Evaluation at Grid Stability Facility, Land West of Westfield, Blackford, Rothienorman, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire

An archaeological trial trenching evaluation was carried out at Land West of Westfield, Blackford, Rothienorman in advance of the erection of a grid stability facility. Trial trenches totalling 5125 meters squared were excavating amount to just over 10% of the 4.9ha area. The evaluation led to the identification of two pits. Three sherds of prehistoric pottery were recovered from the pits. The pottery was not identifiable to a specific date or class but may have been earlier prehistoric based on the fabric. Radiocarbon dates obtained from Alder charcoal (2196-1986 BC; SUERC-111112 and 2136-1946 BC; SUERC-111113) suggest that these pits date to the Early Bronze Age. These dates are slightly later than the Chalcolithic dates obtained from a pit discovered during trial trenching undertaken by GUARD in 2013 (Canmore ID: 363038) on the adjacent ground to the south-east. Several significant prehistoric sites lie within 5 kilometres of the site, many of which are burial monuments or non-domestic structures. The quantity of sites indicates that this area was active during the Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age period. Due to the paucity of evidence for habitation at the site, the pits identified cannot be clearly connected to the one identified during the GUARD evaluation. It is unknown whether the pits represent a continuity of occupation from the Chalcolithic to the Early Bronze, or two instances of activity separated by hundreds of years. The charcoal suggests the presence of a nearby fire, however no fire pit was identified. This may mean shallower features on the site have been truncated by ploughing or weathering and we have an incomplete picture of the prehistoric activity at the site. Despite the limited number of finds and features uncovered at Westfield, Rothienorman, the site nonetheless adds to the growing body of evidence for Early Bronze Age activity in the north east of Scotland.