Excavation at Land Adjacent To 1 Dow Avenue, Monkton, South Ayrshire

The evaluation (Shelley & Carruthers 2023) identified a deposit containing charcoal and possibly heat affected stones within two of the trenches. This was apparently associated with other deposits possibly filling a former palaeochannel and as a result WoSAS recommended additional archaeological excavation in order to fully mitigate the impact of development on these remains. The agreed trench was stripped of overburden, and it was observed that no archaeological features extended out with the agreed area. The base of the area stripped amounted to 244m2 with the sides battered at a 45� angle to the current ground surface. Following an earlier archaeological trial trenching evaluation, a subsequent excavation was undertaken prior to the erection of a manufacturing facility on Land Adjacent To 1 Dow Avenue, Monkton, South Ayrshire. A probable burnt mound was identified overlying an infilled palaeochannel. The probable burnt mound deposit was broadly kidney-shaped in plan, orientated east-west, measured c.9.4m long by 4.1m wide by up to 0.21m deep. Three samples were radiocarbon dated and the dates ranged from 2196 to 2034 BC (95.4% probability; SUERC-126766 - 126768). This fits within the expected Bronze Age date range for burnt mounds. The paleochannel was infilled at the time the burnt mound deposit was formed but it may still have been an area of some standing water. The size of this particular deposit is suggestive of a phase of short-lived activity rather than continued usage over a period of time.