A Guide to Recognising the Past in Scotland’s Countryside

Identifying Archaeological Featureswithin Scotland’s

Historic Landscapes

© Crown Copyright RCAHMS

byJonathan Wordsworth

CSA Archaeological Adviser on Rural Land Use

HISTORIC LANDSCAPE GUIDE

CONTENTS page

1 Introduction 4What is a Historic Landscape?Why is it Important?

2 How to use the Guide 5What Monuments are the Most Important? 6

3 Identifying Archaeological Features 7in a Historic LandscapeDesk-based StudyUsing Maps to Study the Landscape 8Talking to Farmers and Other Local Residents 9Field Survey 10

4 Where to find Historic Landscape 12 Features

Arable 14Pasture 15Field Margins/Copses 16Woodland 17Wetland 18Upland 19

5 The Bush Estate, Penicuik : 20 A Case Study

6 Feature Types 23Banks 24Buried Remains and Find Scatters 26Cairns 28Cropmark and Low-relief Sites 30Cultivation Lines (rigs and terraces) 32Cultural Sites 34Designed Features 36Ditches 38Dykes 40Farm Buildings 42Fields and Enclosures 44Hedges and Trees 46Hollows 48Industrial Sites 50Mounds 52Roads and Tracks 54Standing Monuments 56Structures 60Water Features 62

7 Working from Features to Landscapes 64Bailiehill An Historic LandsapePoints to Remember 67Further Reading

8 Where to Obtain More Information and 68 Advice

Acknowledgements 70 3

Many elements contribute to the making of a historiclandscape from individual archaeological sites such ascairns and buildings, to the dykes and fields bothmodern and old that mark the imprint of humans on theland.

WHY ARE HISTORIC LANDSCAPES IMPORTANT?

Some elements of these landscapes survive from earlierperiods and are important both intrinsically for thearchaeological information they contain and for thedepth of character they give to a landscape as a whole.By being able to identify the elements that make up thislandscape, the development of the land can be betterunderstood. Knowing this history is important not justfor understanding the individual archaeologicalfeatures: it can also help explain why certain naturalhabitats are sited where they are and how they got there.The processes of human and natural development areentwined and should be recognised as being linked.

Many of these roots underpin the modern landscapesthat are appreciated by both local communities andvisitors. These people are interested in learning moreabout the past of the landscapes they see and byidentifying the historic elements that make up thepresent landscape, you will be able to give them anextra dimension towards appreciating the Scottishcountryside.

1 INTRODUCTION

The landscape of the farming countryside includes manyfeatures that reflect the changing patterns of land useover the centuries. These features are important in givingcharacter and value to the landscape and should bepositively protected when considering environmentalschemes in the countryside. This guide is intended tohelp those responsible for managing the countryside toidentify these features during farm visits and explain whyarchaeologists consider them important. Measures toenhance these features are also suggested. It has beendesigned primarily as an aid to agricultural advisersconsidering management options under the agri-environment programme, but may also be of value toother countryside managers.

The list of features is not definitive. Instead this guideaims to identify the main landscape forms that mark thepresence of people in the past. This should then be usedas a prompt when looking at the countryside.

WHAT IS A HISTORIC LANDSCAPE?

Historic landscapes are the reflection of human activityon the land in the past. Virtually all land in this countryhas been influenced by human activity at some point inits past, whether by farming or some other form of landmanagement. The result of this is that the survivinglandscapes of Scotland reflect not just a rich variety ofnatural habitats but also the broad spread of more than5000 years of settlement. This human dimension, definedas a historic landscape, is dynamic, and as with naturallandscapes, is subject to change.

The Stones of Stenness in Orkney, with the nearby Ring of Brodgarand Maeshowe, form part of a complex archaeological landscapethe importance of which has been recognised by its designation as aWorld Heritage Site.

These enclosures recently identified in Glen Devon are connected towell-documented agricultural improvements introduced in the 18thcentury. They do not have statutory protection but they are stillsignificant features, helping explain how the landscape has changedover time.

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© Crown Copyright RCAHMS

2 HOW TO USE THE GUIDE

This guide is designed to help identify those features inthe countryside that form historic landscapes. With a bitof practical experience it soon becomes easy torecognise the forms that make up these landscapes.

The guide works by identifying the main shapes andforms of the archaeological sites that make up thecultural heritage of rural Scotland. It is not intended togive the precise importance of every possiblearchaeological feature; instead, by concentrating onform and location the guide shows where and howparticular monuments influence the shape of the modernlandscape. This is important for understanding thelandscape character of different areas. Each area andeach archaeological site are unique, but by recognisingthe different forms in the landscape it is possible toidentify which features make a particular landscapedistinctive.

