Work at Whelphill
View of cable route, platforms visible in hill slope.
Monitoring conducted by Headland Archaeology Ltd during the removal of topsoil from a cable route associated with the Clyde Windfarm at Whelphill, near Crawford in South Lanarkshire, has identified a number of previously-unrecorded elements relating to a known unenclosed platform settlement. The settlement adjacent to the cable route consists of at least 11 platforms cut into the hillside at a height of about 300m OD. Platform settlements are most frequently found disposed in a line along the contour, though in a minority of examples platforms have been found in tiered groups, and this appears to be the case at Whelphill; several terraces are visible in the photograph above, and material has been identified from each of them.
View of curving linears running across terrace.
A number of curving features have been identified, running across the width of the cable wayleave or extending into the baulk. These may represent the remains of round-houses, though it is also possible that they could also be enclosures associated with the settlement. Further work will be necessary to expand the cable easement in the vicinity of these features in order to resolve their function. In other areas, features have been identified just down-slope from the artificial platforms. While it is not uncommon to find small cairns on the lower hill-slopes below unenclosed platform settlements, the features identified at Whelphill appear to represent either enclosures or retaining walls. Again, however, further excavation will be needed in order to clarify this.
View of curving linear running into baulk and patch of stones.