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<< Text Pages >> Cramond - Ancient Village or Settlement in Scotland in West Lothian

Submitted by Andy B on Thursday, 01 September 2016  Page Views: 5430

Multi-periodSite Name: Cramond
Country: Scotland County: West Lothian Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Nearest Town: Edinburgh  Nearest Village: Cramond
Map Ref: NT18957706
Latitude: 55.979652N  Longitude: 3.300447W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
5 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
5 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
5 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
4

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The small village of Cramond, on the edge of Edinburgh, is one of Scotland’s most important archaeological sites. People have lived in and around Cramond for at least ten thousand years.

In the 1990s archaeologists uncovered a prehistoric encampment at Cramond. Further investigation revealed that the camp dated from around 8,500 B.C. meaning that it provides some of the earliest evidence of human habitation in Scotland.

Cramond Roman Fort was built during the second century A.D. at around the same time as the Antonine Wall. It was part of a series of fortifications designed to enforce Roman authority across Southern Scotland, and to protect the northern frontier of the empire. Cramond was an unusually large fort and probably operated as a supply base for other Roman strongholds in the area.

In the 1970s builders working on the construction of a new car park discovered the remains of a Roman bath-house, the remains of which can be visited.

When the Roman bath-house was excavated, archaeologists made a gruesome discovery - they found a number of skeletons in the area once used as the Roman latrine. At the time it was assumed that these were probably from a medieval plague burial. However, recent research has revealed that the burials were much older, dating from the sixth century A.D.

In the late 1990s Robert Graham (who had recently started work as the Cramond ferryman) discovered a remarkable stone sculpture in the silt by the River Almond. It turned out to be a carving of a lioness devouring a naked man, and probably formed part of a Roman officer’s funerary monument. The original statue is now on display in the National Museum of Scotland.

More at Open Virtual Worlds and the Cramond Heritage Trust, who have produced some visitor leaflets.

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Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
NT1877 : Houses and cafe at Cramond by M J Richardson
by M J Richardson
©2008(licence)
NT1877 : The Cramond Inn by Ian S
by Ian S
©2011(licence)
NT1877 : The Cramond Inn by John M
by John M
©2017(licence)
NT1877 : Cottages at Cramond by Alan Murray-Rust
by Alan Murray-Rust
©2017(licence)
NT1877 : Cottages on Cramond Glebe Road by Oliver Dixon
by Oliver Dixon
©2019(licence)

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 2.8km SSW 211° Cammo Stone* Standing Stone (Menhir) (NT1747774681)
 4.1km W 281° Crossall Hill (South Queensferry)* Ancient Cross (NT14907791)
 4.5km S 171° Lady Well* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (NT196726)
 4.6km S 171° Physic Well (Corstorphine)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (NT19597252)
 4.9km SW 235° Cat Stane (Kirkliston)* Standing Stone (Menhir) (NT1489374373)
 5.2km SE 130° Succoth Place Double Cist Burial Cist (NT22897362)
 5.5km N 358° Inchcolm Sculptured Stone (NT18888260)
 5.7km WSW 243° Carlowrie (Kirkliston) Rock Art (NT138746)
 6.1km SSW 213° Gogar Stone* Standing Stone (Menhir) (NT15487199)
 6.2km ESE 116° St Bernard's Well* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (NT2445174247)
 6.2km ESE 118° St George's Well (Edinburgh)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (NT2440174070)
 6.3km WNW 281° Bell Stane (Queensferry) Standing Stone (Menhir) (NT12827840)
 7.0km ESE 118° St Margaret's Well (Edinburgh Castle)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (NT2508273613)
 7.2km N 350° Barns Farm Dalgety Fife* Barrow Cemetery (NT178842)
 7.3km ESE 118° Stone of Scone* Marker Stone (NT253735)
 7.4km ESE 120° The Portsburgh Stone* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature (NT25287327)
 7.4km ESE 119° Grassmarket modern menhir* Standing Stone (Menhir) (NT25337333)
 7.7km SW 234° Lochend* Standing Stone (Menhir) (NT12667263)
 7.7km ESE 118° National Museum of Scotland (Pictish Stones)* Museum (NT2572173302)
 7.8km ESE 118° National Museum of Scotland* Museum (NT2574873290)
 7.8km SE 134° The Bore Stone* Marker Stone (NT2450871568)
 7.8km ESE 117° National Museum of Scotland (Early Christian Stones)* Ancient Cross (NT2583273324)
 7.9km N 359° Aberdour Cairn Cairn (NT1985)
 7.9km SW 235° Huly Hill Standing Stones* Standing Stones (NT1234272610)
 7.9km SW 235° Huly Hill Cairn* Round Cairn (NT1234272610)
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"Cramond" | Login/Create an Account | 4 News and Comments
  