Using this guide should help define the types ofarchaeological feature likely to be seen on the ground,how to recognise them and why they are important forgiving character to the landscape.

When examining an individual farm or larger landscape,a surveyor should be constantly asking why a particularfield, hedge, bank, habitat or mound is where it is. Itmay be the result of modern actions on the farm but itmay also reflect the past history of land use.

Recognising the origin of a landscape will make it easierto demonstrate its value to the farmer and the widercommunity, thus helping to protect it in the future.

Many Scheduled Ancient Monuments, such as this prehistoric burialcairn at Camster are strong landscape features, being deliberatelyplaced in positions where they could be easily seen. This particularmonument also shows that this area has been farmed for over 5000years and letting this feature disappear under scrub or trees wouldsignificantly alter the shape of this historic landscape.

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A question of terms: In this publication ‘HistoricLandscape’ has been chosen as the term to describepast monuments (or sites) in the countryside.‘Historic Landscape’, ‘Historic Environment’, the‘Built and Cultural Heritage’ are all terms used todescribe the physical evidence of the human past.They each have their own emphasis.

Historic Landscapes, for example, might be seen asignoring undocumented (eg prehistoric) landscapeswhereas Cultural Heritage can be seen as dealingonly with visual perceptions of the past as opposedto the physical evidence.

The different names are less important than therecognition that Scotland’s countryside has hadmillennia of human impact. People are a componentof bio-diversity and decisions to reconstruct or’restore’ habitats must recognise this humandimension.This roundhouse site is covered in species-rich grassland. Whether

the house was sited on richer soils or the grassland has colonised anarea of more fertile ground is uncertain. Clearly both elements areimportant in giving this landscape significant value.

This picture taken in 2000 is a more detailed view of the areashown on the front cover which was photographed in 1988. Thisarchaeological landscape, near Perth, contains a hill fort and adispersed roundhouse settlement.

Official Scheduled Monument protection is given to these specificsites and not to the landscape surrounding the monuments whichincludes clearance cairns and fields created by the people who builtthe sites that are protected. As can be seen here, this givesincomplete protection to the landscape setting of the more obviousarchaeological features. These should not be preserved in isolationfrom the surrounding ground. The planting of trees, as has happenedhere, is having a severe impact on this landscape, as well asdamaging any buried archaeological deposits.

WHICH MONUMENTS ARE THE MOSTIMPORTANT?

Some sites are considered nationally important eitherbecause they are of a rare or unusual form or becausethey are good examples of a particular type ofmonument. These monuments, known as ScheduledAncient Monuments (SAMs), are legally protected.About 7000 sites are recorded as SAMs and over 200are added each year, out of a national total estimated ataround 18,000 sites. The exact number ofarchaeological sites is uncertain depending on whetherthese are defined by point or area, but there are alreadyover 130,000 separate entries recorded in databasesacross Scotland.

There are other designations such as monuments ofregional or local importance. While these are notprotected in law, they should be preserved by goodenvironmental practice. Local authorities will considertheir protection when examining planning and forestryapplications and there is a presumption against causingdamage to these sites, unless there are good reasons todo otherwise.

Most Scheduled sites are only protected as far as theedge of individual monuments. It is increasinglyrecognised by archaeologists and other culturalhistorians that protection should also includearchaeological landscapes. Individual sites form part ofa landscape and the whole setting of a monument mayhave value.

In the past, antiquarians concentrated on digging holesinto only the most prominent sites. However,developments in environmental studies have shownthat by analysing the soils and less obvious features inand around archaeological sites, it is possible toreconstruct past landscapes. Pollen analysts can tellwhat crops grew and when areas were abandoned,allowing peat or trees to grow on former fields. Soilscientists can tell from the structure of the soil, how theland was managed and whether it was enriched orimpoverished. Botanists can examine carbonised orwaterlogged seeds and plant remains to compare thespecies of plant and type of crops growing in the past.Entomologists can study the remains of insects toreconstruct the past social and environmentalconditions. This data is important not just forarchaeologists. Many environmentalists seearchaeological sites as reservoirs of information on thepast history of the land and climate change, informingus of trends and models for the future. Once destroyed,these reservoirs cannot be replaced.

Recent pollen studies in the west end of Glen Affric have shown thatarable crops have been grown here since the Bronze Age, some 4,000years ago. The landscape has remained largely treeless since thisperiod, in contrast to the more familiar pinewood to the east.Neither landscape is more ‘natural’ than the other. While suchdetailed information is not available for most sites and nothingremains above ground from this early period of settlement, this datashould inform future management of this area.

