Stronafian Community Forest

The first two days of the 2025 Creag Liath excavation have seen a fantastic volunteer effort to support the team from @ArchScot, who are spending the week extending last year's trenches and surveying other historic sites in the community forest.

The forest saw several trees blown down during the recent storm, so we've taken the decision to close off the Clachan layby entrance to the forest. The entrance above the gun-club remains open, from which you will be able to access the chambered cairn & Auchategan Village site.

After a day's rest, investigations continued this morning with 11 volunteers helping the @ArchScot team to delve deeper into the main "cells" of our historic Creag Liath settlement. Each layer requires accurate recording, digital scans & taking soil samples for analysis.

Fine weather over past 2 days has allowed good progress at the Creag Liath excavation thanks to our cheerful band of volunteers. Yesterday saw the site cleared back to its 2023 state & today sees an expansion of the middle cell of the "settlement" & further exposing the top cell.

An overcast but dry morning saw the recommencement of archaeological excavations at our Creag Liath historic site, with the team from @ArchScot to oversee the removal of the fabric and soil protection layer that was put in place when the dig closed last year.

The autumn sunshine has inspired the Shroom family to further explore the community forest and they have now moved to a new location along our path network. Use the clues to track them down and say hello.

Delighted to receive confirmation that the @ArchScot team will return to our community forest next month to continue their investigation of the Creag Liath historic site. If you fancy being an archaeologist for the day, please get in touch.

Our new forest family have now been named by the pupils of @KilmodanPrimary. Surname: Shroom First names: Big Bob, Loving Lisa, Dinky Daisy, Tiny Tim, and Squirt the Dragon. The Shrooms have now made their way into the forest and are happily exploring their new home.

The pupils at our local school were introduced to our new forest family last week & given the task of naming them. Once named, the family will set out on adventures through the community forest, so from June onwards keep an eye out for them whilst exploring our network of trails.

The @AdoptaMonument team from @ArchScot will be returning to Glendaruel on Wednesday 13th March to provide an update on their findings following the Creag Liath excavation last autumn. Soup and sandwiches will be available. All welcome.

Pupil's from the local primary school joined us this morning & made an active contribution to the investigation. After a brief introduction, buckets & trowels were handed out & the novice archaeologists set to work on extending the main trench. Lots of mud, worms and enthusiasm.

Good weather yesterday allowed the team to open two new trenches within the Creag Liath site, whilst the day's end saw archaeologist's taking detailed 3D surface scans of the exposed trenches, in order to properly record the layout of stones before we start to dig deeper.

Despite the poor weather, a hardy bunch of volunteers helped to get our Creag Liath excavation underway under the guidance of experts from @ArchScot. Today mostly involved removing tough layers of vegetation & bracken roots in order to see the underlying rock layout.

The team from @ArchScot arrived this afternoon to prepare for a two week excavation of our Creag Liath (Grey Stones) historic site, which will run until the 6th October. We'll provide regular updates as the dig progresses, but there are still volunteer opportunities.

Further details of the open day being held during the Creag Liath excavation in our community forest. If you fancy getting involved, please get in touch. archaeologyscotland.org.uk/event/creag-li…

We are excited to confirm that the @AdoptaMonument team from @ArchScot will be returning to undertake a full excavation of our Creag Liath site from Monday 25th September to Friday 6th October 2023. More details and volunteering opportunities at: stronafianforest.org.uk/creagliath/

The trustees of our community forest are delighted to announce a new membership & funding scheme that will allow forest friends & visitors to contribute towards the ongoing maintenance & development of our wonderful community resource. Scan the QR code below for more details:

Following a visit from Archaeology Scotland last October to conduct test excavations on an historic site within our forest, we've now received confirmation that the team will return this October to conduct a more detailed 7-10 day investigation. More at: stronafianforest.org.uk/archaeology-up…

Our forest ranger (Charlie) has been out with the strimmer this month to clear the path network ahead of the summer season. Let's hope the blue skies return once the schools break up.

Fabulous start to our visit to @StronafianF on Argyll's Cowal peninsula yesterday with some lovely volunteers to explore a previously unrecorded historic site. Work continues today on our two trenches! #archaeology