Excavation

All the schools participated in the excavations during May.

Arrochar and Luss Primary Schools have helped us to excavate the deserted settlement of Creag an’t Searraich. We don’t know how old this is, but we know that it had been abandoned by the mid-1800s. Walkover survey with Hermitage Academy S3 pupils detected the remains of more buildings than are indicated on the First edition OS map. Despite a very wet week, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and learned a lot about archaeology. Not many finds, but that didn't seem to matter!

Hermitage Academy S1 pupils from Hermitage Academy joined in excavations in a private garden and in the Primary School’s playing field in Tarbet, to look for the remains of the house where the Chief of the Clan McFarlane lived in the 1500s. No signs of any walls unfortunately, but some old pottery and some worked chert, which may have been used to make stone tools in the Neolithic period over 4000 years ago! A beautiful flint blade was found in the same trench the day after the pupils were here - sorry Hermitage!

Hermitage pupils were also lucky to be on site for a demonstration of how to use kites to take aerial photos. John Wells and Jym Knowles of West Lothian Archaeology visited and not only showed us how to get brilliant photos with relatively simple and inexpensive equipment, but even donated a set to the Hidden Heritage project! Thank you!

Lomond School S2 pupils have helped with excavations at the banks and ditches of the site opposite Ballyhennan Church, which are easily visible from the main A83, and have been a source of folk tales for many years. Finds reflected mixed dates potentially ranging from the prehistoric period through Medieval to modern. Lomond school students spent an enthusiastic day digging, recording the graveyard by the church and visiting historical features across the isthmus as part of a walkover survey.

The weather was reasonably kind - and no midges!!