One of the main activities of LADAS is fieldwalking. In this section we report on some of our recent activities:
Field walking is a particularly important aspect of our work as a Society. Basically it is seasonal and usually spans the months February to April. This year we have not been so fortunate with the weather particularly in February when it never seemed to stop raining. We have still for example to get caught up with the walking of South Tabrax-an area which has been recently planted with trees on the A70. Here the weather beat us.
Thankerton has not been the first place that we have done some field walking. We have been active near Hyndford Bridge and found both Mediaeval and Prehistoric artifacts. We were drawn to Sherrifflats Farm at Thankerton for several reasons. Four years ago a hoard of Edward 1 silver pennies were found on the farm and are now in the Moat Park Museum in Biggar. During the late 19th century several Bronze Age Beakers were found on the farm at a spot close to the Clyde. In more recent times a cist burial was found at the neighbouring sand and gravel quarry in 1971.
Much of our attention was concentrated at Sherriflatts on a large field to the east of the farm and bordered on that side by the railway. During our investigations a number of worked pieces of grey quartzite were found along with one definite flint tool. No pottery was found of that era. Indeed nothing of interest was found in the periods between Prehistoric and Mediaeval times. What was found was a fairly wide scatter of Mediaeval pottery spanning all periods between quite early Mediaeval pottery to types associated with the 16th or 17th centuries. Along with the pottery we found the foot of Mediaeval Bronze pot and several lead spindle whorls. We did find a limited number pieces of 17th century pottery but perhaps the most interesting discovery of this period was a clay pipe bowl which could be Scottish, though it is not beyond the realms of possibility that it came from Holland. Holland was the main place such pipes were imported from. They were very cheap and were purchased by the merchants in considerable numbers and imported to Scotland in barrels.
Finds of the 18th and 19th centuries consisted in the most part of pottery and pieces of glass though the odd coin was found.
The team also worked on other neighbouring fields including the one where the Mediaeval coin hoard was found. To date I can only report on part of that area since the whole field had not been ploughed at the time. Hopefully I might find some more coins. The rest of the coin hoard field has been searched but the amount of finds was actually fairly small. We also searched a field to the north of Sherrifflats farm. The field lies parallel to the northernmost entrance to the village. Not much was found apart from the usual few pieces of worked chert, a couple of pieces of Mediaeval pottery and that was about it. The discoveries made at Sherrifflats confirm what has bee suspected and that is that Thankerton lay in a predominantly wooded area. Reference is made to the so called ' Woodkirk' in a book called Monasticon. This book is about the Monastic Houses of Scotland and is by the Rev J.F.S Gordon who published it in 1868. I have only volume 1 of this work but it contains some valuable information about Kelso Abbey and the lands it owned.
The general lack of finds would seem to point to the fact that the area was particularly well wooded or much of the land was left as pasture for the sheep. The main unresolved question about the parish of Thankerton is just the exact position of the so called 'Wood Kirk. '
We hope to start a new area of field walking no very far from Covington. The area that we have been given permission to walk is near a gas pumping station at the bottom of Swaites Hill near Heatheryhall Farm. Here some Bronze Age huts were investigated during the creation of the Gas Pipe Line.
I have also been asked to check a number of sites by Marlyn Brown of the Royal Commission for Historic Monuments. Amongst the areas that are to be checked is a putative henge site near Chesterhall Farm. If you are interested in field walking, please contact me - 01555 662683.
The most recent discovery that I have made is outside the scheduled area at Castledykes. The coin is a rather wrecked fragment of a silver denarius of the Emperor Hadrian- characterised by the distinctive hairstyle.
There may be purists in the archaeological fraternity who would maintain that such a specimen should be left in the soil. However there are two dangers, one is that the coins are destroyed by farm fertilizers and the other is that they end up in a metal detectorist's scrap box. Admittedly the second problem is not as bad as it was. The main principle that must be adhered to is that the coins are properly recorded just in case they are indicators of a previously unknown zone of occupation. This could very well be the case particularly if they are found in conjunction with sherds of contemporary pottery. Another important reason why they should be recorded is that careful detectorists have actually found previously unrecorded types. In some cases they have actually pointed to continued occupation where none was thought possible. More about that later. Back to the discoveries, the next coin to be discussed is another coin of Hadrian, this time rather better preserved than the last example.
The inscription on this coin is Hadrianus Augustus. On the reverse side there is a figure of Diana holding a bow. The inscription on this side of the coin is of a minimalist nature. It only says Cos III ; this is fairly useful as it dates the coin to 119 A.D. The obverse side is not illustrated as it is not as good quality as the reverse. The next coin to be illustrated is a coin of the emperor Domitian. Denarii of his reign are fairly common. It was in his reign that the decision was made to make a strategic retreat from Scotland. He decided that the campaign conducted in the reign of his predecessor, Vespasian had not really been worthwhile. The inscription on the reverse is - Imp Caes Domitianus. Aug. Pm. On the obverse side is a garlanded altar. Again condition of the reverse side is somewhat better than the obverse side.
