Balbridie is the site of a Neolithic long house in

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially different boundaries. The Aberdeenshire Council area includ ...

, Scotland, situated on the south bank of the River Dee, east of

Banchory Banchory (, sco, Banchry, gd, Beannchar) is a burgh or town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is about west of Aberdeen, near where the Feugh River meets the River Dee. Prehistory and archaeology In 2009, a farmer discovered a short cist bu ...

. The site is one of the earliest known permanent Neolithic settlements in Scotland, dating from 3400 to 4000 BC. This is the largest Neolithic long house to be excavated in Britain. In a European context, Whittle has indicated the rarity of such large Neolithic timber houses, citing Balbridie, a hall in

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to th ...

, and

Fengate Fengate is a predominantly industrial area of the city of Peterborough, in the Peterborough district, in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. For electoral purposes it forms part of Peterborough East ward. The industrial estate is k ...

as a small set of such finds. Neolithic features found in a later excavation at Dreghorn included post holes indicating a large rectangular structure comparable to Balbridie. In 2022, a study of nitrogen content ancient grain at the site by the

University of Stavanger The University of Stavanger ( Norwegian: ''Universitetet i Stavanger,'' UiS) is a university located in Stavanger, Norway. UiS was established in 2005 when the former Stavanger University College (''Høgskolen i Stavanger''; HiS) received unive ...

and Durham University published in the journal ''Antiquity'' revealed details of neolithic farming techniques at the site suggesting that manure was not used in the area because of the quality of its soil.

Discovery

The Balbridie site was discovered in 1976 by

aerial photography Aerial photography (or airborne imagery) is the taking of photographs from an aircraft or other airborne platforms. When taking motion pictures, it is also known as aerial videography. Platforms for aerial photography include fixed-wing airc ...

carried out by the

Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) was an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government that was "sponsored" inanced and with oversightthrough Historic Scotland, an executiv ...

. The unusually dry summer revealed previously undetected

cropmark Cropmarks or crop marks are a means through which sub-surface archaeological, natural and recent features may be visible from the air or a vantage point on higher ground or a temporary platform. Such marks, along with parch marks, soil marks an ...

s suggesting a very large structure. Subsequent archaeological work on site allowed the conceptual reconstruction of an enormous timber structure including the identification of large timber

posthole In archaeology a posthole or post-hole is a cut feature used to hold a surface timber or stone. They are usually much deeper than they are wide; however, truncation may not make this apparent. Although the remains of the timber may survive, most ...

Relationship to other very early features

The vicinity of Balbridie includes a number of other notable archaeological features including the Neolithic site of Bucharn. Watt has pointed out that this local area attracted an unusual density of very early settlement in Scotland. Balbridie is not only close to the River Dee but also to the

Elsick Mounth The Elsick Mounth is an ancient trackway crossing the Grampian Mountains in the vicinity of Netherley, Scotland. This trackway was one of the few means of traversing the Grampian Mounth area in prehistoric and medieval times. The highest pa ...

trackway Historic roads (historic trails in USA and Canada) are paths or routes that have historical importance due to their use over a period of time. Examples exist from prehistoric times until the early 20th century. They include ancient trackways ...

, the route of early crossings inland through the lower Grampian Mountains.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * * 4th-millennium BC architecture in Scotland Populated places established in the 4th millennium BC Neolithic Scotland Neolithic settlements Former populated places in Scotland 1976 in Scotland 4th-millennium BC establishments Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Aberdeenshire {{Scotland-hist-stub

Discovery

Relationship to other very early features

See also

References