A Beaker cremation burial and a medieval 8-post structure to the north of Edzell, Angus
- CFA Archaeolgy
- 3 days ago
- 1 min read
Check out CFA's new article A Beaker cremation burial and a medieval 8-post structure to the north of Edzell, Angus, written by Harry Francis with contributions by Angela Boyle, Joshua Toulson, Melanie Johnson, Ann Clarke, Christina Hills, and Diane Alldritt; and published in the latest volume, Volume 31, of the Tayside and Fife Archaeological Journal.
CFA's 2023 excavations at the site recorded an Early Bronze Age cremation burial and a medieval 8-post structure, as well as a cluster of pits and three other isolated features.
The cremation pit was located within the medieval structure, although the two were not related. It contained the un-urned cremated remains of two individuals, one adult and one infant, dated from 2434-2149 BC; an almost complete All Over Corded (AOC) Beaker, deliberately made for the burial and not used prior (depicted above); and burnt animal bone from a medium-sized mammal - a common accompaniment to Bronze Age cremations and likely the remains of offerings made for the dead.
The 11th- to 13th-century medieval structure was built with four pairs of large pillars, as evidenced by the two lines of post-pits recorded in our excavation. The deposits of the pits were very interesting – they contained significant quantities of carbonised oat grain as well as oak charcoal. We’ve interpreted this to mean the building may have been a barn used for cereal drying, which, unfortunately for its owners, caught fire and burnt down.
