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MHG14544 - Norse occupation site and midden - Marymas Green, Dunnet

Summary

A Norse occupation site and midden at Marymas Green, Dunnet.

Type and Period (2)

Protected Status

Full Description

A Norse occupation site and midden at Marymas Green, Dunnet.

Midden containing sea shells, fragments of animal and fish bones recently exposed due to erosion of dune area along roadside by grazing sheep located to the north of the caravan park at Dunnet Bay. Also evidence of stone walling. <1>

A trial trenching evaluation was carried out under the supervision of T Pollard of GUARD in 1995 of the archaeological features eroding from the sand dunes. Grazing sheep had further disturbed a sand dune which had been partially cut away during the construction of the A836, which currently runs immediately to the east of the site. This erosion revealed a shell midden deposit containing elements of dry-stone wall, high up in the exposed east facing section of the sand dune. The fieldwork was carried out over a period of 7 days in September 1995 as part of Highland Region's annual archaeology week. The project involved the participation of members of the local community. The team was augmented by two post-graduates from the University of Glasgow, one of whom was conducting research into the Iron Age of Caithness (A Baines), while the other was a specialist in palaeobotanical studies (D Aldritt).

Limited excavation, including the cleaning back and recording of the eroding dune section and the opening of 12 trenches revealed a series of stone walls, some of which appeared to represent buildings, and buried soil horizons, which prior to being covered by blown sand may have supported arable agriculture. On purely typological grounds the presence of a decorated bone pin and antler comb suggested activity on the site ranging from the pre-Viking (8th century AD) to late Norse periods (12th-14th century AD).

It was hoped that analyses of the environmental samples recovered from the excavation would provide a further insight into the nature of the deposits from which they were recovered and the activities which led to their formation. Much of this work would be undertaken by D Aldritt as part of her Ph.D. research into the environmental background to Norse activity in northern Scotland. It was hoped that the animal bones would also be examined by a post-graduate student, thus again minimising the cost of this work. <1> <2> <3>

The site was published as an article in a volume of papers presented to K Blood by the Northumberland Archaeology Group in 1999. <4>

Paul Humphreys is monitoring the condition of this site and says that finds/deposits are revealed in about 7 separate areas of rabbit disturbance. - HAW 2/2003

Processing and analysis of the environmental finds and samples was subsequently undertaken by D Alldritt and reported on as one of five case studies in her PhD thesis submitted to Glasgow University in 2003 (see especially Chapter 3). The work also included analysis of four small assessment samples taken at the site in 1994 by Dr. J.H. Barrett. A total of 135 litres of bulk sampled sediment were taken from midden and structural contexts from Marymas. A further approximately 50 litres of sediment were collected using box column sampling tins and from the assessment samples. The shell and other material collected as random spot finds were not measured to volume, and for this reason these were recorded on separate tables rather than incorporating into the main body of data. The material from the bulk samples was analysed together, and divided into Pre-Norse (Pictish) and Norse categories based upon the artefact findings. Only material from the Norse midden and probably Pictish structures in trench 4 were included in this analysis. Other trenches were not firmly datable. During excavation the midden levels were noted to be visibly different from one another, in terms of colour and content, and this enabled division of the layers for interpretation. However it was not known how long these layers took to accumulate, whether single events or long depositional patterns were involved, and this should be remembered when applying interpretation to these data. <5>

Sources/Archives (5)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred ND 2189 7065 (34m by 33m)
Map sheet	ND27SW
Civil Parish	DUNNET
Geographical Area	CAITHNESS

Finds (6)

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Investigations/Events (1)

External Links (3)