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Auchterarder Archaeology

The Auchterarder area is rich in archaeological sites, many standing as mounds and ramparts, many more surviving under the plough soil as patterns of pits, potholes and ditches, which can be seen from the air. In recent years some excavation has been carried out in this area, most notably at North Mains Farm on the Strathallan Estate where a massive mound dating from about 2,700 BC and a 'henge' from about the same period were excavated. Henges are large, roughly circular enclosures containing circles of wooden posts or standing stones. The most famous henge is of course Stonehenge, but there are many others throughout the country. Several burials were found within the North Mains henge - the best preserved being that of a young woman in a stone cist accompanied by a fine pot, which seems to have contained ale flavoured with the plant Meadowsweet. Two groups of henges have been found by aerial photography, at Forteviot and at Huntingtower near Perth. The mound at North Mains did not appear to cover burials. Rather it covered a roughly circular structure which had a function similar to that of the henge, that is a ceremonial one. However burials were dug into the surface of the mound. Most were cremated burials in small stone cists, with up to eight bodies in each, but two were not cremated. One of these was accompanied by a necklace made of jet, a fine black stone.