We are pleased to present the Daer report which deals with how the project came about, how we did it and some preliminary results.
Still to come are a long series of individual site reports, mainly Mesolithic and Neolithic locations, these fully illustrated reports will help to make sense of the preliminary conclusions reached here. Site 110, 111 and 126 can be downloaded from the report archive.
Daer Valley Main Report – Tam Ward
Ploughing for a new forestry plantation in Daer Valley, South Lanarkshire revealed an unprecedented pre historic landscape in southern Scotland. Sites dating (on artefact evidence) to the Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Ages were discovered by walking plough furrows, and then selected locations were investigated by excavation. Further sites were located by random test pitting. Several new aspects of Scottish pre history were discovered, including the possible transition between the Mesolithic and the Neolithic, haematite being used as a colouring agent in early pre-history and certainly in the Mesolithic, and several lithic types being recorded for the first time. Download the PDF (1.8MB) to read more.
