Iron Age Irvine
Ring groove house from NE, copyright Rathmell Archaeology Ltd
Archaeological monitoring was carried out by staff from Rathmell Archaeology Ltd during the groundbreaking works for the installation of wind turbines at the factory of GlaxoSmithKline in Irvine.
Within the footprint of one of the turbines the remains of a truncated ring-groove house with a series of pits and postholes was revealed. This sits on top of a terrace to the east of the site of an igneous volcanic plug. The ring-groove house measured approximately 10.6 metres in diameter and contained 19 features within its interior consisting mainly of postholes with a few pits. Further features sat outwith the ring-groove: 16 features to the west (mainly postholes with 2 possible pits); seven features to the south and three to the east. One of the features which sat to the east has been identified as a possible early kiln although this remains uncertain.
The surrounding area appears to have been heavily affected by colliery works as well as being truncated by plough action. Due to this truncation only parts of the ring-groove slot itself still remained and the entrance could not be located.
Fragment of saddle quern, copyright Rathmell Archaeology Ltd
A number of pottery fragments were recovered from the site, including fragments with an everted rim, as well as a fragment from the base of a saddle quern. Currently the likely date for the site is believed to be Early Iron Age.