The third denarius to be discovered this year was a nice one of the emperor Vespasian. He was instrumental in organizing the conquest of Scotland as it was in his reign that the legions were sent invading Scotland. It was Vespasian who was responsible for sending Agricola to co-ordinate the military campaign. Vespasian was a very busy emperor. He had to fight on many fronts and while the campaign was being waged against the Caledonians, his son Titus was fighting the Jews. The coin which I found has a reasonably good portrait of Vespasian - showing in some detail his bull neck, a distinctive feature of coins of his reign. Round the head is the following inscription-Imp Caesar Vespasianus Avg. On the obverse side is Pax seated and the inscription around the edge of the coin reads: Pon. Max. Tr. P. Cos VI. The titles indicate that this coin was made in 75 A.D. The inscriptions show that Vespasian held the title of Pontifex Maximus or High Priest of Ancient Rome., a role similar to the Archbishop of Canterbury. The references to Tr.P show that Vespasian also held the post of Tribune Plebis, something like the People's ombudsman. The invasion of Scotland took place around four years after this particular coin was made.
Thanks to a colleague at work, I got permission from Peter Dickson of Kilbucho place to do some fieldwalking on a ploughed park which was to be sown for grass. My first visit to the site in between Pakgatestone Hill and Goseland Hill was in the company of Peter who is perhaps the most enthusiastic farmer that I have met. He came to meet me armed with an extensive collection of old Ordinance Survey maps, dating back to 1908. Peter's family have farmed in the glen for generations so it is not surprising that he was quite keen to learn more about the history of his land. A glimpse at the ordinance survey map will show just how many sites are crowded into the Kilbucho area.
Before I choose the Kilbucho area to work on, I was already familiar with its potential since several major archaeological finds have been made in the area from quite different eras. At Southside near Coulter a major discovery of the Bronze age was made in the last century. It was here that a fabulous gold lunula or bib was found. It is thought that it was made out of Leadhills gold and was possibly worn by a bronze age priest. Also a hoard of coins from the reigns of Edward I/II had been found at Crosscryne. As this area was the boundary between Scotland and England at the time the hoard would have been hidden to protect it, from either the Scots or the English. A report on this by Brain Lambie appeared in the Proceeding of the Society of Antiquaries.
The discoveries made near Gooseland Hill were not exactly earth shattering, but they are a useful reminder of just how heavily populated Southern Scotland was in the Neolithis periods. The finds were for the most part stone tools - although the vast majority were Neolithic, there were several that could be Mesolithic. Amongst the Mesolithic artifacts there was a piece of Arran pitchstone. Regarding the Neolithic tools, there were a couple of genuine flints, but the majority of the artifacts were made out of the ubiquitous grey chert.
However, the prize for the best find should surely go to Jim Ness who found a really good stone spindle whorl. It is only a pity that it was not complete. However, it was nice to fine something like that for a change. Unfortunately, no pottery was found and this was slightly disappointing.
Once more it's the season for fieldwalking at Castledykes. This year an interesting area has been ploughed for the first time for over nine years. This is not part of the fort but an area which at one time was used as a park for the wagons and carts used by travellers using the Roman roads. Castledykes was the Roman equivalent of a motorway service station. The section marked X on the map is the part that has been searched. To date the accent is on the discovery of pottery but some of that is pretty interesting. I managed to discover a rather curious piece of decorated Samian ware. It shows a man with an enormous penis. This is a rare but not an unknown feature of Samian ware. Catherine Johns of the British Museum mentions this type of Samian Ware in her book on erotic pottery of the Ancient World.
One of the more interesting discoveries made during the fieldwalking this year has been a legionary denarius of Mark Antony. The actual coin is quite worn and only a galley is visible. However enough of the coin survives to make this suggestion. The reverse does not have an emperor's head on it. Though these coins were made to supply the needs of the legionnaires fighting against Octavian better known as Augustus in the Civil War. They remained in circulation long after Antony's defeat at the battle of Actium 32 B.C. These coins were often used for years.
For the first time in living memory some fields were ploughed up near Wiston Henge - a site near Newbigging. About ten years ago I remember one of my pupils was friendly with a butcher from over Livingstone direction and she showed me some of the items discovered near Weston Henge. These went to the National Museum of Antiquities in Edinburgh. Now further important discoveries were made fieldwalking by members of Biggar Museum Trust, Society members and students from Glasgow and Edinburgh Universities. An amazing collection of arrowheads, axes, pottery and even hazelnut shells was gathered together as a result of an intensive campaign of fieldwalking. The best discovery was made by Ken Fawell's daughter Gemma who found a beautiful arrowhead. The finest axe was found by Richard Gillanders who said "we now need to find a stone axe". He found one within two minutes, well done Richard! However the archaeology is still as elusive as ever. A geophysical survey was done by Glasgow University and a round circle was found but the experts are not sure whether this should be interpreted as a naturally occurring geological feature or a Neolithic structure. So far the actual Archaeology has not been too promising.