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Boonies

Enclosed Settlement (Iron Age), Bracelet (Glass), Unidentified Pottery (Roman)

Site Name Boonies

Classification Enclosed Settlement (Iron Age), Bracelet (Glass), Unidentified Pottery (Roman)

Alternative Name(s) Bentpath; Boonies Cottage

Canmore ID 67818

Site Number NY39SW 4

NGR NY 3049 9004

Datum OSGB36 - NGR

C14 Radiocarbon Dating

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/67818

Ordnance Survey licence number AC0000807262. All rights reserved.
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Administrative Areas

  • Council Dumfries And Galloway
  • Parish Ewes
  • Former Region Dumfries And Galloway
  • Former District Annandale And Eskdale
  • Former County Dumfries-shire

Summary Record (May 2014 - March 2015)

Remains of later prehistoric to early medieval enclosed settlement located on lower north-east facing slopes above River Esk within rough pasture. Adjacent to large area of commercial forestry to south and west. Restricted views, localised valley setting.

information from Héléna Gray, (CFA Archaeology Ltd), August 2015

OASIS ID: cfaarcha1-278420

Archaeology Notes

NY39SW 4 3049 9004.

(NY 3049 9004) Earthwork (NR)

OS 6" map (1957)

This settlement is situated on the edge of a river-terrace some 15m above the River Esk, immediately W of Boonies. An area of about 0.07ha (0.17 acres) is enclosed by a bank, still standing to a height of about 2m, except along the edge of a river-scarp where only a low mound is visible; the entrance is in the E. Most of the material for the bank was obtained from an external ditch, now only apparent in places as a differential growth in pasture.

Before excavation by Jobey in 1973-4, the SE half of the interior appeared to be occupied by a slightly scooped yard, though no house sites could be seen in the remaining (upper) sector. Jobey's excavations showed that the enclosure bank consisted of mixed earth and stone, 5m to 6m apart, though the width along the crest of the scarp was probably no more than 2.5m. Where excavated, the ditch was 4m wide, narrowing to 2.5m wide near the entrance; the depth was 1.25m. A radiocarbon date of 108 +/-47 AD was obtained from carbonised wood sealed by the remains of the bank near house 12.

Traces of thirteen round, timber-built houses (ring-ditch type) were found, many of them representing successive structural phases. A radiocarbon date of 1047 +/-55 AD was obtained from material taken from a pit within house 11. No structures associated with this pit were found. Among the artifacts found were pieces of querns, stone pounders, perforated stones, seven sherds of native pottery, three sherds of Roman pottery, possibly of 1st - early 2nd century date, a fragment from a glass bracelet or pendant (Kilbride-Jones type 3A), a corroded penannular brooch (Fowler's type A3) and modern material.

For much of the time, this site was a homestead, with a single house; in the final phase, a maximum of five houses co-existed.

G Jobey 1975; RCAHMS 1920

This settlement is well preserved and is as described. The interior is turf-covered and there is little evidence of excavaton disturbance. The ditch, as stated, is traceable only as a vague cropmark.

Surveyed at 1/2500.

Visited by OS (MJF) 14 September 1979.

Activities

Field Visit (13 July 1955)

Enclosures, Hizzie Birren and The Boonies.

Both these works are probably medieval rather than prehistoric, but it is difficult to know whether to classify them as earthworks or enclosures. Structures with comparably substantial defences in Roxburghshire were classified as earthworks, but it is more difficult to draw a line in Dumfriesshire between these works and the enclosures in Ewesdale.

Visited by RCAHMS (KAS) 13 July 1955.

Ref: RCAHMS 1920 Nos. 643 and 645.

Field Visit (June 1980)

Boonies NY 304 900 NY39SW 4

This oval settlement stands immediately N of Boonies cottage and measures 37m by 31m within a bank (up to 7.1 m in thickness and 2.1 m in height) and external ditch. Excavation within the interior revealed traces of up to thirteen circular timber houses, representing at least seven phases of construction, and showed the entrance, on the ESE, to be of at least two phases. A carbon sample from beneath the bank has yielded a date of AD 108 ± 47; a penannular brooch, a fragment of an opaque white glass bracelet and pottery datable to the Roman period were recovered.

RCAHMS 1980, visited June 1980

(RCAHMS 1920, p. 218, No. 645; Jobey 1974)

Note (1997)

NY 3049 9004 NY39SW 4

Listed as settlement. Finds recovered in excavation noted as including penannular brooch, pottery, Roman pottery, glass bracelet, rotary quernstones, perforated stones and mould.

RCAHMS 1997.

Project (29 May 2014)

An archaeological evaluation was undertaken by CFA Archaeology Ltd, a desk based assessment and walk over survey (May 29th 2014) was conducted

The historic environment record within the Site Boundary is relatively limited, although there is some potential for the proposed development site to contain previously unknown heritage assets from at least the later prehistoric period onwards, given the historic landscape character of the wider area. Taking this into account, the archaeological potential of the proposed development site is considered to be low.

A summary assessment, on a site by site basis, of the predicted effects on the settings of assets within a 10km radius where the blade tip ZTV indicates that there would be theoretical views of one or more turbines

information from Héléna Gray, (CFA Archaeology Ltd), August 2015

OASIS ID: cfaarcha1-278420

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