Fields near Forfar (Angus, Scotland) are slowly giving up some of the secrets of the past—but with this harvest comes new mysteries. Amateur archaeologists will be back there as part of a major excavation of the site. Experts believe they might have stumbled across an Iron Age roundhouse after combing the field inch-by-inch as they try to piece together the area's history. This latest discovery is in a field where searchers organised by Kinnettles and District Heritage Group found ring-marked stones and a Neolithic mace head.
     Last month, John Sherriff, archaeologist from the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historic Monuments of Scotland, supervised the digging of a large trench in the area where the mace head was picked up during field walking in February. "We discovered a stone surface a very short depth below the field," said heritage group spokesman Dave Walsh. Although there were some large slabs lying on the surface, similar to those ploughed up frequently, they found what they believe to be a cobble paved area. He said an earlier aerial survey suggesting there are 'earth houses' or souterrains, usually Iron Age, elsewhere in the field. After discussions with colleagues at the Royal Commission in Edinburgh, Mr Sherriff believes there is an Iron Age roundhouse there.
     A geophysical survey of parts of the field was carried out last month by Peter Morris, a geophysicist who lives in Fife and was originally with the British Antarctic Survey. Although it did not give many clues about the most fruitful places to excavate, it gave members of the heritage group and other enthusiasts an interesting insight.

Source: The Courier (20 October 2006)