PDF Reports

Report Archive pre 2013

Pre-history North of Biggar Project Reports

  • Brownsbank Farm Fieldwork and Excavation 1997 – 2001. 3rd Interim Report. | 2016 | 1.8MB | Tam Ward, BAG |
  • Excavations and other fieldwork on Biggar Common East end, or Carwood Hill 1992 – 1993 | 2013 | 4MB | Tam Ward, BAG | Excavations and other fieldwork on Biggar Common East end, or Carwood Hill 1992 – 1993. In 1992/1993 members of the Biggar Young Archaeologists Club discovered a second important area of Early and Late Neolithic settlement on Biggar Common, this was done by fieldwalking and the recovery of pottery and lithics as surface finds.
  • Fieldwalking and Excavation at Carwood Farm 2007-2009, Interm Report | 2013 | 3.1 MB Tam Ward, BAG | Surface artefacts found by arable fieldwalking including Early Neolithic pottery, hazel nutshell charcoal and lithics. Subsequent excavation revealed charcoal enriched pits lying below the plough soil with some pits containing Early Neolithic, Late Neolithic and Bronze Age pottery.
  • Excavations at Melbourne Farm 1996 | 2013 | 2.9MB | Tam Ward, BAG |Following on from successful fieldwalking at Melbourne Farm, four miles north of Biggar, excavations revealed a landscape of in situ features with ceramic and lithic assemblages dating from the Early and Late Neolithic, but including a beaker burial. Rescue excavation was allowed by the kind permission of Scottish Woodlands Ltd. The following report is given as a preamble to the main report on excavations and it has been modified slightly since it was written in 1996.
  • Calla Farm Interim Report| 2013 | 585KB | Tam Ward, BAG | Interim report of the small scale excavation at Calla Farm near Carnwath.
  • Prehistory – Howburn Farm | 2010 | 2MB | Tam Ward, BAG | The discovery and excavation of a Late Upper Palaeolithic site in Scotland and the field walking assemblages of multi prehistoric periods, and all from the same location at Howburn Farm, South Lanarkshire, Scotland.
  • Howburn Current Archaeology Article | 2010 |736KB | Current Archaeology Magazine | At Howburn Farm in South Lanarkshire, a scattering of flints, discovered by the Biggar Archaeology Group, turned out to be evidence of the earliest human habitation in Scotland. Tam Ward and Alan Saville explain.
  • Corse Law Cairns | 2005 | 504KB | This report describes the results of survey and excavation of three small cairns, which are part of a larer group at Corse Law.
  • Braehead Village Survey Report| 2005 | 1.3MB | A survey of lime, ironstone and rock quaries with associates clamp kilns, as well as a historical review of Braehead Village.
  • Weston Farm Excavations – Interim Report | Dec 2005 | 2.9MB – Information on further excavations at Weston Farm, revealing an extensive area of Mesolithic activity, involving the production of chert and flint microliths.
  • Netherhangingshaw | 2005 | 541KB | Spring 2003, Fieldwork and excavations on a hill-top near Netherhangingshaw farm produced a significant Early Pre-historic settlement.

