Monument record 13170 - LEWIS, CALANAIS FARM

NB23SW 70 centred on 2120 3270

NB 212 327 (centre) A watching brief on the cutting of a cable trench was undertaken in January 1998. As predicted on the basis of earlier test-pit studies, the trench revealed nothing of archaeological significance over most of its length. In the lower section, however, the trench crossed an area of deep peat which had previously proved unamenable to test-pit survey, and four archaeological features situated below the peat were recorded.
The features appear to be stone field banks or walls and were built upon a well-developed soil horizon which could be traced laterally along the trench. From the implied linkage of two features, the continuity of the buried soil horizon, and probing which indicated that the features continue for some distance beyond the edges of the trench, these stone banks probably form part of a prehistoric field system. This view was supported when a further section through one of the putative field banks was cut to obtain samples for dating and palaeoenvironmental analysis in October 1998. On the basis of comparison with other areas and the likely date for the initiation of peat growth in this area this field system is probably of later Neolithic or earlier Bronze Age date, and therefore contemporary with the main stages in the development of the Calanais stone circles.
Sponsors: Scottish Hydro-Electric plc, Calanais Visitor Centre.
G M Coles, M Church, D W Harding and R Inglis 1998, 105

NB 2125 3265 The 1999 season. As previously reported (DES 1998, 105), the laying of below-ground cables by the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board in January 1998 uncovered the remains of sub-peat stone features at Calanais Farm, Isle of Lewis. These features were interpreted as field banks or walls and were associated with a well-developed buried soil horizon. It was suggested that these walls were of Neolithic or Early Bronze Age date and formed part of an extensive field system.
The first season of the Calanais Fields Project took place in the summer of 1999 in order to elucidate the nature, date and extent of these features. Along with detailed above-ground landscape survey, a detailed study of the sub-peat landscape was undertaken using three different methods: Digital Terrain Modelling using a Total Station in conjunction with probing beneath the peat, based around a 30m grid system, which produced a sub-peat contour model aiding the determination of the extent of the field walls; magnetometer survey to locate sub-peat anomalies; and small-scale excavation which occurred in a number of areas following probing over what were perceived to be the main foci of the sub-peat features.
Fourteen trial trenches were excavated in total with several significant areas excavated more extensively. The results of the excavations and probing indicate that there is an extensive buried landscape preserved beneath up to 2m of peat. At the base, above glacial till, all of the trenches revealed a thick deposit of an anthropogenic soil and it was on this old ground surface that a number of stone structures had been built.
Trenches 4, 5 and 11 provided separate sections across a single substantial wall constructed of large boulders, showing the variety of construction methods and survival along its length, and which had also been located in the electricity cable trench. This wall was less well-preserved to the S, comprising a thin spread of stones in Trench 11, but was considerably more substantial to the N in Trenches 4 and 5, comprising a substantial wall running roughly NNW-SSE and measuring up to 1.2m wide and 0.7m high, with individual boulders reaching 0.6m in length. A small clearance cairn and a possible oval stone structure abutted this wall in Trench 5; this latter measured 1.8 x 1.2m internally and may prove to have had a domestic function. Further extents of stone and tumble within this trench may form part of other associated structures.
Trench 10, only 3m to the W of Trench 5, revealed a stone wall of very different construction and an area of dense cobbling, suggesting a roadway or prepared surface for working activities. The wall consisted of a single course of rounded stones forming a single wall face, with the palaeosol forming a small bank to the rear of this face; a dip down to the field surface may comprise a lynchet or ditch cut into the back of the bank. A stone clearance cairn was excavated in Trench 9; this consisted of small stones and was roughly circular in plan, measuring 1m across.
Trench 13 was excavated in order to investigate what was believed to be a single stone wall at the base of a small hummock eroding out towards the coast. The features exposed consisted of two distinct wall lines running N-S and E-W and probing indicated that they continue beneath a deep peat bank.
Trench 14, positioned towards the foot of the slope in the area under investigation, was found to have a light brown silty sand beneath the palaeosol, a deposit not present in any of the other trenches and which represents colluvium. This is the first soil development in the area following glacial activity and precedes vegetation colonisation and the earliest anthropogenic activity. Although no archaeological features were uncovered in this trench, the discovery of colluvium provides invaluable environmental evidence for landscape development in the area.
There were only a few finds associated with any of the deposits beneath the peat, consisting of flint and worked quartz.
A small semi-circular structure, its internal wall face visible through the turf, was located near the coast beside a vertical bedrock outcrop. Following excavation (Trench 3) there were found to be two phases of activity. The later phase comprised a semi-circular 'bothy' with a double-faced stone wall and a soil core, perhaps associated with the post-medieval blackhouses that surround Calanais. The deposits associated with this structure were very shallow but contained flint and Craggan ware sherds. This structure was built on an anthropogenic soil, beneath which was a hard-packed surface which extended beyond the limits of the upper structure. Two post-holes were cut into this surface, along with a cut for a large orthostat, which had been reused to form the entrance of the later 'bothy'.
The palaeosol layer associated with the field walls was sampled for phosphates and peat monoliths were taken from several sections.