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© Crown Copyright RCAHMS

DESK-BASED STUDY

Before going out to look for archaeological remains ona farm it is necessary to do some initial backgroundresearch. This will save you time and help put knownsites in context. Further sources are detailed on pages66–67.

• Obtain a 1:10,000 map of the farm and use this asthe basis of your survey.Most archaeological surveys are initially carriedout at this scale with detailed surveys beingadded at a later stage. Larger scale maps maycontain additional information not recorded onless detailed maps.

• Use the internet to check CANMORE and otherSMR sites at http://ads.ahds.ac.ukThis is based on 1 kilometre map squares tiedinto the OS 1:10,000 map sheets. Use the codeson the map to find which map sheet or sheetsyour farm plan is on.

• A search of either your local authority Site &Monuments Record (SMR – see page 69 fordetails) or the National Monuments Record forScotland (NMRS) in Edinburgh will produce amap of recorded sites.This will often be more comprehensive thanCANMORE and SMR staff can help you assessthe recorded information. They may well holdadditional information to what is supplied for abasic SMR enquiry.

• Be critical of the information supplied eitherfrom CANMORE or an SMR enquiry.The data may not have been recently updatedand grid references can be wronglytranscribed.

• Check the current OS map to see if there are

Sites and Monuments Records differ across the country. Most,like this example from Grampian, are moving to GIS(Geographical Information Systems) making information moreaccessible and easier to obtain.

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The remains of an 18th-century longhouse in Glen Clova.

sitesmarked on it that have not been recorded.Familiarise yourself with the field layout and see ifit is reflecting an older pattern.Remember that the present boundaries may notcorrespond to earlier farm boundaries and tracesof these earlier boundaries may still be visible.

• Remember that individual sites may have a widersignificance, linking with other sites to formhistoric landscapes.Indeed, some sites, such as dykes and banks, mayin themselves seem insignificant and may not evenbe recorded as archaeological features. It is incombination that these elements becomeimportant, joining together to form historiclandscapes and because they can explain how theland was managed in the past.

3 IDENTIFYING HISTORIC LANDSCAPE FEATURES

USING OLD MAPS TO STUDY THELANDSCAPE

Old maps are one of the easiest ways of studying how alandscape has changed over time. If you can get accessto these maps before going out onto a farm, it will makeyour study much easier. Further details on sourcing thesemaps are contained on page 68. Many public librarieshave reference sections where these maps are availablefor study. Other earlier estate maps dating from the 18thor early 19th century may also be available.

ESTATE MAPSAs part of the agricultural revolution of the 18th andearly 19th century, estate maps were drawn up of theland prior to reorganisation. Most of these maps are nowheld in the Scottish Record Office in Edinburgh, thoughsome are still held in estate archives, and copies may beheld in local libraries. The quality can be variable but attheir best they are a vital source of information on howthe land has changed over time.

EARLIER EDITION ORDNANCE SURVEY MAPSThe 1st edition OS maps drawn at 1:10,560 (6” to themile) are essential for studying how the landscape wasorganised in the past. This was the first detailed coverageof the country dating from 1847 in Stornoway to 1895 inSutherland. The 2nd edition revision produced at thebeginning of this century may also show significantchanges and some areas have had further revisions priorto the current 1:10,000 OS map series.

Loch Lurgainn, Inverpolly, Wester Ross as surveyed by the OrdnanceSurvey in 1875 with no trace of any earlier buildings or walls.

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Peter May’s Map of Coigach, Wester Ross, drawn about 1752,showed a shieling stance to the south west of Loch Lurgan. Thefoundation of a building (heavily overgrown) can still be seen in thisarea.

• Use old maps to check for old buildings,deserted buildings and for dating plantations.Fragmentary boundaries and buildings willshow up more clearly on earlier maps.Buildings now obscured may be moreprominent.

• Remember that OS surveyors were recordingwhat they saw and would not record slightarchaeological remains. The quality ofrecording can also be quite variable.Just because something was not shown does notmean it was not extant at the time of the survey.

This view, looking across to Loch Lurgainn and Stac Polly, showsan area of enriched grassland that formed part of the grazing for asummer shieling. It contrasts strongly with the coarser deer grassesbehind.

