by LESTER CROSS
Dozens of previously unscheduled ancient monuments ranging from Bronze and Iron Age features to abandoned medieval settlements are thought to have been identified along the Tweed Valley in the first phase of a three-year archaeological project which is already exciting historians as well as Borderers involved in the research.
The results from an extensive study of LiDAR images - a sophisticated form of laser scanning - of an area stretching from Moffat across the Borders to Berwick come with the caveat that lots of on-the-ground work will be needed before conclusions can be reached.
But those participating in the £300,000 Uncovering The Tweed project, part of the ambitious Destination Tweed initiative, have been surprised that up to 200 new monuments may have lain hidden for centuries.
The first indications from the LiDAR detections were cautiously presented by Graeme Cavers, a director of AOC Archaeology, the specialists leading Uncovering the Tweed in an online review session.
Mr Cavers told his audience, including a number of those who made discoveries: "It is remarkable there is still so much out there".
The team's territory extends to two kilometres on each side of the river along its 90-mile route from source to mouth, and aims to provide a detailed archaeological record for future generations.
Some of the sites plotted on the project map are completely new and therefore unscheduled while others are believed to be additional features of registered monuments. The majority of the finds are in the upper reaches where the ground has been less disturbed by intensive ploughing.
Mr Cavers highlighted a number of the sites where additional research is likely to be needed to prove their authenticity.
He mentioned a Bronze Age terraced platform settlement, and said the project had possibly come up with up to ten new Iron Age forts and other monuments, adding to the 100 or so already identified in the region. Some of these new sites appeared to show evidence of timber roundhouses.
In one case, a substantial Iron Age settlement seemed to have gone undetected, even when a modern cable trench had been dug through it some years ago. Cairns, sheep stells [shelters] rig and furrow cultivation and enclosures also featured in Mr Cavers' presentation.
Moving forward in time, the LiDAR scans had also picked out a square feature close to Horncliffe village, near Berwick, possibly the site of a medieval village or a Roman camp overlooking the Tweed.
In the same area, there are plans for an archaeological excavation next year at the location of a medieval hospital at Horndean.
And a few miles away at Ladykirk/Upsettlington the scanners are also thought to have landed on the remains of a village dating from the Middle Ages.
Finally, a site described by Mr Cavers as "the star of the show". At a location at Yair, not far from Galashiels, lies a feature measuring 30 metres by 23 metres close to the river bank which could turn out to be an abandoned 13th or 14th Century settlement 'of high standing'.
But this site, like all the others, will require co-operation from local landowners if it is to benefit from further expert research.
Uncovering the Tweed Project Officer, Charlotte Douglas, told us: “We’re in the very early stages of the project but are extremely excited at the prospect of new discoveries and, subject to landowner permission, hope to follow up some of the LiDAR research conducted to date with a number of on-the-ground surveys in early 2025.
"Uncovering the Tweed is a community-based archaeology programme, so we’ve been particularly pleased at the enthusiastic response from the general public who are obviously keen to play an active part in finding out more about the history of the Tweed and its communities. We’re greatly looking forward to seeing what the next stage of the project will reveal.”
Anyone interested in finding out more about the programme or wanting to get involved can access information at:
https://destinationtweed.org/project/uncovering-the-tweed/
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