A Later Prehistoric Settlement and Early Medieval Activity in Perth and Kinross

CFA Archaeology has published a new article in Volume 114 of Scottish Archaeological Internet Reports (SAIR), hosted by our friends at the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. A Later Prehistoric Settlement and Early Medieval Reuse at Loak Farm, Bankfoot, Perth and Kinross was written by Magnus Kirby, with contributions by Diane Alldritt, Hannah Britton, Ann Clarke, Melanie Johnson, and Rod Mackenzie. The illustrations were by Alan Braby, Rachael Kershaw, Sam Griffith, and Woody Musgrove.

Roundhouse 6, with illustrated plan superimposed.

Six-post Structure 1, with illustrated plan superimposed.

CFA’s article describes a 2019 excavation undertaken at Loak Farm, Perth and Kinross, Scotland in advance of a borrow pit being opened to supply stone for work on the A9 dualling project. The archaeological works uncovered seven roundhouses, two ring ditches (possible round houses), eight four-post structures and two six-post structures (possible granaries), an oval post-built structure, a lightweight post-built structure, a post- and post-trench structure, and numerous isolated pits and groups of pits. Radiocarbon dating places the majority of these features in the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age, indicating that the site was a fairly extensive settlement of later prehistoric date. A small assemblage of pottery and coarse stone tools was recovered; the stone tools indicated some limited craftworking activities were taking place at the site.

Several features, including a corn-drying kiln and possible field oven, and pits containing ironsmithing evidence, returned dates in the very early medieval period, indicating reuse of the settlement into the second half of the first millennium AD.

Artefactual Evidence

A minimum of 45 prehistoric vessels were recovered, comprised of 230 sherds, and represented a typical later prehistoric assemblage from mainland Scotland, featuring coarse, plain vessels with upright, incurving, everted or bevelled rims.

Eight prehistoric worked stone objects were found, including two flat perforated cobbles, two cobble tools, a hollowed stone, two anvils or rests, and a trough quern. Some were linked to agricultural or domestic activity, such as a grinder and a quern stone which would have been used to grind or process grain or other foodstuffs. Other objects represented the remains of industrial working, such as parts of equipment like a drill, part of a metalworking process, and anvils.

Additionally, slag found on site provided further evidence of metalworking – specifically, the forging of ferrous metal during the early medieval period.

Environmental Evidence

Prehistoric

The environmental samples produced several well-preserved caches of carbonised cereal grain and charcoal from this prehistoric farming settlement. The cereal grain confirms an agricultural economy largely reliant on the cultivation of barley types, wheat, and others. Scatters of residual trace grain and charcoal were found across the site, reflecting typical settlement waste, including background burnt detritus from cereal processing and drying activity, cooking and fuel waste. The six-post and four-post structures produced very few carbonised remains other than probable residual material, which is not uncommon for this type of feature. It suggests they may have been raised storage structures for unprocessed grain or other materials.

Early Medieval

One of the kilns was being employed for the drying of large amounts of barley in the early medieval period, with the assemblage dominated by hulled barley. The charcoal was a mixture of hazel and alder with some nicely preserved willow/poplar and a few fragments of rhizome, suggesting peat or heathy turves may also have been used as fuel in the kiln.

Conclusions

CFA’s archaeological works at Loak Farm uncovered a thriving Scottish prehistoric settlement and an area of early medieval activity.

Site plan of the excavations at Loak Farm.

We discovered the remains of a Bronze Age community living in substantial timber roundhouses who were producing enough grain to allow a considerable surplus to be stored in purpose-built above-ground structures. These post-built structures, or prehistoric granaries, can be envisioned as small, conical-roofed buildings set on low wooden pillars which were used for the storage, but not processing, of grain. The seven roundhouses may have been contemporary with each other, meaning they were inhabited and used at the same time and, thus, indicate the presence of a continuous large community. On the other hand, they could have been built at different times, reflecting rebuilding events as the structural timbers rotted and causing the main dwelling to shift across the landscape with each generation.

Archaeological remains of a 4-post structure from the Loak Farm site, with an example recreation of what it may have looked like to the left.

Occupation of the settlement continued into the Iron Age, as evidenced by radiocarbon dates associated with two ring ditches.

Iron Age ring ditches.

Four features including two pits containing smithing slag, a corn-drying kiln, and a possible field oven produced much later dates, providing evidence of reoccupation of the site during the early medieval period. Together, these represent the remains of crop processing and ironsmithing activities, and we suggest that there may be undiscovered early medieval domestic structures nearby which would have housed the people doing these works.

CFA’s post-excavation manager, Christina, gave a fascinating talk on this site at the Tayside and Fife Archaeology Conference in 2024, the recording of which is available online.

Want to find out more? This open access publication is available to read for free online at: https://doi.org/10.9750/issn.2056-7421.2026.114.1-63 - go check it out!