© Earl of Cromartie

© Highland Council Archive Service

• Check with farmers and/or farm workers beforecarrying out a survey.They may have noticed unusual features or haveturned up archaeological remains during theirwork. Most farmers and farm workers are interestedin the history of the land they work. Being on thefarm everyday, they may notice things you will misson your visit. For example, during ploughing theycould have noticed areas of burning or spreads ofpottery and flints that may mark abandonedsettlements.

Farmer showing landscape features on his land to a party of visitors.TALKING TO FARMERS AND OTHERLOCAL RESIDENTS

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This underground storage chamber in Skye, known as asouterrain, was first revealed when the farmer noticed soilslumping into a hole. Excavation has revealed that it wasbuilt some 2000 years ago. Note how thin the soil cover isabove this monument and yet nothing was visible aboveground.

• Ask if there are other local residents who mayknow about unrecorded sites on the farm.Large areas of the Scottish countryside havenever been visited by professionalarchaeologists and members of the public arediscovering new sites every day.

FIELD SURVEY

• Look at the farm as a whole before deciding tolook for individual features, working from thelarger elements to the smaller using maps and thelines in the landscape as a guide.Try to decide which boundaries are old andwhich are new. Old boundaries may focus onareas and features that are no longer marked onthe map.

• Look for the elements in this landscape that aredistinctive.Are they man-made or natural?If the former, how extensive are the remains and are the present limits likely to correspond to theoriginal boundaries?If the latter, would they have restricted the waythe land could be used in the past? (for example,bogs,rock outcrops and cliffs would all restrictsettlement and cultivation unless there werecompelling reasons, such as defence, to dootherwise). Other natural features might havebeen significant to people in the past –sometimes this significance survives in existingplace-names. Do not underestimate the extent ofhuman settlement in the past.

• When walking over the farm, key areas to lookfor are patterns in the landscape, in particularstraight or curving lines.These might be banks, ditches, stones, trees ortracks. Get a feel for the topography andconsider whether you are looking at a naturalfeature or something that has been made.

• Look at unusual mounds or hummocks in theground.Do these mark cairns or abandoned buildings?

• Check dumps of stone to see if they are recent.Old heaps may be burial cairns or mark theremains of early fields. They may also be hiding

earlier features,such as walls or stone kerbing.

This roundhouse site can best be seen in winter when the brackenhas died down. Birch scrub is beginning to obscure it.

Many upland areas, such as this 250 year old settlement at Leataidhnear Rogart, are no longer considered viable as farmland. In thepast because the climate was better, because of extreme land hungeror because the upland soils were more easily worked, these areaswere cleared for fields. They have survived because later farmershave not found it economic to cultivate these areas.

Bracken almost completely masks this stone burial cairn.Spraying can help retain this as a feature in the landscape, stillvisible in summer.

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• Are stones protruding in a line?They may mark the line of a dyke or the wall ofa building.

• Examine all hollows, ditches and ponds.While many of these may be natural features,others may have been deliberately created.

• Try to decide if the landscape you are viewinghas evolved or formed part of a unified design.Remember most designed landscapes are notrecorded in the HS/SNH Inventories of HistoricGardens and Designed Landscapes. The 1stedition OS map should give a clearer idea as towhether a landscape was designed, even if it isnot listed in the Inventory.On the ground look for parkland trees,especially of exotic species. Are there vistas tonatural or man-made features?

• If possible, undertake archaeological survey inwinter or early spring before the vegetation hasgrown up.Long grass, scrub, bracken and trees all obscurearchaeological features.

• Examine areas of unusual vegetation.In the uplands, archaeological sites are oftenmarked by areas of richer grassland andsometimes bracken because the soil has beenenriched and disturbed in the past. Vigorousgrowth of nettles and other nutrient-richvegetation in neglected corners of a farm maymark the site of abandoned buildings.Woodland areas, especially with veteran trees,may show evidence of past management.

• Do not neglect old tracks.Some of them may be very old or formerlyimportant routes. Think why they were made. Itmay just be access to a peat moor but it couldlead to an old house site or abandoned mineworkings. Constructing a road involved heavywork and would only be done to a specific need.

The same site in winter is much easier to recognise. If it is possible tosurvey or revisit areas when the vegetation is low, you are more likelyto recognise archaeological sites.

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Much of the Scottish landscape has been deliberately created into itspresent form. However, only a small number of landscapes survive asexamples of single unified designs.

In summer this building at Sands, Gairloch, needed the bracken to betrampled down for it to become visible.

• Examine erosion scars, mole heaps and otherexposures.Some archaeological sites, not otherwise visibleon the surface, can be revealed by exposeddeposits of bone, pottery, shells, charcoal or ironslag. They may well be significant features intheir own right and may help explain variationsin the topography or vegetation.

