From Mesolithic to Medieval - Kenneth Green & Jordan Barbour - ARP 2022

From Mesolithic to Medieval - Beneath Warehouse 39
An archaeological excavation was undertaken by GUARD Archaeology Ltd in Girvan
throughout 2021 ahead of development at Chapeldonan near Girvan. A palaeochannel
was uncovered, alongside which three lithic scatters likely dating to the Mesolithic
period were excavated as well numerous pits and potholes which may date to the
Bronze Age suggesting prolonged use and importance of the palaeochannel. Further
to these prehistoric features, a Medieval moated enclosure measuring between 60
m by 80 m was fully excavated, the first to be excavated so completely in Scotland
and which contained well-preserved organic materials including leather and wooden
objects.
The excavation of the prehistoric features and medieval moated enclosure at
Chapeldonan is significant not only to the local area but nationally as it will add to the
local archaeological landscape but also ties in with the surrounding regional landscape
including Crossraguel Abbey to the north, where some of the coins found in the moat
may have been minted, and nearby Turnberry Castle, where Robert the Bruce was
known to have spent his childhood.
The artefacts recovered from the Chapeldonan moat range from day-to-day objects
such as leather shoes and straps, fragments of wooden bowls and tool shafts, to more
exciting and unusual finds such as a pewter jug, an iron axe head and a small hoard of
silver coins. Some of the pottery found at Chapeldonan is of high status and likely to
have been imported, suggesting medieval trade routes around Carrick and beyond. The
wooden artefact assemblage included several large structural timbers, which may help
in identifying what kind of structures were present at Chapeldonan as well as help to
expand the dendrochronological record of south-west of Scotland.
Presentation by Kenneth Green & Jordan Barbour
GUARD Archaeology Ltd