Lecture: a recent re-examination of a barrow at Bairnie, Aberdeenshire

Evening lecture in association with University of Aberdeen Museums and Society of Antiquaries of Scotland on the excavations undertaken by the late Ian Shepherd in 1983 on the mound of Bairnie Hillock.

Speaker: Dr Dawn McLaren, AOC Archaeology

In 1983, an excavation of an upstanding but badly eroded earthen mound at Bairnie Hillock, Belhelvie, was undertaken by the late Ian Shepherd as Grampian Regional Council Archaeologist.  The excavation was prompted by the discovery of sherds of a Bronze Age pottery vessel eroding from the edge of the mound which was under threat of destruction as the result of cattle damage and agricultural activity.

Ian’s investigations revealed a multi-phase early prehistoric monument comprising a cairn and later earthen mound as well as evidence of more recent activity.

A project to re-analyse the site archives has been instigated by Aberdeenshire Council Archaeological Services alongside several other individual Bronze Age burial sites.  This paper aims to outline the findings of the re-evaluation of this important monument and will consider Bairnie Hillock’s wider significance in the context of Neolithic and Bronze Age Aberdeenshire.

Hosted by: University of Aberdeen Museums

Venue: Regent Lecture Theatre