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4 WHERE TO FIND HISTORIC LANDSCAPE FEATURES

Banks markingformer fields

Lade feedingformer mill

Cultivation lines markingabandoned rigs

Burial mound nowtopped with trees

Hillfort

Deserted township

Stone dykestill in use

Wetland areawith potential for pastenvironmentalevidence

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Shieling sitefor summergrazing

Abandoned quarryor mine

Prehistoric roundhousesettlement with associated fieldclearance cairns

Cropmark sitesvisible in ripeningcorn

Standing stones

Deserted trackmarking route toquarry

19th- century farmhouseand steading built withtraditional local materials

The drawing above shows a sample of the features thatcould be found on a farm. Archaeological featuressurvive in many different areas across the farminglandscape and the following broad zones can beidentified, as described on the following pages.

Arable, Pasture, Field Margins/Copses, Woodland,Wetland and Upland

The list on page 23 suggests which individual features tolook out for across the range of habitats and landscapeover Scottish farmland.

Hedge line still used as aboundary

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© Jill Kendrick

ARABLE

Arable farmland is the most difficult area in which tospot archaeology because cultivation will have removedmost of the upstanding features. Some features such asStanding Monuments, Cairns, Mounds and FarmBuildings may be left as islands within an area ofcultivation. It is always worth checking field clearancedumps to see if they have been put on top of somestructure too awkward to remove. Check with the farmerif he knows of any such sites before you survey his land.

Some archaeology can be inferred from standingmonuments surviving in uncultivated areas. Hedgerowboundaries and banks may well preserve remains that donot survive in the cultivated areas.

After ploughing, spreads of charcoal, reddened soil,shells, stones or pottery may all mark archaeologicalsites. Speak to the farmer or tractorman to find out ifthey have noticed differences in the soil texture andcolour when ploughing. Not all soil marks will be theresult of former occupation. Acid soils, particularly inrecently reclaimed ground, may have very distinctvariations in soil colour caused by gleying and variablepan formation.

Cropmark archaeology is only obvious during particularcrop and climatic conditions. However it is possible towork out where some sites are because of the localtopography. Many sites such as forts, burial cairns andhouse sites were placed on raised ground because ofbetter drainage. These knolls or ridges can still be seeneven in cultivated fields. Other sites such as ditches,though largely silted up, will still survive as hollows.

Archaeological sites in arable areas are prone to damageeither because the farmer is ignorant of their location orbecause the sites are vulnerable to the processes of arablecultivation. Subsoiling, deep ploughing and destoningare particularly harmful to cropmark sites, but evenupstanding sites can be easily damaged in arable areas.

The effect of ploughing can be seen in the alternating strips ofploughsoil and subsoil. Comparison with features exacavatedunder the headland shows that surviving archaeological pits havebeen severely truncated. Arable cultivation remains one of thebiggest threats to archaeological features.

The Roman Fort at Strageath, near Crieff,survives under the ploughas a series of light areas where roads once lay and darker areaswhere ditches were cut. Excavation has shown this was occupied onon at least three separate periods and the photograph shows acomposite viewof the remains from these different periods of use.

This neolithic building in Perthshire,defined by a series of pits forthe roof timbers, was first discovered by flint tools found from fieldwalking and by aerial photography. Note the contrast between thesubsoil and the pits cut into it. The richer fills of these pits helpedproduce cropmark features and also contained importantarchaeological evidence to date and interpret this site.

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© Colin Martin

© Crown Copyright Historic Scotland

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PASTURE

Many archaeological sites are preserved under pasture.In some areas of permanent pasture, the archaeologicalfeatures may not have been disturbed since they wereabandoned.

Archaeological features under pasture are generallyconsidered to be well protected, unless it is proposed toreseed the area. Grazing makes sites more visible andprevents them being obscured by rank vegetation orscrub. Care must be taken to prevent poaching, placingfeeding stances on archaeological sites or siting fencelines across large monuments.

All types of archaeological remains can be found inpasture and these sites are usually the easiest to spotbecause grazing has allowed a monument to stand outfrom the surrounding vegetation. Areas of rushes maygrow out of abandoned structures or mark the line oflargely silted up ditches. Stone heaps, perhaps markingcairns or house sites, should always be examined. Theymay only be the result of stone clearance but they couldbe marking a significant site.

Reseeded pasture is a more difficult area in which tospot sites. If the sites are substantial banks or mounds,they may survive repeated episodes of ploughing,whereas slighter features may disappear after the firstpass of the plough.

