THE long-awaited findings of a 1970s excavation of a hillfort at Broxmouth, near Dunbar, are to be published for the first time in a book later this year.

A dig took place at the site shortly before it was destroyed during quarrying for the nearby Lafarge Tarmac cement works.

Archaeologists found that people had settled at the site from about 600BC until AD200, but the initial post-excavation analysis was never completed and remained unpublished until now– despite being considered one of the most important in the UK.

Professor Ian Armit, of the University of Bradford – who led the team recently investigating the site – told the Courier: “The site was about to be completely destroyed so it was important to find out as much about it as possible.

“It was also known, from the nature of the geology, that there might be good survival of animal bone, which doesn’t usually survive in the region – so insights into the Iron Age pastoral economy would be forthcoming.

“One of the leading Scottish archaeologists of the time, Peter Hill, was commissioned to direct the excavations. The organisation of fieldwork was administered through the East Lothian Research Committee (with funding through the Manpower Services Commission).

“As the work progressed, however, an increasing share of funding came directly from the Ancient Monuments Branch of the Scottish Development Department (now Historic Scotland).

“[The work involved] full-scale excavation lasting just over a year followed by an initial (incomplete) programme of post-excavation analysis in the late 1970s/early 1980s. The work was never completed and the site remained unpublished.

“It was always known as one of the most important archaeological sites in Scotland, but the lack of publication meant researchers couldn’t really draw on the findings.

“Latterly, from 2008 to 2013, a completely new programme of post-excavation analysis has been completed at the University of Bradford funded by Historic Scotland and the AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council). It is this latter programme of work that is now being published.” The site lies to the north of the current cement works but the ground has been quarried and subsequently re-landscaped.

It had been known since the 1950s when it was first found through aerial photography – one of several hundred sites in East Lothian shown up by cropmarks from the air that represented Iron Age settlements.

The main building in the fort was known as a ‘ring-ditch’ house, capable of accommodating 30-50 people, and was later replaced by a second house on the same spot.

Archaeologists believed that building on this scale showed the autonomy of the hilltop village, while the community was said to be technologically well-advanced.

The settlement seemed to shift every generation or so, eventually expanding outwith its main ramparts with smaller ring-ditch houses about 295/235BC, but within a couple of decades had retreated back within its initial defences.

Substantial middens preserved a large volume of animal bone – suggesting that the community’s economy was dominated by cattle and sheep – while querns discovered showed a reliance on arable crops.

Almost uniquely for an Iron Age site in Britain, evidence of deep-sea fishing was also discovered.

A small cemetery from 200BC, lasting about a generation, existed at the hillfort, but would only have been capable of accommodating a small number of the population – the elaborate appearance of some graves suggesting they were used for those of higher status.

Fragments of bone found at the site showed people having been killed violently – either at the site or taken back there as trophies – suggesting feuding or raiding.

The most recent stages of the hillfort consisted of smaller, closely packed timber and stone roundhouses of varying sizes.

Researchers say it is difficult to say exactly when the the site was abandoned, but it was likely about 155/AD210, during the Roman Iron Age – possibly between the Antonine withdrawal in the 160s and the Severan invasion of AD208.

Prof Armit added: “This is the most complete excavation of a Scottish hillfort – one of the most important Iron Age sites in the UK – and provides new insights into many aspects of life in Scotland from c. 600BC-AD200.

“They will be a major resource for current and future generations of researchers working on the Scottish Iron Age.” ‘An Inherited Place: Broxmouth Hillfort & the Southern Scottish Iron Age’ will be published later this year by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.