stirling-1963-vol-1/05_094

Transcription

INVENTORY
of the Ancient and Historical Monuments
of Stirlingshire

SHELL-HEAP

1. Shell-heap, Polmonthill (Site). This shell-heap
was situated at a height of 50 ft. O.D. on the slope that
forms part of the S. border of the Carse of Kinneil, at a
distance of 250 yds. NNW. of Polmonthill farmhouse.
The heap was one of several which have been identified
in the vicinity, ¹ but it was destroyed in 1940 and the
following account has been prepared from the published
report. ²
The heap measured about 25 yds. in width from N. to
S. by about 170 yds. transversely; it lay along the slope,
and was covered by earth, from 2 to 3 ft. in depth, which
had been washed down from the hillside above. The
layer of shells was generally from 3 to 4 ft. in depth, and
rested on undisturbed boulder-clay which represented
the old beach of the Firth of Forth at a time when the
level of the sea was some 30 ft. higher than it is today.
Most of the shells were oysters, of which, it was
estimated the heap contained some six or seven million
valves. There were also present mussels, winkles, cockles
and whelks. The heap was entirely composed of shells,
except for a very few isolated stones, a single thin streak
of sand, layers of burnt material which contained
charcoal and burnt stones, and some hearths which
measured several feet in width and were composed of
flat stones. Beyond the E. and W. limits of the heap, and
to a slight extent above it on the S., there were layers of
burnt matter more than 1 ft. in depth which contained
numerous burnt stones.
Samples of the charcoal from the hearths and burnt
layers all proved to be of oak. No dateable relics were
found, but the position of the shell-heap and the presence
of oak charcoal were considered to be in keeping with the
conditions prevailing during the Atlantic climate-phase,
and the midden was therefore referred to the Mesolithic
period (see Introduction, pp. 18f.).

948796 -- NS 97 NW (unnoted)

CAIRNS, CISTS, ETC.

2. Cairn, Cuparlaw Wood. This cairn is situated on
the summit of a low knoll within a felled wood, 170 yds.
ENE. of Pendreich farmhouse and at a height of 600 ft.
O.D. It consists of a low grass-covered mound which

measures 40 ft. in diameter and stands to a maximum
height of 1 ft. 6 in. The surface is disfigured by pits
caused in 1926 when the cairn was opened and three cists
were uncovered. ³ Two of these contained no relics; in
the third there were fragments of bones and a broken
Beaker, some sherds of which are preserved in the Smith
Institute, Stirling. ⁴

804991 -- NS 89 NW (unnoted) -- 14 February 1954

3. Cairn, Sheriffmuir Road. On a low ridge, 800 yds.
WSW. of spot-level 776 on the Sheriffmuir Road, and
at a height of 800 ft. O.D., there is a round cairn
measuring 40 ft. in diameter and 2ft. 8 in. in maximum
height. For the most part it is covered with grass, but a
shallow depression in the centre, which may have been
caused by excavation, reveals a few boulders.


812992 -- NS 89 NW (unnoted) -- 20 April 1954

4. Mound, Sheriffmuir Road 1. Another possible
Bronze Age cairn is situated on a low ridge, 200 yds. N.
of No. 3, and at a height of a little over 800 ft. O.D. It is
a grass-covered, stony mound which measures 20 ft. in
diameter and stands to a height of 9 in. above ground
level.

812994 -- NS 89 NW (unnoted) -- 20 April 1954

5. Mound, Sheriffmuir Road 2. This mound lies
50 yds. SE. of the cairn recorded under No. 3. It
measures 24 ft. in diameter and 6 in. in height, and may
represent the remains of a Bronze Age cairn.

812992 -- NS 89 NW (unnoted) -- 20 April 1954

6. Cairn, "Fairy Knowe", Hill of Airthrey. On a
shoulder of the Hill of Airthrey, a quarter of a mile SE.
of Sunnylaw farmhouse and at a height of 480 ft. O.D.,

1 P.S.A.S., ix (1870-2), 45 ff.; lxiii (1928-9), 314 ff.
2 Ibid., lxxx (1945-6), 135 ff.
3 T.S.N.H.A.S., xlix (1926-7), 91.
4 Smith Institute Catalogue, 64, AP I1.

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