Clackmannan (district) - Archaeological Excavation

Archaeological Excavation

Headland Archaeology has recently completed an excavation of a prehistoric and medieval site at Meadowend Farm, Kennet. The site, which lies to the south-east of Clackmannan, is within the corridor for the new road and bridge across the River Forth at Kincardine. Over 2000 fragments of prehistoric pottery were recovered from the site. The vast majority came from a dense concentration of pits or postholes and has been dated to the middle/late Neolithic. A small polished stone axe was found in the area of the Neolithic pit concentration. A larger unpolished axe (c.150 mm in length) was recovered from a pit elsewhere on site. The majority of the pottery consisted of fragments, but one near complete vessel was excavated. The pottery showed a wide variety of incised and impressed decoration. There was also a number of shallow hearths in the area but no clear contemporary structures were identified on site. At least 9 structures were identified on site. The most substantial of these was a large roundhouse with an outer ring-groove and an entrance to the south-east with an extended porch. Inside was a stone-lined hearth, and numerous pits and postholes. Many of these were rich in charcoal suggesting the structure may have burnt down. Prehistoric pottery has been recovered from the postholes dating to the middle/late Bronze Age. Two other ring-groove structures found on site were very heavily truncated. Two large post-built roundhouses were found, both with long porches, one with an entrance to the south-east, the other to the north-west. A third post-built structure contained a hearth-pit, which had been filled with fire-cracked stones and charcoal. It is hoped that radiocarbon dating will enable more precise phasing of the structures.