Excavation on a gravel ridge beside the River Dee in Aberdeen revealed a small ovoid building of
early Neolithic date. Not only does this add to the very small corpus of early Neolithic buildings yet
excavated in Scotland, but the survival of floors and hearths also allows some analysis of functions
within the building. The structural, artefactual and radiocarbon evidence suggest that this was
a permanent building in use over at least a generation, in contrast to some interpretations of such
buildings as temporary shelters. The artefactual and environmental data demonstrate considerable
cultural and economic similarities between the occupants of this small building and of the two massive
early Neolithic timber halls only a few kilometers away at Balbridie and Warren Field, Crathes.
Radiocarbon analysis shows that, although the two halls were built earlier, the Garthdee building may
have coexisted with them – emphasizing the varied and complex development of the early Neolithic of
eastern Scotland. There is also some evidence to suggest that, although their re-use of an earlier site
may have been coincidental, the Neolithic occupants may have been aware of some features of the
earlier, Mesolithic, use of the site.
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