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A watching brief was carried out by Cameron Archaeology between the 14th and 20th June 2016, during topsoil stripping of Trench 1 (NJ63SE0103), a 3.5 m to 4 m wide section of a cable corridor, ahead of electricity cable trenching for SSE (NJ62NE0181). A series of discrete prehistoric features were located at NJ 64956 32680, in the field due south of Kirkton Farm, circa 35 m north of the A920. An archaeological horizon containing eight sherds of coarse undecorated prehistoric pottery was clearly identified extending to both edges of the trench, measuring at least 10 m in length, bounded by an ambiguous southern edge. A number of fills or deposits were noted, including a probable post-hole (F103) and pit, or possible hearth, containing readily visible charcoal inclusions (F102) set within the overall feature spread (F101). These features and the associated course prehistoric pottery, indicate the presence of a prehistoric structure south of Kirkton Farm. It is uncertain whether the structure is a circular ring-ditch, or hut circle, of likely Bronze or Iron Age date, or if it is indeed rectilinear and Neolithic in date. A possible medieval or post-medieval pottery sherd was identified in the top margin of sub-soil 40 m north of the prehistoric features, but no associated features were visible in the surrounding trench. The features were not excavated and site was backfilled, leaving the features preserved in-situ. A new bypass trench corridor excavated to the west did not contain any archaeological features.
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Historic Environment Records (HER)