ratho quarry
edinburgh
NT 128 710
PRIVATE LAND
Introduction
Ratho Quarry is located on the North bank of the Union Canal, to the West of the village of Ratho. It lies on the Western slopes of Platt Hill, location of a defended settlement and possible standing stone, North of the rock carvings at Tormain, and just south of Hillwood, where another hillfort and a possible barrow have been found. Click here for a location map provided by StreetMap. Click here for an arial photograph provided by Multimap.
Ratho Quarry Cist Burial
In the quarry, now the location of the National Rock Climbing Centre, a cist burial was found by workers just beneath the natural level of the soil in 1897. The excavation led by Fred Coles found that the cist was the grave of two bodies rather than one, which is generally rare in Scotland.[1]
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DESCRIPTIVE TABLE OF THE STONES IN THE CIST
A, the cover-stone of the south end.
L, remains of packing of small stones.
B, D, E. F, G, H, slabs forming upper layers of cist, and overlapping the second layer.
C, long block lying across the cist due E. and W., resting on earth.
N, slab on edge at south end.
I, K, thinnish slabs, set sloping westwards over the north end of the cist.
P, slab on edge on west side of cist.
M, the cup-marked stone.
"Plan and Section of Cist at Ratho Quarry" - Coles, 1897
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As can be seen from the above diagram, a small stone bearing cup-marks was also discovered, which is by no means rare in this area, with other cup-marked stones being evident at the nearby sites of Cairnpapple, Tormain, and Dalmahoy Hill.
Allegedly, another cist burial is still present on the summit of Platt Hill itself, but we have yet to photograph (or notice) it!
Cemetry and Settlement
In 1993 and 1994, the construction of the M8 extension lead to the discovery of an early settlement on the Western slopes of Platt Hill, immediately North of the cist burial found in the quarry in 1897. The excavations were carried out by Glasgow University Archaeology Research Division and the AOC Archaeology Group and was written up in some detail by Andrea Smith (AOC) and others in 1995.[2]
Plan of the Settlement
The excavation discovered a number of ditches plus several primary structures indicating continued use of the site over a period of time, from a Neolithic cremation cemetery partially enclosed within a later oval ditch, to possible palisades, to three rectangular structures, one of which was thought to be an Anglian hut, used for spinning and weaving.
The Mid-1990s Dig
The cremation cemetery is thought to have been around 3500 years old, and yielded two burial urns, two cremations without urns, a cup possibly used for incense, and a probable cist stone. It appears likely that the wood used for the cremations was oak and hazel. The later ring ditch also yielded two flint blades. Of the two burial urns, it is thought that one of the bodies was that of an adult male aged over 40 who suffered from arthritis, and the other was an adult male aged 30-50 who had suffered a slipped disc.
The Mid-1990s Dig
The two trenches to the East of the burial ground are thought to have been fence ditches, containing several post-holes, and possibly connected in some way with the cemetery itself or the ring ditch around it.
The Mid-1990s Dig
The Anglian hut measured some five by four yards and several clay loom weights were found there, indicating its use either as a house or a weaving shed.
The Mid-1990s Dig
thanks are due to frank and jo turner of ratho for the excavation photographs
footnotes
[1] Fred R. Coles, "Notice of the Discovery of a Cist with a Double Burial at Ratho Quarry", in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Vol.XXXII, 1897-98, p.46.
[2] Andrea Smith, et al, "The Excavation of Neolithic, Bronze Age and Early Historic Features near Ratho, Edinburgh", in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Vol.125a, 1995, pp.69-138.