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    2009 Two Pitchstone Obsidian Assemblages

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    Beverley Ballin Smith and students from Auchincruive Agricultural College discovered two lithic assemblages while surveying a new path leading to the Giants Graves chambered tomb in Glenashdale, North Ayrshire. Assemblage 1 contained 46 pieces of porphyritic pitchstone likely from local sources, along with debitage, cores, and tools suggesting a Middle to Late Neolithic date. Assemblage 2 contained 19 pieces of aphyric pitchstone likely from sources in Monamore Glen, composed primarily of debitage and cores, suggesting an Early Neolithic date. The raw material preferences and differences in assemblage composition between the two sites indicate occupation at different periods within the Neolithic.

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    2009 Two Pitchstone Obsidian Assemblages

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    Beverley Ballin Smith and students from Auchincruive Agricultural College discovered two lithic assemblages while surveying a new path leading to the Giants Graves chambered tomb in Glenashdale, North Ayrshire. Assemblage 1 contained 46 pieces of porphyritic pitchstone likely from local sources, along with debitage, cores, and tools suggesting a Middle to Late Neolithic date. Assemblage 2 contained 19 pieces of aphyric pitchstone likely from sources in Monamore Glen, composed primarily of debitage and cores, suggesting an Early Neolithic date. The raw material preferences and differences in assemblage composition between the two sites indicate occupation at different periods within the Neolithic.

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    Beverley Ballin Smith and students from Auchincruive Agricultural College discovered two lithic assemblages while surveying a new path leading to the Giants Graves chambered tomb in Glenashdale, North Ayrshire. Assemblage 1 contained 46 pieces of porphyritic pitchstone likely from local sources, along with debitage, cores, and tools suggesting a Middle to Late Neolithic date. Assemblage 2 contained 19 pieces of aphyric pitchstone likely from sources in Monamore Glen, composed primarily of debitage and cores, suggesting an Early Neolithic date. The raw material preferences and differences in assemblage composition between the two sites indicate occupation at different periods within the Neolithic.

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    17 views2 pages

    2009 Two Pitchstone Obsidian Assemblages

    Uploaded by

    Fe
    Beverley Ballin Smith and students from Auchincruive Agricultural College discovered two lithic assemblages while surveying a new path leading to the Giants Graves chambered tomb in Glenashdale, North Ayrshire. Assemblage 1 contained 46 pieces of porphyritic pitchstone likely from local sources, along with debitage, cores, and tools suggesting a Middle to Late Neolithic date. Assemblage 2 contained 19 pieces of aphyric pitchstone likely from sources in Monamore Glen, composed primarily of debitage and cores, suggesting an Early Neolithic date. The raw material preferences and differences in assemblage composition between the two sites indicate occupation at different periods within the Neolithic.

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    Ballin Smith, B., & Ballin, T.B.

    2009: North Ayrshire: Giants Graves, Glenashdale (Kilbride par-


    ish); Prehistoric settlements; lithic assemblages. Discovery and Excavation in Scotland, New Series
    10, 126.

    NORTH AYRSHIRE
    Giants Graves (Kilbride parish) Beverley Ballin Smith (GUARD)
    Prehistoric settlements; lithic assemblages Torben Bjarke Ballin (Lithic Research)

    NGR NS 04131 25035 In May 2009, Beverley Ballin Smith led a field trip to Arran with
    students from Auchincruive Agricultural College, Ayr. In connection with a visit to the Giants
    Graves chambered tomb, Glenashdale, it was noticed that a new hair-pin path to the monument
    had been constructed, and that the spoils along the path included worked pitchstone. Mrs Ballin
    Smith and the students from Auchincruive Agricultural College collected a number of pitchstone
    artefacts, which were subsequently brought to lithics specialist Torben Bjarke Ballin for com-
    ment. In response to the finds, Dr Ballin surveyed the entire length of the new path, and two
    concentrations were noticed. Concentration 1 was located around the uppermost hair-pin curve,
    immediately next to a small burn (the NGR given above), and Concentration two was located
    approximately 75-100 m towards the east, where the path curves gently towards the Giants
    Graves. Samples were collected from both sites.
    Both assemblages include broad blades, suggesting Neolithic dates, but a detailed typo-
    technological breakdown indicates different dates within this general chronological frame. As-
    semblage 1 includes 46 pieces of pitchstone, almost equally distributed across almost aphyric
    (lightly porphyritic) and more notably porphyritic pitchstone. Four pieces are burnt. A total of 42
    pieces are debitage, two are cores (one single-platform core/one Levallois-like core), and two are
    tools (one flake and one blade w edge-retouch). Two blanks have finely faceted platform rem-
    nants, defining them as deriving from Levallois-like cores. Assemblage 2 includes 19 pieces of
    pitchstone, all of which are aphyric. Three pieces are burnt. Ten pieces are debitage, seven are
    cores (four platform/three bipolar), and two are tools (one double-scraper/one bifacial rough-
    out).

    Aphyric pitchstone from Monamore Mill and porphyritic pitchstone from Cnocan a’ Chrannchuir, near Blackwaterfoot
    (photos courtesy of the Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow).
    Most likely, the aphyric pitchstone from Concentration 2 was procured from sources in
    Monamore Glen, whereas the porphyritic pitchstone from Concentration 1 most likely derives
    from local sources in the general Glenashdale area. The different raw material preferences, and
    the differences in terms of assemblage composition, suggest that Concentration 2 may date to
    the Early Neolithic period (although not the very earliest part), and Concentration 1 to the Mid-
    dle or Late Neolithic period.

    Note: One of the authors has since published a monograph on Arran pitchstone (Ballin 2009:
    BAR British series 476), as well as an overview of Arran pitchstone outcrops (the latter is availa-
    ble through Academia):

    Ballin, T.B., & Faithfull, J. 2009: Gazetteer of Arran Pitchstone Sources. Presentation of exposed
    pitchstone dykes and sills across the Isle of Arran, and discussion of the possible archaeolog-
    ical relevance of these outcrops. Scottish Archaeological Internet Reports (SAIR) 38.
    [http://www.sair.org.uk/sair38].

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