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Kirkton

Pit (Period Unassigned), Cauldron (Bronze), Skillet (Bronze), Vessel (Wood)

Site Name Kirkton

Classification Pit (Period Unassigned), Cauldron (Bronze), Skillet (Bronze), Vessel (Wood)

Alternative Name(s) Kirkmahoe Parish Church; Kirkton, Dumfries

Canmore ID 72584

Site Number NX98SE 85

NGR NX 974 815

Datum OSGB36 - NGR

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/72584

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

  • Council Dumfries And Galloway
  • Parish Kirkmahoe
  • Former Region Dumfries And Galloway
  • Former District Nithsdale
  • Former County Dumfries-shire

Archaeology Notes

NX98SE 85 974 815

A large copper-alloy cauldron, a copper-alloy skillet and a turned wooden vessel were found in metal-detecting on 2 August 1992. They all apparently formed a single deposit, and within the wooden vessel there were two packages of unidentified organic material.

Information from Dr JA Sheridan (RMS), 28 August 1992.

A bronze cauldron containing a bronze skillet, a turned lidded wooden vessel filled with an organic material (possibly butter) and two packets of organic material (possibly butter or cheese) were found by a metal detectorist on the terrace to the W of Kirkmahoe parish church and the site of St Quintin's chapel. The cauldron and skillet may be dated to the later 14th century.

The find spot of the hoard was excavated and the feature into which they had been tipped was sectioned to a depth of 0.8m. The hoard had been pushed into a soft organic deposit which was the uppermost fill of a narrow (0.45m diameter) wood and wattle lined pit. The other fills of this pit, which were a mixture of organic material and the natural boulder clay, gave every indication that the feature was substantially deeper than the portion excavated.

The pit had clearly not been dug for the burial of the hoard, and the specialised construction of the pit (or well?) suggests that the boulder clay terrace from which it was dug is likely to contain other archaeological features. Moreover, the circumstances of the original find suggests that past plough damage has been slight and that any such features are likely to have good organic preservation. The surrounding area has now been surveyed by metal detectorists and the resulting minor finds plotted and removed.

The hoard has been declared Treasure Trove and will be published in full in due course.

R M Spearman 1992

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