EHG6235 - Test pitting - The Bay of Laig, Eigg (The Norse and the Sea: The Maritime Cultural Landscape of Scandinavian Scotland)

Test pitting was undertaken under the direction of Prof. A Sanmark of UHI Institute for Northern Studies and Assoc. Prof. Dr. S Kalmring of the Centre for Baltic and Scandinavian Archaeology, Schleswig, Germany in 2022 at the Bay of Laig, Eigg. The fieldwork formed part of the research project 'The Norse and the Sea: The Maritime Cultural Landscape of Scandinavian Scotland (NaS)'. This project was initiated to investigate the maritime cultural landscape in Scandinavian Scotland (c. AD 790-1350), through an interdisciplinary approach using archaeological, written and toponymic evidence and addressing the overarching questions of connectivity and communication in Norse Scotland. The research was to be carried out through three work packages. The first one encompassing a PhD project entitled 'Norse harbours in the west of Scotland' for which a number of Norse landing places in Scotland were to be identified and examined through geophysical survey and targeted excavation. The fieldwork was carried out over six days, with a team of 7 people. The methods predominantly used were geophysical survey (see EHG6234) accompanied by excavation via test pits. The trenches, both indicated by site specific aims as well as geophysical anomalies, were hand dug with spades, shovels and trowels. Coordinates for trenches were recorded with a RTK-DGPS. Twelve test pits were opened at selected locations (Areas A, B and C), guided by desk-based assessment evaluating the landscape and the location of the stemposts, as well as anomalies found via the geophysical survey. The first area targeted (A) for test pitting was the approximate findspot location of the stemposts. The findspot was indicated next to a drainage of the river and in the immediate vicinity of the headland Sròn Laimhrige.1 Here five trenches (0-4) were opened, all measuring 1 x 1 m. One additional trench, trench 5, targeted a specific geophysical anomaly in the immediate vicinity. The second target (Area B) was around the farmhouse of Laig, where another four test pits were excavated. The location was decided on after geophysical survey, on the eastern slope below of the farm, outside the fenced front yard. Trenches 6-8 followed the slope itself, while trenches 8-9 were placed close to and along the fenced front yard. The final Area (C) was on a slightly elevated promontory on the edge of the bog, below the waterfall of the watercourse Abhainn a’ Cham Loin. Two trenches were opened here on the basis of geophysical survey. Trench 10 measured 1x3.5 m and Trench 11 measured 1x1 m. The test pits did not reveal any artefacts or structures. However, pieces of oak were discovered and were removed for further analysis, including radiocarbon dating. However, the survey and additional modelling provided important results as the inland loch as suggested previously was unlikely to have existed, but a former riverbed was identified. This meant that at this point there was no evidence of an inner harbour at The Bay of Laig, but the storing of stemposts still suggested that Viking Age/Norse boats were repaired at the site. <1>