Linlithgow Midden Uncovered by Storm
Part of pottery assemblage, clay pipe fragments
During the gales of January 2012, oak trees adjacent to Linlithgow Loch were blown down. The exposed areas were inspected by Mr Nick Davis, a local archaeologist and member of the West Lothian Archaeology Forum, and a number of artefacts recovered. These appeared to represent a mixed assemblage of material ranging from the medieval to the modern. The pottery assemblage includes a rim sherd of what appears to be white gritty ware, dating from the 12th to the 14th/15th centuries, and also present are sherds of medieval red ware and late medieval/post medieval reduced wares covering the whole gamut of Scottish pottery from the late 13th to the early 18th centuries.
White gritty ware rim sherd
The deposit also contained fragments of clay pipes dating from the early 19th to late 19th/early 20th centuries, and the other finds are consistent with the later part of the sequence suggested by the pottery. Bones present within the assemblage showed evidence of butchery, and combined with fragments of glass and corroded iron objects, look to be typical of the range of of material that would be produced by 19th/20th century domestic and light industrial activities. Given the reported location of the finds, on the edge of a loch with infill deposits derived from a medieval burgh, it is not unexpected to find objects relating to several centuries of occupation in a single mixed deposit, as this area is likely to have been subject to a sequence of continual deposition and disturbance that will have resulted in medieval material being intermingled with artefacts of more recent date. A record of this material will be entered in the SMR database.
Late medieval / pot-medieval reduced ware fragment