A Kildavie Discovery

The Kildavie site drawn by the adopting group sorry if this looks a bit technical but it’s the best way to show what’s going on.

Myself and Phil were back on Mull this weekend helping out at Kildavie. As can be seen in the photos the weather was fantastically wet only slightly dampening the enthusiasm of the group but doing a good job of washing exposed stones. Phil tells me we were there clearing the ‘desire lines’ which is a posh way of saying were people wont to walk, I think he is just showing off.

The group & Phil looking rather soggy inside structure 12 I like the umbrella on a ranging pole invention for plane tabling.

We constricted on a gap between two structures (10 &11) which we thought contained some fallen rubble from the walls. The plan was to clean and record these few stones and then move them so people could get about more easily. In classic archaeological fation these ‘few stones’ turned out to be rather a lot of stones and there apparently random nature started to look increasingly deliberate. Once we finished clearing them up it was obvious these were much more than some random falls of the walls as they stood over half a meatier high. However what this might represent is unclear. Suggestions include a wall keep in animals or a buttress to support the east end of structure 10 (I’m holding out for a Viking boat burial but I don’t think anyone is buying that). This was further complicated by a second skin wall on the outside of structure 10 perhaps supporting a crux roof?

Bill and Phil contemplate our mystery feature

My knowledge of post medieval buildings is pretty poor but it looks like it might be supporting the corner. However alternative suggestions are welcomed especially if you know of other examples. The group did decide though that these would be left in place and whatever it does turn out to be will add to the story of Kildavie.   

For the die hard archaeologists hear is a photo with a scale from the north (and I apologise for the unscientific people cluttering the background)  

Finally we are about to conduct a trial of Photosynth to make an online 3D ‘modal’ of structure 12 so I will let you know how that goes. In the mean time why not have a wonder round some other structures on this free software at: http://photosynth.net/