Prehistoric Festival in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Joseph Anderson's excavations at Yarrows

23rd August 2015

Throughout summer 2015 a series of events have been taking place to mark the 150th anniversary of archaeologist Joseph Anderson's first excavations which took place here in Caithness in the Yarrows landscape. Anderson was, at the time, editor of the John o'Groat Journal (a post he held from 1860 to 1869), and a passionate archaeologist who was fascinated by the remarkable prehistoric remains in Caithness. His 1865 excavations, carried out with Robert Shearer, Factor of Thrumster Estate, laid the foundations for our understanding of the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods in the county and contributed significantly to the emerging study of Scottish Prehistory.

The commemorative events started in June with a series of ceramic workshops where Primary school pupils from eastern Caithness were taught about life in the Neolithic and crafted sculptures to reflect what they had learnt. These sculptures will go on display at the Station Building, Thrumster from the 14th to the 28th August (11am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm daily). Also displayed in the exhibition will be the entries in a photographic competition and display panels about Joseph Anderson and the archaeology of Caithness. The exhibition is free and open to all. Parking is available at the Station Building, which can be found immediately adjacent to the A99 in Thrumster.

A community excavation will be carried out at Cairn Reain from the 24th to the 28th August. This is a Scheduled Ancient Monument on the northern shore of the Loch of Yarrows, and was investigated by Anderson in 1865. His excavations found what he interpreted as a ruined Neolithic chambered cairn, although his description of the structures he revealed suggests that the site may in fact be an Iron Age Broch. The excavation will seek to clarify the form and date of the monument. The excavation is open to volunteers - no previous experience is necessary as full training will be given! As space on the site is limited the number of volunteers will be restricted to 8 per day so booking is essential.

Please email andersonarchaeology150[AT]yahoo.co.uk or call 07861 235761 to book places.

A public lecture about Joseph Anderson and his work in Caithness will be given by Dr Kenneth Brophy and Dr Amelia Pannett on the 27th August at 7pm in Mackays Hotel, Wick. The lecture is free and open to all and will be followed by tea and coffee.

The summer of events will culminate on the 29th August in a Prehistoric Festival to be held at North Yarrows, on the northern shore of the Loch of Yarrows. The festival is a celebration of traditional crafts and techniques that would have been familiar to the prehistoric inhabitants of Caithness - flint knapping, copper smelting, pot making and firing, antler carving, spinning and dyeing and food preparation – with specialists from across the UK participating.

Demonstrations will be going on throughout the day, so come and have a go at spinning wool using a drop spindle, carve yourself an antler ring and sample delicious food gathered from the local landscape and cooked over an open fire! Specific events will be held during the day:
10am to 11am – Help prepare a roe deer for pit roasting, wrapping joints in a simple dough to retain the moisture while they cook, stoking the fire within the pit and finally placing the meat in the pit and sealing it. The pit will be opened and the meat will be available to sample during the event events.
11.30 to 12 – Take a guided tour of the Battle Moss stone rows at Yarrows – hear about the excavations here from a director of the dig, and find out more about the enigmatic multiple stone rows of northern Scotland
11am to 12pm – Try your hand at flint knapping and see how an expert crafts beautiful tools and axes.
12pm to 1pm – Watch the lighting of the pit kiln, where pots made by the primary pupils in June will be fired, then help to open and unpack a previously fired pit kiln.
1.15pm – The winners of the photography competition will be announced and their photographs displayed.
1.30pm to 2pm – Try your hand at dyeing wool using woad, a plant that produces a striking indigo colour.
2pm to 3pm – Help to work the bellows in the copper smelting furnace, add crushed ore to the flames and the see the shiny new metal emerge from the fire!
2.30pm – Take a guided tour to the Neolithic chambered cairns and Iron Age Broch on the hills on the southern shore of the Loch of Yarrows. Duration approximately 1.5 hours, sturdy footwear required.

The daytime element of the festival runs from 10am to 4pm, after which we will reconvene at 7pm for an evening of fire, performance and music! The evening events will be focused on recreating the burning of a timber monument, a common practice in prehistory. The monument, a wooden replica of a Neolithic chambered cairn façade, will be built and decorated in the week leading up to the festival and will be set alight at dusk accompanied by sound, light and performance, with a special appearance by Joseph Anderson himself! This will be a memorable conclusion to the Anderson themed events, drawing on the amazing archaeology and landscape of the Yarrows Basin and the characters who have lived and worked there.

The festival site is located at North Yarrows, and can be found by following signs for the Yarrows Archaeological Trail from the A99 and the A882. Signs will also be put up along the mains roads on the day of the festival. Parking is available on the site. Admission (to include both day and evening events) £2.