The 2000 season. A second season of excavation took place in summer 2000. The programme of probing continued across the grid system previously established, which, in conjunction with a coring transect to map the extent of the palaeosol, enabled further investigation of the extensive agricultural landscape buried beneath the peat. The focus of this season's work concentrated on Trenches 5 and 10 (see above). These were amalgamated and extended into a large trench, Trench 15, measuring 17 x 9m max. and encompassed features below a depth of up to 1.8m of peat. Following the mechanical removal of the overlying peat, a fragment of a prehistoric agricultural landscape was revealed. What had been interpreted as a field wall in Trench 5 during the 1999 season was found to represent the W side of a substantial figure-of-eight shaped cellular structure to the E of Trench 15, and an expanse of undisturbed palaeosol was newly exposed containing fragments of two sets of rig and furrow. The field wall itself (exposed in Trench 10 in 1999) was found to be more substantial to the N, with a single stone face revetted into a bank of palaeosol and a possible entrance through this wall was noted at its S end. To the W of this wall, an area of dense cobbling, lying in a peaty layer above the palaeosol, was also discovered. A further ditch/gully feature was found to the E of the building.
In conjunction with preliminary results from pollen analysis of the agricultural soil, five possible phases of activity can be identified within Trench 15.
Phase 1: The earliest agricultural activity indicated that a rig and furrow system of cultivation was being utilised, with cereals being grown, as shown by the presence of cereal pollen retrieved from the base of the ploughsoil. Associated ephemeral structural remains were found sealed beneath the cobbling of Phase 4.
Phase 2: The erection of a single-faced field boundary wall running NW-SE, possibly used to demarcate and separate areas of arable or pastoral activity. Specific pollen types and astiospores support the introduction of animal stocking at this time.
Phase 3: A period of development of the agricultural soil to create a more fertile, less waterlogged area in the centre of the trench, contained by the boundary wall to prevent its erosion which resulted in a banking up of material against the back of the wall.
Phase 4: The laying of a cobbled surface to the W of the boundary wall, perhaps as a consequence of peat initiation and increased waterlogging. This may have been used to consolidate the ground surface to facilitate the movement of animals.
Phase 5: The construction of a structure to the E of the trench, with at least two phases of activity identified. The earliest phase, Phase 5a, sees the building in its original form, with two cells in a figure-of-eight layout linked by an entrance. Two entrances into the larger, N cell were located on the E and W. A second phase of reconstruction, Phase 5b, saw the N cell shortened with a secondary cross-wall, and the W entrance blocked. The function of this building is unclear as very few artefacts were found associated with it and there were no stratified internal deposits or hearth. The walls were constructed of substantial boulders, which may have supported an organic superstructure, perhaps turf, and it may have lain exposed for a considerable number of years before the encroachment of the peat.
Excavation was also continued and expanded at two trenches opened last year: Trench 3 was enlarged and now represents a dichotomy of use. Whilst the upper 'bothy' feature excavated last season was clear, the underlying deposits and those to the N, excavated in the 2000 season, remain elusive. Stonework had clearly collapsed and been removed and the deposits were fragmented. An earlier foundation layer was tentatively identified in association with lithic debris but the exact date and nature of this earlier structure is unclear.
Upon extension of Trench 13 to 5.3 x 5.2m during 2000, the two field walls uncovered in 1999 were found to be the same wall of a small stone-built oval building. This structure was covered with a thick deposit of colluvium and had a thin floor deposit preserved. A well-built slab-capped drain lay outside the structure to the SE, while a further possible stone wall continued beneath a peat bank to the NE. Few artefacts were associated with this building but include glass and Craggan ware pottery from the colluvium. The date of this building is unknown and it was not fully exposed due to time constraints.
A further two small trial trenches were excavated: Trench 17, situated towards the far S of the field, was excavated in order to sample the palaeosol and colluvial deposits for palaeo-environmental and soil micromorphological work. Trench 18 was intended to explore the continuation of the field wall in Trench 15 to the N, where it had been traced through probing. Unfortunately, this wall was not found, although a spread of small stones sitting within a peat layer directly above the palaeosol may be a continuation of the cobbled surface.
A further trench, Trench 16, revealed a substantial linear stone clearance heap, delineated on its N side and probably formed over a considerable period of time, considering the peat growth around the stones. It possibly augmented an earlier clearance heap found associated with the palaeosol beneath.
At present, this landscape is considered to be Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age in date - to be confirmed by radiocarbon dating. The field system at Calanais is proving to be a valuable archaeological resource, the implications of which will be particularly important for reassessing the wider landscape context of the Calanais standing stones and surrounding monuments.
A full report for the 1999 season has been lodged with the NMRS, and a full report on the 2000 season will be lodged with the NMRS in due course.
Sponsors: Historic Scotland, Carnegie Trust, Royal Archaeological Institute, Russell Trust, University of Edinburgh Development Trust, Abercromby Trust, University of Edinburgh Travel Fund, University of Edinburgh - Dept of Archaeology.
C Flitcroft, M Johnson and G Coles 2000, 102
REPORT DATE: 08/02/2005

Council for Scottish Archaeology, 1998, Discovery and Excavation in Scotland (Bibliographic reference). SWE41173.

Catherine Flitcroft, Melanie Johnson & Geraint Coles, 2000, Calanais Fields Project: First Interim Report 1998-1999 (Unpublished document). SWE41150.

Council for Scottish Archaeology, 2000, Discovery and Excavation in Scotland (Bibliographic reference). SWE41184.

Catherine Flitcroft, Melanie Johnson & Geraint Coles, 2001, Calanais Fields Project: Second Interim Report 2000 (Unpublished document). SWE41151.