Loch Lomond Archaeology

Roundhouses at Loch Lomond

During topsoil stripping, we found a number of large circular features, which are probably the remains of Iron Age hut circles. Some of these have been preserved in situ, but others are being examined and will give us the opportunity to learn more about daily life in later prehistory along Loch Lomondside.

These large, round buildings were typical of domestic architecture in Scotland from around the mid second millennium BC until the early first millennium AD. They would have had conical thatched roofs, supported on rings of posts and with a stone or turf outer wall. Inside there would have been a hearth, and the space may have been divided up radially into areas for cooking, sleeping, crafts and even animals. It is possible that some of the larger roundhouses might have had an upper storey for the human occupants, with animals kept on the ground floor.

Because the area has been ploughed in the past and this has truncated the archaeology, in some cases we have only found segments of the circular ditches that would have held the roundhouse walls (shown in the picture and plan below). The large stony ring shown in the picture and plan to the right may have been an enclosure with a palisade, with roundhouses or other kinds of domestic occupation inside it.

Click over the links below to view high resolution versions. [opens in new window]