Bronze Age burials at Inverness Asda site [ Scotland ]

BBC ^ | September 15, 2010 | unattributed

[SunkenCiv]

A Bronze Age burial site has been uncovered at the planned location of the Highlands' first Asda supermarket.

Archaeologists found an area of cremation pits surrounded by a ring ditch at Slackbuie, in Inverness.

Almost 2,000 flints were also recovered from the field on the city's distributor road.

Pieces of Neolithic pottery known as Unstan Ware were also discovered during digs led by Edinburgh-based NG Archaeology Services.

The details are contained in an interim report following excavations made last November through to May this year as part of the store's planning process.

A full report will be published later.

The finds are similar in date to others made along what is known as the Culduthel ridge.

Unstan Ware takes its name from the cairn of Unstan on Orkney where large quantities of the pottery style were discovered during its excavation in 1858.

Asda plans to build a superstore and filling station.

The outline planning application was called in by Scottish ministers and given consent following a public inquiry.

Last year, Highland Council dropped plans to take the Scottish government to court for allowing Asda to build a store without paying anything towards necessary road improvements.

To avoid further lengthy delays to its plans, Asda struck a deal with the local authority limiting to £1.5m the cost it would pay for road upgrading at the Inshes roundabout and A9 interchange, if the work was needed.

On the finds made at Slackbuie, a spokeswoman said: "Asda has satisfied all the conditions regarding the archaeological survey and is now free to continue with our planning proposals for a supermarket at Slackbuie, Inverness.

"We are confident that we have removed all items of interest but we will continue to work closely with the Highland Council's archaeology department in case of any future finds."

[SunkenCiv]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-11347013

British Broadcasting Corporation

17 September 2010 Last updated at 19:26 ET

Digs reveal ‘archaeologically sterile’ Tesco store site

Tesco is planning to build a new supermarket at Ness-side

Archaeologists have revealed their opinions on the historical significance of two sites earmarked for supermarket developments by rival retail chains.

BBC Scotland’s news website reported on Wednesday how Asda’s proposed location at Slackbuie, Inverness, was a Bronze Age burial site.

But experts have now said that Tesco’s site in the city’s Ness-side could be potentially “archaeologically sterile”.

Thousands of finds were made at Slackbuie, but little at Ness-side.

AOC Archaeology Group’s evaluation of the Tesco site has been published on Highland Council’s Historic Environment Record website.

The report concluded that the area “has no or very limited archaeological potential”.

A Bronze Age burial site was uncovered at the planned location of Asda’s first supermarket in the Highlands.

Archaeologists found an area of cremation pits surrounded by a ring ditch.

Almost 2,000 flints were also recovered from the field.

Pieces of Neolithic pottery known as Unstan Ware were also discovered during digs led by Edinburgh-based NG Archaeology Services.

[SunkenCiv]

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[worst-case scenario]

Sunken Civ, thank you. I enjoy your posts very much.

[mmercier]

I am going to take a wild guess here and predict the supermarket logistics personnel are up tonight looking for a new site.

Somewhere out there too, there is a construction crew who just got the fall off.

[mmercier]

All of Britannia is a neolithic burial site. One need only dig deep enough.

There is other stuff deeper down.

I no longer rototill my back lot because my grandfather used to shoot Mercury dimes out of his 10 gage at groundhogs.

I have been told that the ones I have recovered are worth 10 cents each. Each freeze on my wasteland I make almost a dollar.

[SunkenCiv]

At least for a while.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks worst-case scenario, I enjoy it!

[SunkenCiv]

I don’t blame him for using that method to assure that each groundhog would (as it were) cash it in.

[Docbarleypop]

I love the un-needed commentary about how Asda didn’t want to pay for a road when building a store, what does that have to do with the story at all?
For those not familiar Asda is the Brit equivalent to Super-Walmart and twice as “evil”

[worst-case scenario]

I can tell yoy do.

I saw a fascinating show called “Rick Steve’s Europe” on cable last night - this one was about Dublin. He went to Knowth (the Newgrange Tomb) and to Bru na Boinne. I’d read about these toms - Knowth dates from 5300 BC, 200o years older than the first Pyramid. It wasn’t until I saw it on this show that I realized just how important it is anthropologically.

Have you seen this show? You would probably enjoy it. (The Dublin pub crawls hour was quite good, as well.)

[SunkenCiv]

I’ve seen some of Rick Steve’s work, not too much, have been tempted to grab some of the DVDs of them, but they are pricey for the show length. Also, I don’t like the lack of a last name in showbiz types. But I’ll watch for that one. Thanks!