Beautiful whetstone discovery brings day to a close
On a sunny, but especially blustery, day, the team have continued to make good steady progress, both in areas that needed to be handled robustly, and in others that required a little more finesse.
The former included the outer broch frontage, where large quantities of rubble have been removed, uncovering finds such as bone, stone tools, antler and shell midden. The next step here is to remove some even bigger stones, but this process will require precision, as their positioning is fairly precarious, situated above the remains of shell midden.
Inside the broch (Structure A), in the south-east room, further hearth deposits have been excavated, with bulk and geochemical samples taken.
This has revealed a red-orange clay deposit that may have formed a base for the substantial broken hearth slab.
Just outside the broch, near Structure F, further rubble and overburden, first worked on last year, has been cleared above the level of the souterrain to expose more of the broch wall and shell midden, and to help get everything into phase.
One large flat slab, set into red clay, has been of particular interest, and is about to be lifted.
Over in Structure B2, more of the floor has been cleared down to the base layer, and some of the walls excavated to reveal bone fragments, a possible red deer antler and two pieces of the base of a black/grey pot – distinguishable from the typical red colouring of previous finds.
In the north end of the structure, a possible gable end has also been excavated further to reveal what potentially may be the base of a curved wall.
Finally, in the south-west corner of Structure B2 a whetstone was uncovered in excellent condition – an incredibly smooth blue stone, and a very exciting find to close the day!
Eleanore Cheetham,
UHI BSc Archaeological Science student
