romano-British origin.
