Early medieval chapel & cemetery, Auldhame, East Lothian
Early in 2005, routine farm work uncovered an exciting archaeological find at Auldhame near North Berwick in East Lothian. Historic Scotland was promptly informed and, under the terms of their human remains call-off contract with AOC Archaeology Group, and with the agreement of the landowner, asked AOC to send a team to investigate.
Assisted by substantial numbers of local volunteers, the AOC Archaeology team revealed remarkable new evidence of early life in East Lothian, discovering the remains of a previously unknown early medieval chapel and graveyard which overlay an Iron Age promontory fort.
The area around Auldhame is steeped in history and associations with the 7th century Saint Baldred who founded a monastery at nearby Tyningham and lived a life of solitude on the Bass Rock, in the Firth of Forth and visible from the site. Preliminary comparative evidence indicates the chapel at Auldhame may date from the 9th century but there are burials which clearly pre-date the chapel and which, together with other partial structural remains, may be contemporary with Saint Baldred. The graveyard appears to have gone out of use during the 17th century.
Over five months, the excavation team recovered 240 individuals from the graveyard. A further 66 burials were deemed safe from ploughing and therefore left in situ. At least three phases of burial activity are clear from the alignment of the graves and initial radiocarbon dating of six skeletons has allowed tentative sequencing to take place. The earliest of these groups was aligned northwest to south east and were dated between 680 AD to 880AD. The second group had an east/west alignment, similar to the chapel and was dated to 890 AD to 1030 AD. These two groups were concentrated on the south side of the chapel while the third group, aligned southwest to northeast and dated from between 1280 and 1400 were a distinct group to the west of the chapel. This group mostly consisted of juveniles whilst the two earlier groups were of mixed age.
Graves were also seen to have been cut by the construction of the chapel and a dated skeleton suggests that the chapel cannot have been built before 900 AD. As burials were taking place before and were aligned differently, it is highly likely that there was an earlier chapel at the site.
The type of burial also varied across the site. The majority were simple earth-cut graves but distinctive cists and coffin burials were also evident. Grouping of graves with regard to demography has yet to be analysed but a significant number of neonates had been buried very close to the central south wall of the chapel - perhaps a way of sanctifying unbaptised infants. A deposit rich in beach shells was identified over part of the site, indicating perhaps that the graves were once marked with cairns of shells, before these were ploughed away after the graveyard had ceased to be used.
Finds from the site included Iron Age and medieval pottery and brooches. Very few grave goods were found but of particular note were an iron blade, two strap ends and possible stirrups from a single burial. Analysis of the artefacts and the shell-rich deposits will form part of the ongoing post-excavation programme.
AOC Excavation Director: Erlend Hindmarch
AOC Project Manager: John Gooder
Client: Historic Scotland
