Cyderhall
The basement, discovered in 1987 and subsequently excavated, and the neighboring roundhouse of Cyderhall (also called Cyderhall Farm ) are located west of Lonemore and Dornoch on the Dornoch Firth in Sutherland on the east side of Scotland . The uncalibrated radiocarbon dates are between 390 and 270 BC. BC. The round house had a multi-phase use. Both plants were damaged by the gravel mining. The combination of a basement with structures above ground is common - in Sutherland there are examples of this in Achindale, Allt Cille Pheadair , Loch Hope and Portnancon. Cyderhall is one of 40 basements in Sutherland.
The basement
In the case of the basement, a basic distinction is made between "rock-cut", "earth-cut", "stone built" and "mixed" basements. The north-west-south-east oriented basement is located above the round house on a slight slope that slopes down to the Evelix River. The inside approximately 1.7 m wide and 1.75 m high trench of the basement survived the gravel mining over a length of 7.2 m (northeast side) and 2.7 m long (southwest side). The almost vertical walls made of large, reddish, edgewise sandstone blocks were smooth inside and connected with intermediate masonry. It is unlikely that the remaining height of the walls matched the original height, as no ceiling connection was preserved. In contrast, a series of post holes with stone packings at a radial distance of 0.8 to 0.95 m indicate wooden posts that functioned as ceiling supports, because the stone walls were not stable enough to support a stone roof. Since no panels of sufficient length were found during the excavation, a wooden roof is likely.
If the basement did not run below the north-western round house and the remaining remains of the basement reach close to the former south end, as there are indications, then the basement had a maximum length of only 10 m.
The floor of the basement consisted of a 0.05–0.09 m thick layer of gray silty gravel, in which no finds were made despite careful excavation. A round pit 1.05 m deep and 1.5 m in diameter was dug into the ground. This made passage through the basement very difficult unless it was covered by planks. The purpose of the hitherto unique construction is unclear. The pit filling was sandy. It was impossible to determine whether the basement collapsed or was deliberately destroyed. In the basement there was a filling layer with a maximum depth of 0.9 m, above which the soil and gravel of the topsoil had sunk in at a time that could not be determined.
The round house
Only a third of the round house survived. The sunken floor was immediately west of the basement. A straight channel leads out from the round house on the west side in the direction of the basement. Three phases of use of the round house have been identified.
Phase 1
The cut edge of the gravel quarry shows the shape of the preserved house area. The ground level was about 0.22-0.44 m below the cleared surface. The diameter was nine meters. Post holes belonging to an outer and an inner circle and their stone packings were discovered. The depth of the post holes was between 0.63 and 0.69 m. There were two large post holes at the transition from the round house and a channel that may have formed the access to the basement. The 7.4 m long and 1.8 m wide channel curved towards the basement. The sides were steep and three pairs of posts may have helped support the ceiling in the same way as they did for the basement. The six post holes were up to 0.52 m deep. A charred piece of oak post was found in situ and gave a radiocarbon date of 380 BC. At the end of the gutter there were four rectangular stones. They could have been the remains of the barrier at the end of the gutter or formed the base for a gate. A rounded pit, 0.28 m deep, in the bottom of the channel was filled with gray sand, covered with reddish oxidized clay and charcoal. Their function is not known. The round house phase 1 and the superstructure of the gutter burned in 280 BC. BC.
Phase 2
The fire horizon was covered. The reconstruction of the round house is evidenced by red-brown clay gravel, which formed an edge on the outline of the earlier building and may have come from the wall cladding. Little further evidence was found in connection with this usage phase, but another one was found above the lower fire horizon. This consisted of charred oak beams. The channel was shortened to a steep 1.08 m wide and 0.7 m deep trench at the western end, only 5.8 m long.
Phase 3
Another house was built in the same place, of which, however, only the lowest level can be occupied by removing the soil for gravel extraction. The gray sand formed a stained surface and the channel was now only a slightly sunken structure. The diameter of the house was slightly larger, as evidence of six post holes up to 0.34 m deep and 0.3 to 0.4 m in diameter were found. In this case, the roof was supported by a massive center post, part of which survived from the pit. It was 1.6 m deep and 1.4 m in diameter.
Storage pit
The storage pit was found outside the building, so it is not certain which phase of use it belongs to. The remnant of the pit measures 0.9 × 1.3 m. Traces of a loamy sand lining with charred wood lay in the pit in places. The filling consisted of charred grain. Analysis of the charred material from the pit suggests that six-row barley (Hordeum vulgare) was the most important food crop and was stored as a whole ear. In other cereals, emmer (Triticum dicoccum) and oats (Avena sp) were definitely present, possibly also spelled (Triticum cfspelta) and rye (Secale cereale cf).
The finds
No artifacts were found in the basement. Four bovine teeth and bone fragments lay in the filling material. There were broken pottery, bones and flint in the round house .
Legend
The Orkneyinga saga tells how the first Earl of the Orkney , Sigurd Eysteinsson or Sigurd I (the Mighty), conquered the north of Scotland and came to Dornoch in 892 to kill his enemy "Maelbrighte of Moray" and 40 of his men. However, Sigurd was fatally wounded and, according to the saga, he was buried “in a hill on the bank of the Oykel River”. The location of the tomb is unknown, but experts believe that it was more likely to be buried on the Evelix River, which flows into the Dornoch Firth like the Oykel but is closer to Dornoch. At the estuary lies Cyderhall Farm, which in the 13th century was still known as Syvardhowe - or the "Howe (burial mound) of Sigurd". In fact, a small Viking grave was found in the field on the farm .
See also
literature
- Gordon Barclay: Newmill and the 'souterrains of southern Pictland'. Contribution to: Trevor Watkins: Excavation of a settlement and souterrain at Newmill, near Bankfoot, Perthshire. In: Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland , Vol. 110, 1978/1980, ISSN 0081-1564 , pp. 165–208, here pp. 200 ff. ( Online )
- Robert W. Pollock: The excavation of a souterrain and roundhouse at Cyderhall, Sutherland. In: Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland , Vol. 122, 1993, ISSN 0081-1564 , pp. 149-60. ( online )
Web links
Coordinates: 57 ° 52 ′ 0.3 " N , 4 ° 6 ′ 11.3" W.