Archaeologists have uncovered the ruins of the largest Neolithic timber hall ever found in Scotland, revealing the site of prehistoric gatherings, rituals, and Bronze Age wealth. The discovery, hailed as one of the most significant in Scottish archaeological history, was part of a raft of discoveries unearthed by GUARD Archaeology beneath a site to be exacacted for a football pitch, who believe the hall, located near Carnoustie, Angus, 40 miles northeast of Edinburgh, served as a gathering place for some of Scotland’s earliest farming communities.
Dating back 4000 BC – about 1000 years before Stonehenge – Wood Central understands that the excavation site, carried out over a football pitch near Carnoustie High School and funded by Angus Council, revealed the remains of a 35-metre-long and 9-metre-wide timber hall, built using massive oaks with complex internal divisions and thick daubed walls, which points to a highly sophisticated and organised Neolithic society.
“This monumental timber hall was fully formed, architecturally advanced, and entirely alien to the Mesolithic traditions that preceded it,” said Beverley Ballin Smith, co-author of the newly published 346-page excavation report. And unlike other Neolithic halls, the site features a smaller adjacent hall, measuring 20 metres in length, likely used for domestic purposes, whilst the larger hall was likely used for symbolic purposes, with the archaeologists uncovering buried stone tools and rare artifacts, indicating that it served ceremonial or ritualistic functions.
Archaeologists believe that the elevated location of the timber halls near routeways suggests they were seasonal gathering spots—possibly the centre of autumn feasts when hazelnuts were plentiful, whilst artifacts recovered from as far afield as the Highlands and the Isle of Arran—including pitchstone, smoky quartz, and a rare garnet-albite-schist axe—highlight the cultural and trade connections of the community.
Wood Central understands that the discovery is thanks to standard pre-construction assessments now required by the local council before major excavation works. “No one imagined the construction of football pitches would lead to the discovery of one of Scotland’s most important archaeological finds,” said Kathryn Lindsay, Chief Executive of Angus Council. “This has given us a rare and valuable insight into life in Angus during the Neolithic and Bronze Ages.”
- To learn more about the oldest use of bows and arrows, which were made using olive wood, reed wood, and birch bark, during the Neolithic period, click here for Wood Central’s special feature from December 2024.
