Pittodrie Estate Excavations
LiDAR reconnaissance targeting Mither Tap revealed a complex pattern of earthworks lying downslope from the Bede House. Members of the BLP Fieldwork Group investigated the remains on the ground and recognised the likelihood of a multi-period landscape fossilised beneath the early 19th-century Pittodrie Estate policy plantings. A series of archaeological interventions was designed to discover more about these fascinating features.
The project is carried out by members of the Bennachie Landscapes Fieldwork Group, with funding provided by the Bailies of Bennachie. Aberdeenshire Council Archaeology Services generously paid for the radiocarbon dates. Permission to access the land and carry out the excavations was kindly given by the Macdonald Hotels, owners of the Pittodrie Estate.
Claire Hardy kindly created a ‘virtual tour’ of the site in 2021, which may be found by clicking on this link:
Ralston, I. & Shepherd, C. (2020) Interim report on archaeological excavations on the Pittodrie Estate, Aberdeenshire. Summer, 2019. BLOP21.
Ralston, I. & Shepherd, C. (2021) Interim report on archaeological excavations on the Pittodrie Estate, Aberdeenshire. Summer, 2021. BLOP22.
Ralston, I. & Shepherd, C. (2022) Interim report on archaeological excavations on the Pittodrie Estate, Aberdeenshire. Summer, 2022. BLOP27.
Ralston, I. & Shepherd, C. (2023) Interim report on archaeological excavations on the Pittodrie Estate, Aberdeenshire. Summer, 2023. BLOP44.