Description

The monument comprises an extensive shell midden of prehistoric date.

The monument lies partly on a wooded slope and partly in an arable field along a raised beach deposit at around 10m OD. The midden was exposed during a series of small scale excavations during the 1980s. It comprises extensive deposits of oyster shells, other shell and bone debris, burnt material and structures dating to the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods. The midden is not generally visible from the surface, other than where shells have been brought to the surface by the plough.

The midden is one of a series of such sites along a former beach on the south side of the Forth. The sites represent a series of long-lived settlements or camp-sites used in the exploitation of coastal resources.

The area to be scheduled encompasses the proven extent of the midden and a small area around it in which traces of associated activity may be expected to survive. It is irregular in shape with maximum dimensions of 140m ENE-WSW by 90m as marked in red on the accompanying map.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance because of its potential to contribute to our understanding of the economy of the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods and of the nature of the transition to farming in Scotland.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NS 98 SE 72.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland