Culsh Earth House, Tarland, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
A journey through Scotland's ancient sites
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CULSH
EARTH HOUSE
TARLAND
ABERDEENSHIRE
SCOTLAND
NORTH EAST OF TARLAND, ON THE B9119 ROAD IS CULSH EARTH HOUSE. THIS 2000 YEAR OLD IRON AGE SITE CAN BE SAFELY ACCESSED AND IS IN THE CARE OF HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT SCOTLAND. A REPORT IN 1874 STATES THERE WERE TWO EARTH HOUSES AT CULSH.
SIMILAR STRUCTURES CAN BE FOUND IN OTHER CELTIC COUNTRIES. WIDESPREAD IN BRITTANY, FRANCE, ARE ’SOUTERRAINS’. A FRENCH WORD MEANING BELOW GROUND. IN CORNWALL, ENGLAND, SIMILAR CHAMBERS ARE CALLED ‘FOGO’S’. A CORNISH WORD FOR CAVE. IRELAND ALSO HAS A HIGH NUMBER OF THESE ENIGMATIC PASSAGES.
THE MAINSTREAM VIEW OF EARTH HOUSES WERE FOR FARMING COMMUNITIES DOMESTIC USE. THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN USED AS CELLARS FOR STORING GOODS, GRAIN AND FOOD IN DRY, COOL CONDITIONS. STORAGE CAPACITY WAS BIG, SO THEY MAY HAVE BEEN USED BY A SMALL COMMUNITY.
EARTH HOUSES ARE CONSTRUCTED ENTIRELY OR MOSTLY UNDERGROUND. THEY ARE ATTACHED OR NEXT TO THE HOUSE ABOVE GROUND. THE PASSAGE MAY HAVE HAD RITUAL USAGE FOR THE LOCAL PEOPLE.
CULSH WAS REDISCOVERED IN 1853, ALL THE EARTH INFILL WAS EXTRACTED. THE STRUCTURE WAS A LARGE FEAT OF ENGINEERING, SKILL AND LABOUR FOR OUR ANCESTORS. THE SITE IS A LONG CURVING, CRESCENT SHAPED TUNNEL THAT HAS BEEN CUT INTO THE SIDE OF A HILL.
IT IS 14.5M LONG, IS STONE WALLED AND HAS A STONE SLABBED ROOF. THE SOUTH ENTRANCE IS 0.75M WIDE, EXPANDING TO 1.8M WIDE AT THE BACK NORTH EAST WALL AND 1.8M HIGH. TWO CUP MARKS CAN BE FOUND ON THE NORTH WALL. ONE IS AT THE LEFT HAND SIDE, JUST INSIDE THE CHAMBER.
EARTH HOUSES HAVE DIFFERENT DESIGNS IN DIFFERENT AREAS OF SCOTLAND. TAYSIDE HAS LARGE EARTH HOUSES WITH THE ROOF AT GROUND LEVEL. THE NORTHERN ISLANDS HAVE SMALL CHAMBERS WHICH GO UNDERGROUND. THE ABERDEENSHIRE STRUCTURES FALL IN BETWEEN THESE TWO EXTREMES.
THE NORTHERN SCOTTISH CHAMBERS SEEM TO BE THE EARLIEST, CIRCA 2400BC. THE SOUTH AND EAST OF SCOTLAND CHAMBERS WERE ERECTED AROUND THE 1ST & 2ND CENTURY AD.
THE LATER DATES MIRROR THE TIME WHEN THE ROMANS APPEARED IN SCOTLAND. EXCAVATIONS SHOW THE CHAMBERS WERE DELIBERATELY FILLED IN OR DESTROYED AT THE START OF THE 2ND CENTURY AD, SAME TIME THE ROMANS LEFT SCOTLAND.
EARLY EXCAVATIONS FOUND TWO CUP MARKED STONES BUILT INTO THE WALL, A BROKEN URN, OX BONES, A COLLECTION OF SMOOTH PEBBLES AND A LARGE BEAD.
MY ALTERNATIVE THEORY IS THESE PASSAGES MAY BE WOMB TOMB’S INTO MOTHER EARTH. THE SHAMAN AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS WOULD ENTER THE CHAMBER FOR PURPOSES SUCH AS HEALING, MEDITATION, INITIATION, COMMUNICATING WITH MOTHER EARTH OR THE ANCESTORS. CEREMONIES CELEBRATING THE HARVEST AND PLANTING OF CROPS MAY HAVE TAKEN PLACE.
AT THE BACK OF THE PASSAGE IS WHAT LOOKS LIKE FOUR FIGURES INCORPORATED INTO THE STONE WORK. FOUR TORSOS AND HEADS CAN BE MADE OUT. COULD THESE REPRESENT THE SPIRIT GUARDIANS OF THE SITE? THE CUP MARKED STONES MAY HAVE ORIGINATED FROM A STANDING STONE, ROCK ART PANEL OR A STONE CIRCLE.
PERHAPS OUR ANCESTORS INTENTIONALLY FILLED IN THE CHAMBERS, WHEN THEY KNEW THIS ERA WAS COMING TO AN END. THE ROMANS COMING TO SCOTLAND MAY HAVE HAD AN INFLUENCE ON THIS.
A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR ANCIENT ANCESTORS.