A Brief History of the Site

Until AOC Archaeology was asked by Capital Shopping Centres to investigate the archaeology here, nothing was known about the site.

But clues had been unearthed at the nearby United Distillers & Vinters site, Shiels, which was excavated in the 1970s. There an oval enclosure with an elaborate entrance and the remains of several roundhouses was discovered and radiocarbon dated to the early centuries of the 1st Millennium AD.

AOC Archaeology evaluated how much archaeology survived in the parcel of land in which the Braehead enclosure sits. By digging a proportion of the area, the evaluation not only located the three oval ditches spotted in the aerial photograph but the remains of wooden fences known as palisades, a ring-ditch house and numerous post-holes which are probably part of other houses and stores. The evaluation showed that despite centuries of ploughing, significant archaeological remains survived.

This information allowed Capital Shopping Centres to understand how much archaeology would be affected by development of the site. They decided that if new businesses are to be built here in the future, a full excavation was needed to 'rescue' the archaeology. After lengthy discussions between the City of Glasgow Council, advised by the West of Scotland Archaeology Service, and Capital Shopping Centres, advised by AOC Archaeology, it was agreed that Capital Shopping Centres should pay for the excavation and exhibition at this site. Now that a full excavation has taking place, much more knowledge will be gained about the Iron Age people of the Clyde.