Sometimes low light or shallow drifted snow canenhance features not otherwise visible, making themvisible like cropmark sites.

In terms of management, features under permanentpasture are likely to remain stable, unless grazingpressure is causing poaching and erosion.

Even semi-improved pasture, such as here at Gormack in north eastPerthshire, may still preserve significant remains. Within this pictureare prehistoric clearance cairns, a roundhouse and a later bank froma medieval deer park.

A typical Scottish pastoral landscape showing sheep grazing over adeserted settlement near Duntulm in Skye. Such features are acommon but significant element in the Scottish landscape.

© Crown Copyright RCAHMS

FIELD MARGINS AND COPSES

Often the corners of a farm may well not be cultivatedbecause the surviving archaeological remains make themawkward to work.

These can include many types of site but are usuallyeither substantial features or in awkward corners. Insome cases, house sites were deliberately kept off thegood agricultural land and so have survived, while theassociated field systems have been ploughed out to formthe modern fields. Many important archaeological sitessurvive in these marginal areas and can make animportant contribution to understanding the history ofthese areas, as well as giving character to individuallandscapes.

Earlier farms were mostly smaller than modern ones andthe remains of several buildings and settlements may befound on one farm unit.

Field boundaries,such as Banks, Dykes and Hedges, canthemselves be significant parts of cultural landscapes.These do not need to be part of formal DesignedLandscapes to be important and may well not be listed onSites and Monuments Records.

Sometimes copses have been deliberately planted onfeatures, such as Cairns or Mounds. They should alwaysbe checked to see if they conceal archaeologicalfeatures. These areas are also vulnerable to fieldwidening or being used as dumps for clearance stones orfarm rubbish.

Stone clearance heaps and the encroachment of trees on fieldmargins may hide former field boundaries. The two buildingsmarked here have survived at the edge of the modern field, thoughthe roots of the birch in the foreground will clearly be damaging anyburied archaeological deposits.

Significant archaeological areas like this 18th-century farmtoun areoften preserved in uncultivated areas at the edge of fields.

Copse planted over a prehistoric burial mound in the centre of afield near Killiecrankie.

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© Crown Copyright RCAHMS

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WOODLAND

Woods give strong form to landscapes but they shouldalways be examined for their history. Old maps andfieldwork are vital for studying the location and extentof former woodland. The woods themselves may containinteresting information on the landscape history of anarea.

Many of the oak woodlands on the west coast, nowlisted as SSSIs, were first preserved in the 18th centurybecause charcoal burning and the use of the bark fortanning made them commercially valuable.

Deliberate planting of woodland is recorded from atleast the 17th century and some landowners plantedextensive tracts of country with trees. Check old maps,documentary accounts in your local library and theInventory of Ancient Woodland at SNH for informationon these former woodlands.

Equally, check within woodlands for areas of formersettlement. Certain species, such as birch, may coloniseopen sites and can be distinguished from moreestablished woodland by the age and species of treespresent. Alternatively, trees may colonise features suchas dykes and banks before establishing themselves informer fields. Mature trees such as oak and beech mayhave been planted deliberately along field boundariesand could be the first indication of a former boundary.A line of closely spaced trees may also mark a formerhedge line and veteran trees may mark an area of formerwood pasture. Ignorance of a woodland’s history mayeasily lead to significant features being removed,destroyed or obscured.

Regeneneration can lead to woodland spreading intoareas of former settlement. Decisions on whether toremove trees to protect buildings or leave them becauseof other environmental benefits, such as rare lichens orbat roosts, will have to be decided on individual merit.

Scrub can obscure strong landscape features such as this small fortnear Loch Ashie in Stratherrick, masking not only the details of thefort’s ditches and banks but also its position commanding this valley.(See page 53 for further discussion of this site.)

This multi-stemmed oak at Rough Castle, Falkirk may have beencoppiced. However it is more likely to be the result of a treerecovering from the grazing out of its original shoot.

These woods at Novar have been planted to a set designas part of thepolicies around the house. This has taken many years to develop andis still changing.

WETLAND

Though wetlands might not be the most obvious placesfor archaeological sites, some important archaeologicalremains have been found in bogs. This could be becausethe bog has developed over previously dry land when thedrainage has been impeded, or where a former island hasbeen submerged. Some sites such as crannogs andhunting platforms were deliberately placed in wetland oreven open water.