The Upper Tweed Project Reports

  • Broughton Heights Archaeological Survey | 1.5MB | 1999 | Tam Ward, BAG | Field walking and survey of an upland landscape in Borders Region has produced a new level of data on pre-historic and post medieval monuments. A significant series of burnt mounds in particular adds a new dimension to the study of the area.
  • Harehill Knowe near Broughton, Peebleshire survey and excavation | 2015 | 554KB | Tam Ward, BAG | As part of a larger research project, itself originating from a programme of survey work in Upper Tweeddale by Biggar Archaeology Group, a trial trench was opened on a prominent isolated mound near Broughton and which is known as Harehill Knowe. The limited work showed that the feature was probably for the most part natural but with anthropogenic additions of a surrounding dyke, plantation and a capping of stone covering the overall mound.
  • Excavation of three Early Christian graves at Lyne, near Peebles | 2005 | 1.5MB | Tam Ward, Bag | The discovery of a single cist found to be eroding from a gravel bank led to the detection of a further two cists, all of which were shown by excavation to be long cists of Early Christian date. The site was consequently created into a heritage trail.
  • Fruid Reservoir – unenclosed platform settlement| 2013 | 4MB | Tam Ward, BAG | The second and third campaign of excavations on a normally submerged and eroding Bronze Age unenclosed platform settlement has produced constructional details of two timber round houses, artefact assemblages including pottery, course stone tools, a flanged bronze axe and important dateable contexts from which much charcoal has been retrieved.
  • Chaplegill | 2013 | 5MB | Tam Ward, BAG | Through the survey and partial excavation on an upland settlement site, evidence of turf and lime mortared buildings and occupation dating from the 17th to the 19th centuries was recovered. A large assemblage of early 18th century wine bottle sherds and also slip ware pottery was found and details of some of the buildings were revealed.
  • Logan 2013 | Feb 2013 | 6.49MB | Tam Ward, BAG – The investigation of a small valley in Upper Tweeddale, Scottish Borders, has produced an extraordinary story of the past dating from the Bronze Age to Post Medieval times. The excavation of an upland settlement revealed the remains of a previously un-recorded tower or bastle house. Other buildings were shown to have been occupied throughout the 17th century and up to the early 18th century, indicating an aspect of Lowland Clearances. A small hoard of Edward I silver long cross pennies was also found near the site.
  • Excavations at Woodend 2012 | A series of test pits were opened on a gravelly ridge (Site No 1) to test the hypothesis that Early Christian archaeology may have been present. The results were inconclusive but did reveal that some pre-historic activity had taken place involving a flint scraper and a few flakes of radiolarian chert and burnt stone.
  • Woodend Report 2008 |Jan 2008 | size 964KB – Partial excavation of a previously investigated cairn revealed the two cists already recorded and a rare example of rock art in the Borders Region, details of the construction of the cairn were also uncovered.
  • Megget Reservoir Survey | 2005 | 347KB | A part survey of the Megget Valley after the discovery of pre-historic sites within the reservoir during a period of low water level in 2004.
  • Megget Reservoir| June 2004 | 2.31MB | The outcome of an inspection of the shorelines within Megget Reservoir in June 2004. Sites included cairns, burnt mounds, circular stone features and other more ambiguous sites.
  • Megget Excavations – Interim Report | 2004 | 2.87MB | The excavations of features and enclosures recently discovered has shown the area to have been occupied during the Late Neolithic and probably the Bronze Age.
  • Tweed Survey Report | 2004 | 2.27MB | The latest phase of survey of the Upper Tweed valley to conjoin with the Clydedale Survey, Broughton Heights and Manor Valley.

Clydesdale Project Reports

Biggar Gap Project

  • Burnetland Farm | January 2012 | Tam Ward, BAG |1.6KB| The excavation of a Mesolithic chert quarry at Burnetland Farm, near Broughton village in Upper Tweeddale, Borders Region, Scotland. The largest example of a group of quarry pits disposed across a steep hill slope produced a quantity of stone pounders, a fewmodified pieces of chert, and taken with radiocarbon dating of charcoal, the evidence indicates the procurement of radiolarian chert as a tool making material in the Late Mesolithic period.
  • Cornhill Farm Fieldwalking & Excavation | 2001 | Tame Ward, BAG | 1MB | An arable fieldwalking project started in 1990, specifically at
    that time to give young archaeologists and others, experience in artefact retrieval, identification and recording. The results of these are detailed in this report.

Miscellaneous Reports

Specialist Reports

  • Tobacco Pipe Report | January 2011 | Written by: Dennis Gallagher. Images & Design: BAG | 1.2MB – Study of the tobacco pipes from Biggar Archaeology Group’s Projects 1981 – 2010