Ancient Monuments

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Congalton Gardens,enclosures,settlement and pit alignment east of

A Scheduled Monument in North Berwick Coastal, East Lothian

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Coordinates

Latitude: 56.012 / 56°0'43"N

Longitude: -2.7276 / 2°43'39"W

OS Eastings: 354732

OS Northings: 680133

OS Grid: NT547801

Mapcode National: GBR 2T.TC4L

Mapcode Global: WH7TS.24FZ

Entry Name: Congalton Gardens,enclosures,settlement and pit alignment E of

Scheduled Date: 31 January 1994

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Source ID: SM5888

Schedule Class: Cultural

Category: Prehistoric domestic and defensive: enclosure (domestic or defensive)

Location: Dirleton

County: East Lothian

Electoral Ward: North Berwick Coastal

Traditional County: East Lothian

Description

The monument comprises the remains of two enclosed settlements, a pit alignment and a series of other features of prehistoric date represented by cropmarks visible on oblique aerial photographs.

The site is on gently sloping arable farmland at around 50m OD. On the E part of the site lie the remains of an enclosure, almost square on plan, defined by a single ditch some 4m to 6m wide with an internal palisade trench, which may have held the timber revetment for a vanished rampart. The enclosure measures about 65m along each side. This enclosure overlaps an E-W running alignment made up of small, closely-spaced pits which continues for 400m to the W of the enclosure.

Towards its W end the pit alignment crosses a series of dense, dark cropmarks which may represent occupation deposits associated with domestic buildings of uncertain form. S of these features lies a circular, single-ditched enclosure some 60m to 70m across, again with a concentric internal palisade trench. Inside this enclosure are cropmarks similar in form to those along the pit alignment, supporting the interpretation of the former group as the remains of domestic occupation.

The monument appears to represent elements of a multi-phase prehistoric landscape involving both open and enclosed settlement and formal land divisions. The area to be scheduled encompasses the features described and an area around them in which traces of associated activity may be expected to survive. It is irregular in plan with maximum dimensions of 540m E-W by 300m N-S, as marked in red on the accompanying map.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance because it is a multi-period landscape with varied settlement forms, and has a high potential to add to our understanding of prehistoric settlement development, economic practices and patterns of land division. The inter-relationships, both functional and chronological, of the various elements have the potential to be of particular importance in assessing the nature and development of prehistoric agricultural society and its interaction with the physical landscape.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NT 58 SW 24 and 25.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

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