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Cramond Heritage Days, Sat/Sun 24/25th September by Andy B on Thursday, 01 September 2016
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Cramond Heritage
Saturday, September 24, 2016 - 13:00 to 17:00
Sunday, September 25, 2016 - 13:00 to 17:00

ANCIENT SKILLS WORKSHOPS : Sort and identify excavation finds. Learn to write using 2000-year old methods

EXHIBITIONS : Dark Goings on at Cramond!
Cramond from 8.500BC until Present Day – new exhibition
Cramond Island at Peace and War

GUIDED WALKS : Riverside Iron Mills Or Historic Cramond
At 2pm each day

Cost: Free
Location: The Maltings, 2 Riverside, Cramond, Edinburgh, EH4 ^NY

More details at
http://www.archaeologyscotland.org.uk/events/cramond-heritage
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Could Cramond hold the secret of Scotland during Dark Ages? by Andy B on Thursday, 01 September 2016
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Published Thursday, 1st October 2015

A two-year investigation into the mystery of an Edinburgh crypt has cast important new light on the turbulent history of the Dark Ages.

The mass burial in Cramond, believed to be the oldest occupied village in Scotland, was uncovered in 1975 during an excavation of a Roman Bathhouse found at the site of a car park. Forty years later, a team led by the City of Edinburgh Council has embraced modern science to examine the remains of nine individuals found in the grave with fascinating results.

The evidence has disproved an early theory that the bodies were victims of the bubonic plague, instead dating the individuals back another 800 years to the 6th Century AD. Thanks to state-of-the-art computer programming, researchers were able to create lifelike facial representations for the 1,500 year old skeletons.

By using forensic, isotopic and DNA techniques, the study reveals that the burials belonged to more than one generation of a single family with two of the bodies thought to be warriors due to their multiple healed wounds.

Furthermore, at least one and possibly three family members suffered a violent, murderous end. One female suffered shattering blows to the head and two males bear severe wounds which they survived.

Due to the unique nature of the burial and positioning of bodies, it is thought the victims could be members of a noble family, raising the question of whether Cramond in Edinburgh could be the site of a Royal stronghold.

Councillor Richard Lewis, Edinburgh’s Culture Convener, said: “In 1975, work was under-way to construct a new car park when builders came across a mass burial at what would become one of Scotland’s best preserved Roman buildings, the Bathhouse for Cramond Fort. For decades, the circumstances surrounding the burial were unanswered.

“Thanks to developments in modern science, the Council has been able to revisit the remains and carry out an extensive investigation. The findings have revealed a story even more mysterious than the one we started out with. With theories of ancient warriors, murdered nobles and a lost Royal stronghold - you could be forgiven for mistaking the resulting story for a plot from the Game of Thrones.”

John Lawson, the City of Edinburgh Council archaeologist who led the investigation, added: “Many mysteries remain but thanks to CSI techniques, we've managed to make great strides in our understanding of Scotland’s Cramond burials.

“The study has provided important evidence of life during this time of political turmoil and has helped us answer questions about the Dark Ages, but it has also opened up a whole new world of questions. Why did these people migrate to Cramond? What was so special about this area during the dark ages? Why were some of them murdered but given a special burial?

“If this grave was indeed the burial crypt of a noble or Royal family, it suggests Cramond just might be a Royal stronghold of the Gododdin. If this is the case, these findings have a significant impact on what is known about the history of Scotland and Northern Britain during the Dark Ages.”

Source: Edinburgh CC
http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/news/article/1943/could_cramond_hold_the_secret_of_scotland_during_dark_ages and see also http://www.scotsman.com/news/cramond-dig-reveals-warriors-from-dark-ages-1-3904239
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Rubbish dump reveals time-capsule of Scotland's earliest settlements by Andy B on Thursday, 01 September 2016
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Submitted by Andy B on Tuesday, 05 June 2001:
Archaeologist's chance discovery leads to vital evidence of human life on west coast 9,500 years ago, by John Ross and Alastair Jamieson

"It is interesting because of the astonishing level of preservation"
"We had not expected that it might go back this far"

THE rubbish tip next to a public car park went largely unnoticed, except by those who were unwittingly dumping on history.

