Site Hs11, Dalhousie South, Bonnyrigg

A programme of archaeological work was undertaken by CFA Archaeology Ltd (CFA) from March to May 2021 in advance of a residential development at Dalhousie South, Bonnyrigg, Midlothian. An archaeological excavation was located to investigate the remains of a segmented ditch which were identified during an earlier evaluation. The archaeological investigations identified two sub-oval ditch segments (Ditches 1 and 2), and a larger linear ditch (Ditch 3), aligned north-east/south-west, possibly forming the side of an enclosure. Ditch 3 measured 26.25m in length, with Ditches 1 and 2 measuring 4.75 and 5.75m long, respectively. The two suboval ditch segments contained a high concentration of ironworking debris, particularly from smelting. It is therefore likely that industrial activity was being undertaken nearby. No ironworking features, such as smelting furnaces, were identified during excavation, although the large quantity of vitrified structural ceramic fragments indicates such features were present nearby. No dateable finds were recovered from these ditch segments during the excavation. However, carbonised plant remains (charcoal, cereal grains, and nutshell) recovered during sample processing included hazel nutshell suitable for radiocarbon dating. The radiocarbon date from the upper fill of Ditch 3 gives a terminus post quem of 41-204 AD (SUERC-104436, 1933 � 26 BP) for infilling, placing it within the Late Iron Age. This date is contemporary with the second phase of activity (1st-2nd century AD) occurring at Brixwold, Dalhousie Mains, 100m to the west of this site (Crone and Sullivan 1997) (Fig. 16). Brixwold was a large, ditched enclosure, which had been severely plough truncated, leading to an absence of features within the enclosure. However, there is evidence for human occupation from the later (second phase) ditch fills, which may support the interpretation of these sites being contemporary, with Brixwold as a domestic settlement and Dalhousie South as an industrial site. The second radiocarbon date (99-51 BC; SUERC-104437, 2116 � 23 BP) from the middle ditch fill and the unstratified find of an upper stone of a rotary quern point to activity in the area during the Middle Iron Age. The excavations at Brixwold identified two main phases of use: one in the 4th-2nd century BC and one in the 1st-2nd century AD and this earlier radiocarbon date fits in between these two periods. This suggests there was still activity occurring in the area during this time. It has been suggested that the site at Brixwold was still in use between the two phases, but that the ditch was regularly cleaned out during this time (Crone and Sullivan 1997). This theory of continued occupation would align with the evidence at Dalhousie South. There is very little evidence of ironworking in the Lothians during the Iron Age, so this site is significant in terms of the quantity of ironworking debris that was recovered. It is comparable to sites such as Culduthel (Hatherley and Murray 2021), however unlike those sites there is no obvious roundhouse settlement, which may further support the interpretation of Brixwold as a contemporary domestic site. There is a lack of ironworking features, such as smelting furnaces, despite the large quantity of vitrified structural ceramic fragments indicating such features were nearby. It is possible these may have been destroyed by ploughing or field drain construction, which appears to be relatively intensive. The high quantity of field drains may indicate that the area was previously boggy, which may indicate the area as a source for bog iron, which was the main ore type used for ironworking in Iron Age Scotland (Cruickshanks 2017).

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