Archaeological sites in wetland are very difficult to spotunless the sites are revealed by cuttings or erosion. Sitesovergrown with bog are often difficult to spot becausethe vegetation can regenerate very quickly. Sites, such asdykes, may appear to end in areas of blanket bog, thoughin fact excavation shows them to continue under the peat.

Archaeological sites in wetland are important becausethey often contain preserved organic material, such aswood, leather and pollen grains, that does not surviveunder normal soil conditions. This material is vital forbetter understanding how people lived in the past and isalso important for interpreting previous environmentalconditions.

Areas of wetland were often exploited as sources of peatby neighbouring settlements and extensive tracts ofground were cleared of their original vegetation. Ineffect, any peat source adjacent to a settlement haspotentially been exploited and this should factor in anyjudgements on the nature conservation quality of a bog.Remains of peat cuttings can seen in wetland/ boggyareas all over the country. Though many are nowovergrown, the variation in soil levels and the peat bankscan still be made out. While such sites do not generallyneed special protection, they are important for explaininghow the land has been exploited in the past and will alsohave implications for local flora and fauna. Features likeaccess tracks and storage areas defined by stony spreadsor more grassy mounds at the edge of bogs may alsomark former peat cuttings.

A timber log boat under excavation at Buiston Crannog, Ayrshire.The degree of organic preservation on such sites adds significantlyto the quality of archaeological information and interpretation.

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Areas of wetland may have developed from formerponds or water courses that have silted up. Lookcarefully at the local topography if you suspect this.

Many early industries were powered by water and sitedin locations that could exploit this. Mill dams and ladesmay well have silted up, only remaining visible asbanks, straight channels and cuttings. Earlier maps mayhelp to confirm your suspicions.

Protection of archaeological sites in wetland is similarto those for nature conservation interests in maintainingexisting water tables. Change of habitat such asdrainage, tree planting or regeneration can cause harmto archaeological deposits.

The roundhouse in the foreground, and its associated clearancecairns, at Kinloch Damph, are almost completely obscured byrising bog. Only the bracken and heather clinging to the drierground mark out these sites.

© AOC

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UPLAND

Because upland areas are less prone to intensiveagriculture, significant areas of archaeological sites ofall periods survive in the uplands. Changes in climateand farming practice mean that areas once viable foragriculture and settlement have now been abandoned topasture or moorland. Scotland, because of itstopography, has large areas of upland and these areimportant reservoirs for historic landscape.

Complete prehistoric landscapes with fields, houses,forts and burial cairns are preserved in areas such asCaithness and Sutherland. No later settlement hasoccurred because blanket peat or political disturbancehas led to whole areas being abandoned. The precisecauses and details of these settlements would requiredetailed archaeological intervention to unravel, but thesesurviving landscapes are of international significancebecause the contemporary settlements in lowlandEurope lie truncated under ploughed fields.

Archaeological sites may be easily recognised inuplands because the surviving remains may stand outfrom the natural land forms. However, where vegetationis dense, such as under long heather, bracken or areas oftree regeneration surviving archaeolgical sites may beobscured.

Lines of dykes, banks or ditches may mark former fieldsystems. Mounds or cairns of stone, rigs and cultivationterraces can mark other forms of fields. Rectangular orcircular banks of stone and earth may be the remains ofindividual buildings that together combine to formsettlements. Often, former areas of settlement will bereflected in areas of enriched vegetation; this is mostcommon in relict summer grazings, known as shielings,but can be seen on other sites. Dykes, for example, canbe highlighted as lines of raised vegetation.

Former industral sites such as mills and quarries can be

A prehistoric landscape of roundhouses and low field wallspreserved in moorland near Alyth. A light dusting of snow has madethis site easier to see.

This previously recorded burial cairn in Strathnairn lies within aforestry plantation. Though the cairn itself is unplanted, it is nowobscured by long heather and pine trees.

found in areas that are no longer populated. Many farmbuildings such as shepherds’ houses or hunting lodgesmay also suvive. Roads and tracks to these sites can stillbe traced.

While most upland archaeological sites are relativelystable, their condition can be improved by alteringgrazing regimes, muirburn and bracken spraying. Thiscan also make these sites more visible parts of thehistoric landscape.

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5 THE BUSH ESTATE, PENICUIK : A CASE STUDY

The Bush Estate has a considerable number ofarchaeological remains and shows clearly the differencebetween upstanding remains surviving in the uplandswith cropmark sites in the lowlands. Some, such asCastle Law Fort and Souterrain, a Scheduled AncientMonument, are obvious features in the landscape, butothers are more difficult to find. Twenty nine sites wererecorded on a conservation audit carried out under theCountryside Premium Scheme in 1997.