It was only when Steven Birch, a scallop fisherman doing a distance learning course on archaeology, came ashore to root around in this remote part of Scotland?s west coast one day three years ago that the site was identified as an important time capsule of early life.

The scale of exactly how important became clear yesterday when it was confirmed the dump was once used some 9,500 years ago, making the site one of the earliest dated human occupations in Scotland.

A team from Scotland?s First Settlers, an Edinburgh University project, has been excavating for two years at the shell midden at the front of a rock-shelter at Sand, near Applecross in Wester Ross. Samples of worked bone from the site were sent to Oxford University for radiocarbon dating and the results show that people were living at the site during the Mesolithic period, about 7500BC.

It follows confirmation that an encampment at Cramond, near Edinburgh, has been dated to 8500BC, which proved that there were inhabitants in Scotland some 500 years earlier than previously thought.

The result from Sand has delighted Karen Hardy and Caroline Wickham-Jones, the directors of the project.

"This is very exciting", said Dr Hardy. "We knew from the types of tool we were finding that the site dated to some of the earliest settlements in Scotland, but we had not expected that it might go back this far.

"The site looked particularly promising and has turned out beyond our expectations. It is interesting because of its age and also the astonishing level of preservation."

Although no human remains have been found, discoveries at the site have helped archaeologists to build up a picture of life in the area at the time. The early inhabitants did not grow crops or keep cattle, but were nomads who moved from places to place, using rich resources from the land and sea for clothes, food and tools.

The team, which now includes Mr Birch, has discovered bones from red deer and birds, bevel-ended tools used for processing shellfish such as scallops, mussels, clams and limpets, and an antler harpoon for catching a wide range of fish, including cod, mackerel, haddock, herring and salmon.

There are also stone, bone and antler tools and evidence of fine shell beads and other items that may have been used for jewellery, such as a boar?s tusk.

Other finds, including lumps of ochre from which a colourful paste could be made, and a type of dog whelk from which a purple dye might be extracted, suggest that people had time to make other adornments. The settlers would have lived in rock-shelters with a wood and animal skin covering, which possibly doubled as a coracle in which they travelled and fished.

While evidence of life in Scotland from such an early period is extremely rare, it is known that settlements of people were established in the west of Scotland at this time from another site, at Kinloch on the island of Rum. Stones found at the Sand site suggest the people there had travelled to Rum and Staffin in Skye.

They would also have faced a time of considerable climate change. Just after the end of the last Ice Age, not only were there fluctuations in temperature, rainfall, and sea level, but the land was unstable and minor earth tremors would have been relatively common.

Ms Wickham-Jones said: "The people who used the rock-shelter at Sand to make their homes, even if only for a short while, would have been familiar wi

Read the rest of this post...
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Mesolithic House found in Scotland by Andy B on Thursday, 01 September 2016
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Submitted by Andy B on Friday, 22 November 2002

ARCHAEOLOGISTS have unearthed the remains of Scotland's oldest house which may be 10,000 years old. The discovery was made on the site of a new limestone quarry near Dunbar in East Lothian.

But the substantial structure could have ended up as bags of cement for modern homes had it not been for East Lothian Council.

Planning officials insisted that the site was surveyed before any excavation could begin at East Barns, Dunbar, near Torness Power Station.

Archaeologists believe holes discovered were to take wooden posts for a teepee-like structure.

They say this suggests that Scotland's Mesolithic hunter-gatherers built semi-permanent structures from which to roam the shores and countryside in search of food.

Other Mesolithic sites have been found in the UK but none, with the exception of Mount Sandal in Northern Ireland, show evidence of serious construction methods.

Dr Alan Savile, curator of archaeology at the National Museums of Scotland, described the find as "extremely significant".

He added: "We may well be looking at Scotland's earliest house."

Hunter-gatherers were the original environmentalists.

Last year, excavations at Cramond, near Edinburgh, revealed evidence of a hunter-gatherers' camp overlooking the Forth Estuary dated to about 8500 BC

by Charlie Gall
Source: Daily Record
http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=2146410801
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