Prehistoric Settlement at Inverkip
Staff from the Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division (GUARD) have identified evidence of what may be a prehistoric farmstead during fieldwork undertaken at Inverkip in Inverclyde. This discovery was made during a programme of trial trenching to evaluate the archaeological potential of the site of a proposed residential development. This evaluation was required as a condition of planning consent, the condition being attached by Inverclyde Council on the advice of the West of Scotland Archaeology Service.
Prior to the evaluation, no archaeological sites had been identified from within the proposed development area, although stray finds in the surrounding landscape did provide evidence for activity in the vicinity of Inverkip during the Neolithic and Bronze Age. This suggested that the site had some potential to produce previously-unrecorded buried archaeological deposits, a potential that was enhanced by the fact that the proposed development area encompassed a section of low raised beach, as a significant quantity of material relating to prehistoric occupation has been identified from similar positions elsewhere on the Clyde and Ayrshire coastline.
A total of twenty-seven separate archaeological features were identified on the highest piece of flat land within the development area, a position that would have provided a commanding view over Inverkip and the surrounding hills. The majority of these features were contained within a possible enclosure created by a series of narrow curvilinear gullies. Within this enclosure, the most substantial features were two large areas of dark, charcoal-flecked material. This filled a pair of wide but shallow gullies which may have formed an inner enclosure, with a possible entrance being identified to the north-east. A trial slot excavated through one of these possible inner gullies revealed that its lower fill contained flecks of charcoal and tiny fragments of burnt bone. Burnt bone was also identified in the fill of a third sub-rectangular feature within the enclosure, something that initially led the excavation team to speculate that the site may have been an enclosed cremation cemetery. A number of pits, post- and stakeholes were also identified within the enclosure. It was noticeable that several of postholes had been cut into the fill of larger features, indicating that there was evidence for two or more phases of activity on the site.
The various elements identified at Inverkip have not yet been fully excavated, and no diagnostic artefacts were recovered during the evaluation. However, the Data Structure Report on this phase of fieldwork, which has recently been submitted to WoSAS, suggests a probable prehistoric date for the site. This report also suggests that, despite the initial impression that the features represented a cremation cemetery, the distribution of pits within the enclosure, and the presence of what may be interpreted as floor surfaces and midden deposits associated with it suggests a domestic site rather than a ceremonial one. Alistair Becket and Christine Rennie, who directed the evaluation in the field, suggest that the number and distribution of features identified may represent a small farmstead.
