Tag: Earth

Culsh Earth House, Tarland – Aberdeenshire

Built about 2,000 years ago, and despite its name, it was not a dwelling, but a 15m stone-lined, underground passage. This Iron Age larder is one of the most complete examples of its kind.

Culsh earth house survives as it was over 2,000 years ago and is one of only a few souterrains in Scotland  that can safely be accessed. We don’t know what it was used for – perhaps a storage space, potentially a hiding place, or as two cup-marked stones inside may indicate it may have had some ritual significance. From the outside this souterrain appears to be just a bump in the ground therefore it would not have attracted any attention, It could, however, be entered both from within the round-house built above it and from the concealed outside entrance.

Check out other examples of Scottish souterrains such as those at – Tealing, Ardestie and Carlungie.

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Carlungie Earth House – Angus

At about 40m long, Carlungie Earth House is one of the largest and most complex examples of its kind in Scotland. It was accidentally discovered during ploughing in 1949 and subsequent excavations during the following two years revealed a further eight associated stone dwellings at ground level.

Earth houses, or souterrains as they are also known, were once thought to have been defensive refuges but it’s now considered that they were in fact cellars, as their cool environment would have made them suitable for storing grain, dairy products and meat. These stone-lined underground passages typically date to the Iron Age and have been found along much of eastern Scotland, as well as in Ireland, Cornwall and Brittany. Just a few miles away can be found Ardestie and Tealing ‘earth houses’ and farther north Culsh Earth House just outside Tarland, Aberdeenshire.

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Ardestie Earth House – Angus

The remains of Ardestie Iron Age souterrain was uncovered during stone clearance in 1949. Structures like this formed part of many Iron Age farming settlements north of the River Forth, sometime between 2,800 & 1,500 years ago. Life here centred around farming so the use of these souterrains may have been for storing grain and other goods however they were vulnerable to dampness and vermin. This souterrain was adapted after it was built, by putting in a stone lined drain to combat its poor drainage.

Souterrains such as this were skilfully built and often had cup marks and symbols on some of the stones. It could possibly mean that they also had a ritual function such as for rites of passage.

If you have an interest in these ‘earth houses’, you can visit others nearby at Carlungie and Tealing, then further north Culsh Earth House by Tarland in Aberdeenshire

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Tealing Earth House, Tealing – Angus

It’s amazing the things you come across by chance. I was driving north to Aberdeen when I noticed the signpost for this place, so intrigued, I stopped by to check it out….and what a fantastic find!

This isn’t actually an ‘earth house’ but an Iron-Age souterrain, a subterranean passage that was originally roofed over with stone slabs. A small room at the end of the chamber here had been created by a pair of huge, up-right slabs. It was discovered in 1871 while a local farmer was ploughing the field here. Souterrains can be found around Scotland’s eastern coast and built around 2,500 years ago, they would have been part of farming settlements made up of clusters of timber roundhouses. Souterrains seem to have been accessed from within a roundhouse built above, providing a cool dark place, most probably used for storing food. They would, however, have been vulnerable to dampness and vermin. They could also have been used as places of refuge if the settlement was under attack. As you can see from the stone-walling, this was skilfully built and may have incorporated a symbolic function. Here at Tealing, pre-historic rock art is carved into one of the huge stones by its entrance. The cup and ring marked stone perhaps represents the sun, the portal to a spirit world, even life itself, or life beyond this realm – eternity.

Excavation at Tealing found animal bones, shards of pottery, broken grinding stones for wheat and fragments of Roman glassware, the latter, suggesting trade routes with distant places. It could also mean this souterrain might still have been in use when the Romans passed through here. Only a few miles East of Tealing a further two Souterrains can be found – Ardestie & Carlungie while another, Culsh Earth House can be found near Tarland in Aberdeenshire.

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