Dr Claire Ellis of Archaeology and Micromorphology has identified the remains of what may be a late prehistoric enclosure during the course of the archaeological evaluation of the site of a proposed housing development at Gallowhill Farm, Campbeltown. This fieldwork was required as a condition of planning consent by Argyll and Bute Council, following advice from the West of Scotland Archaeology Service. Although apparently previously unoccupied farmland, the proposed development site was felt to have some potential to produce buried archaeological material, an assessment that was based on records relating to the recovery of flint objects and the presence of a Beaker burial in close proximity to the site.
Archaeological features were identified in a relatively restricted area in the north-east corner of the site. The most substantial feature, which was visible in a number of the evaluation trenches, was a large V-shaped ditch, measuring up to 4m in width and up to 2.2m in depth. This ditch was identified below a 0.5m deep deposit of topsoil and colluvium, though due to the topography of the land, it is possible that the northern portion of the ditch circuit will have been slighted or removed by construction of pre-existing prefabricated housing. Slots were dug across this ditch at various points. These demonstrated that the ditch fills were largely devoid of anthropic derived material, though a thin band of charcoal, burnt bone and shell was noted.
Although frequent sherds of 19th and 20th century pottery were identified in the deposit of topsoil and colluvium that overlay the ditch, no pottery of any date was observed within the fills of the ditch, indicating that the feature may have been backfilled prior to the 19th century. However, the feature does not appear to have been depicted on any historical maps of the area, and the curvilinear form, size and depth of the ditch appears to be consistent with later prehistoric enclosures. On the advice of the West of Scotland Archaeology Service, the area containing this feature is to be excluded from the proposed development, so that it may be preserved in situ.