The previous Sites and Monuments Record (SMR) mapof the farm (part of which is shown on the next page)recorded all the known archaeological features,including sites such as ‘Wallace’s Camp’ that are nowno longer visible. As part of the SMR search, a seriesof aerial photographs taken over a number of seasonswas examined.

Nothing shows above ground of the cropmark sitesrecorded. A fort of unknown date, two possible Romantemporary camps and a probable Roman road are someof the features so far recorded from the air. Other buriedsites may also survive to be recorded in the future,though the underlying soil types are not conducive toproducing good cropmarks. Not all sites can be revealedas cropmarks and stray finds such as a flint knife foundnear Rullion Green in 1979 may mark otherarchaeological features. While not upstanding elementsof the historic landscape, these features give achronological depth to the land and deserve protection.

Castle Law Fort shows up as a strong landscape feature both onground and as here from the air.

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This aerial photograph revealed the line of an earlier road lying tothe north of the A702 at Rullion Green. It shows as a dark grey lineabove the existing road.

This small memorial put up in 1738, marks the site of the Battle ofRullion Green where a band of Covenanters was slaughtered bygovernment troops.

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These rigs, lying outside the enclosures at Woodhouselee as markedon the SMR plan,were almost certainly constructed to produce cornaround 1800 when the price was high during the Napoleonic wars.They are not marked on the map above. They form a distinctivelandscape feature and add to the history of this area.

The Sites & Monuments Record map shows the approximate area ofrig cultivation as two square boxes (marked here in blue - redmarks scheduled ancient monuments and the listed buildingshown on p36. Green marks just some of the dykes surviving inthis area). The area shaded yellow shows that the actual extentrecorded on the ground is considerably larger. SMR data mustbe checked on the ground.

Part of the Bush Estate as shown on a map by John Laurie datingto 1766. Note that the hedge lines around Woodhouselee werealready planted while Castlelaw and Crosshouses Farms to the southwest still had open fields. (Writing convention at this period showedinternal Ss as uncrossed Fs.)

Bush Estate is not listed in any inventory as a DesignedLandscape, unlike that around Penicuik House to thenorth. However, this is not to deny that the landscapearound here was planned into its present form. Remainsof earlier agricultural systems are buried orweredestroyed by this later 18th-century plannedlandscape, but traces of the settlements survive on theuplands to the west of the good farmland.

East Lothian was one of the areas in Scotland where theagricultural improvements that formed the modernfarming landscape were first introduced. While thelandscape has changed considerably, the forms of this18th-century landscape can still be traced and are thebasis of the modern landscape.

Lines of dykes and trees mark field boundaries andthough some have disappeared, the remaining featurescontribute strongly to the farming landscape. TheCountryside Premium Scheme was used to fund repairsto the dyke below Castle Law. This has been restored asa significant landscape feature.

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Future management of the historic landscape features onthe Bush Estate has been made easier by having aconservation audit done on the farm. However, this wasdrawn up for a a specific limited purpose and should notbe seen as definitive report for all time. A more detailedsurvey would have been required, beyond the scope ofthe SMR audit, to record all the archaeological featureson this farm. This is not to deny the value of the audit inidentifying the known historic landscape features, andby identifying them enable the farm manager to protectthem.

As has been shown , additional features of archaeologi-cal interest can be recovered both from the records andon the ground. Any information is useful but rememberto use your own judgement and experience to recordadditional features and to note new details on existingsites. Use all information critically and if in doubt, or ifthe evidence is contradictory, seek professional help.

The circular banks seen in this aerial photograph have traditionallybeen interpreted as the the site of the Covenanters’ camp at RullionGreen in 1666. They have been proven by excavation to date to theIron Age and were probably burial sites. Although nothing is nowvisible of the battle site, planting trees in this area would beinappropriate.

At the south west boundary of the Bush Estate is a hillfort bisectedby the march dyke with the neighbouring property. Note that at leastone roundhouse survives within the fort boundaries and how thebanks have been ploughed down on the adjoining property.

Ideally the dyke should be adjusted with a suitable buffer to allowthis site to be managed as a single unit. However, because this is aboundary feature between two properties and itself of landscapevalue this option is not available. Serious erosion to the archaeological deposits is being caused by a

badger sett. Rehoming of these animals, in co-operation with SNH,would be desirable, but measures would have to be taken to preventreoccupation from a neighbouring sett. Whins are also seeding ontothis monument, both obscuring it as a landscape feature andpotentially causing damage to the surviving archaeologicaldeposits.

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