2025 Knowe of Swandro Excavation
Excavations at the settlement of Swandro in 2025 concentrated on the excavation of the large central roundhouse. The Western portion of the roundhouse had suffered from erosion, with much of the lower circuit and enclosed internal features being removed by the sea.
Below: View across the 2025 excavation with the tide rising in the background
The truncated remains of the surviving external wall were investigated in order to determine phasing, as previous excavation had suggested earlier archaeological deposits running under the outer wall face of the roundhouse. The structural remains indicated that the outer face of the roundhouse wall was butted onto an earlier wall element. Excavation confirmed that the outer wall on the Southwest quadrant of the roundhouse was a secondary build, enhancing the thickness of the roundhouse wall and allowing for a longer entrance passage. Midden containing cultural material, consisting of animal bone and artefacts, was identified and excavated beneath this later wall. The midden butted an earlier outer wall of the roundhouse.
Below: Granite polishing stone from the 2025 excavation
Excavation of the surviving truncated deposits, judged to be the primary floor of the roundhouse, was undertaken in 2025. A primary floor consisting of small stone slabs set into a basal make-up layer formed the earliest occupation layer within the south-west quadrant of the roundhouse. This material overlay what appeared to be make-up material consisting of midden and rubble which in turn sealed a series of concentric wall alignments, which were packed by rubble. These elements appeared to be associated with eroded wall faces discovered under the high tide zone in 2015. At the time, due to their nature these wall faces were thought to possibly be elements of a Neolithic chambered tomb. This new, sealed exposure of walling contained no cultural material and the nature of construction supports the probability that this represents an earlier chambered tomb, underlying the Iron Age roundhouse.
The east room of the roundhouse, termed Structure 5, represents the best-surviving quadrant of the building as it is situated furthest inland. In previous seasons, a series of floors were investigated in this area together with stone settings representing internal divisions within the building. In 2025, excavation concentrated on the primary deposits pertaining to the roundhouse; this included a hearth base constructed against the inner wall face of the roundhouse and associated floor deposits. Within these floor deposits, a nearly complete pot of a carinated form with an incised chevron design around the upper part was found near to the Southeast inner wall face. This vessel has parallels to late Bronze Age and early Iron Age forms.
Below: nearly complete pot as found in excavation, and the same pot after careful cleaning showing the incised chevron design
The floor deposits in Structure 5 overlaid a rubble make-up layer which seems to be the foundation layer for the Iron Age roundhouse. The excavation of this rubble revealed the tops of a series of concentric walls similar to those discovered on the south quadrant of the roundhouse.
In the adjacent North room of the roundhouse, excavation in 2025 concentrated on removing the later steps leading down into the room and excavating the remaining floor surfaces. These surfaces appeared to overlay the rubble make-up layer seen elsewhere in the roundhouse, which is interpreted as part of the original construction.
The North room was accessed by an internal passage leading from the roundhouse entrance. The Western boundary of this passage was formed by a number of orthostats which sat on stone plates and appeared to be part of the original interior arrangement of the roundhouse and entrance.
The passageway between the inner standing walls forming the entrance into the roundhouse was investigated further in 2025. The removal of paving forming the floor of the passage revealed a Souterrain-like structure with a lintelled roof, running southwards under the passage and entrance and beyond the outer wall of the roundhouse. Excavation revealed that the sides of this feature were formed by two sets of large orthostats creating the lining inside the passage walls, with stone walling resting on these uprights.
The Western passage wall of the roundhouse appears to have been a rebuild contemporary with this feature. The eastern passage wall however appears to be earlier and may be part of the entrance to the much older structure, pre-dating the construction of the roundhouse and possibly relating to a Neolithic chambered tomb, although no diagnostic cultural material was recovered. In contrast, the souterrain-like feature appears to be contemporary with the original construction of the Swandro roundhouse.
Below: Entrance passageway to roundhouse showing earlier walls on the right and upright slabs of souterrain below inserted into underlying structure.
The Northwestern room, which had contained an iron smelting furnace excavated in 2023 and 2024, was investigated further in 2025. The deposits below the furnace overlay a floor surface comprising flagstones and a set upright stone which appears to have been used as an anvil. The archaeometallugist Dr Gerry McDonnell was able to identify evidence of iron smithing at this phase. This evidence suggested that smithing including fire welding, was taking place here, based upon the slag and hammer scale residue found within the floor deposits. To the south of the anvil, a stone-lined tank without clay luting might have acted as a source of carbon for quenching the manufactured objects. A large hearth survived to the south of this feature.
The Western walls of the roundhouse had been removed by the sea and much of the archaeology in this area has been affected by coastal erosion. Part of a collapsed wall which had fallen northwards sealed layers of midden. These were excavated and sampled in 2025.
Excavation of the deepest stratigraphic layers was compromised by the water table and tidal coverage, making further excavation of the earliest deposits impractical.