EXCAVATION
Of
NEOLITHIC, BRONZE AGE AND EARLY HISTORIC FEATURES
On
PLATT HILL
RATHO
The site is situated on the old road to Wilkies Basin at the crest of the hill, immediately to the north west of the old quarry, which is now used for climbing.
The excavation took place in early 1993 and yielded evidence for Neolithic, Bronze Age and Early Historic activity on the site: -
Neolithic, features consisted of a small number of pits containing fragments of carinated bowls and human remains.
Bronze Age, funerary remains were more extensive including a ring ditch that enclosed two cremations in cordoned urns.
Drawings of Urns ©
Early Historic period consisted of a two-phase palisade alignment enclosing a small sunken-featured building.
The 1791 Statistical Account told us that the settlement on the South Platt Hill within these few years,had been greatly destroyed by dynamiting and carrying off the stones for building dykes and other purposes.
In 1796 an early Bronze Age flat axe was found during quarrying on the North Platt Hill. The new statistical account of 1845 describes the site and a burial was excavated here in 1897
1845 account: - The South Platt hill is the site of an ancient encampment. The remains of it were to be seen about thirty years ago, when the ground was turned up and the stones appropriated for building the present fences upon the Ratho Hall property. The camp as described in a letter by George Reid, Esq., at that time proprietor of the grounds of which it formed a part, occupied about an acre of ground on the summit of the eminence and was surrounded with a ditch and rampart, formed with large stones, mixed with black earth. There were also two circular enclosures, one on the east and one on the west side of the main camp, of 30/40 feet in diameter, surrounded in like manner with a rampart of large blocks and black earth and paved in the area with flags of freestone which must have been brought from a distance.
On the removal of the rubbish, the bones of some persons of large dimensions were discovered, all were enclosed in coffins formed with flags of freestone. One of these stones now forms a seat on the top of the hill at the wood. Some large beads of a blue and yellow colour were also discovered; none of which is known to have been preserved.
Other sites in the area include a crop ring mark on North Platt Hill consisting of two concentric ditches apparently encircling the hill. This has been identified as a fort. In the surrounding area, we have to the north, Hully Hill at Newbridge and the Catstane (within the Airport boundary). To the south, there is the Cup and Ring marked stones and the forts at Dalmahoy and Kaimes, not forgetting the standing stone at Easter Norton (visible from Freelands Road). A Scottish Detector Club member (Mrs Christine Wickstead) also found a Bronze Age axe head on Freelands farm.
The site was explored by complete topsoil removal, as the highly magnetic base rock would render readings using geophysical techniques inaccurate and the use of the trial trenching method impracticable due to the large number and close proximity of trenches
Pitchstone from Arran was discovered and the clay used in the urns indicates that the materials used to make them came from the Bathgate area, but the urns could have been made and fired at the site. Flint was also discovered at the site.
Drawing of Flint artefacts ©
There is no evidence that more than one person had been deposited in the urns and the indications were that complete cremations had been placed within rather than a token deposit.
One was a male, probably over 40 years old, well marked muscle attachments and large shoulder and hip joints indicated that he was a robust male. He did however suffer from severe pain and limited motion as the joints' indicated he suffered from an arthritic condition, possibly rheumatoid arthritis. There would probably have been swelling pain and stiffness of the affected joints, localised and referred pain that would be likely to increase at night. This would result in sleeplessness and extreme stiffness in the morning. Changes in the spine indicate that he may have been totally immobilised at times and at others his walking would be severely limited. This would indicate that he would have to rely on others and receive considerable help, for instance, in procuring food.
Bronze Age burial cists were also excavated and a copper alloy pin was found and a number of clay loom weights.
Reconstruction of an iron age dwelling. ©
The site had too few buildings to provide any evidence of layout and an area had been destroyed by a test blast. The site would appear to have been occupied from 400BC to late 600AD.The historical background of Anglian settlements in Lothian indicates that the Northumbrian influence was strong until the battle of Dunnichen Moss near Forfar in 685AD when the Picts defeated the Northumbrians. Whether the weavers left at this time, or remained as part of the local community to be absorbed by them in time, will probably never be known.
The loom weights discovered were of a type used by the Northumbrian weavers and the different sizes of weight indicate different weaves of cloth were being made.
Reconstructed Loom ©
Using sapling branches bent over as the frame. The weights are lying at the bottom left.
This summary was compiled using information from the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.Volume 125 (1995).
Grateful thanks to Ms Andrea N. Smith, who was in charge of the dig, for her assistance and to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland for permission to print this article.