Time Team
Fascinating Folks of Forvie - Notes from Guided Walk
Forvie became suitable for human habitation following the last ice age, when deposits were laid down at the mouth of the Ythan from glaciers, estuarine sediments and windblown sand. Prior to these deposits, there was a larger bay in this area.
Forvie is one of the most extensive prehistoric sites in E Scotland.
- A Neolithic village was sited close to the estuary mouth, as very early hunter gatherers moved northwards following the coast and rivers which allowed access inland. Flint heads and fire sites have been found by archaeologists.
- The kerb-cairns were dated late bronze to early iron age, 3000 years ago, by Dr William Kirk of Aberdeen University in the 1950's.1 Ian Ralston, Edinburgh University, suggests they are older, late Neolithic to early Bronze age, about 4000yrs old.2 Charred earth and bone, as well as pottery fragments were found in the cairns which indicate they were cremation sites. Lining up the head stone with the 'feet' stones, you get an almost direct view across to Bennachie.
- The hut circle was also excavated by William Kirk, 19 domestic circles were found altogether and there was some evidence the structures incorporated stone, timber and clay building materials. There are also middens, now covered again, all over the area.
- The diet of these people was still largely hunter-gatherer type, so they ate a lot of shellfish and fish from the river, birds, sea mammals and land mammals, for example a large deer or elk could have fed a family of 5 for over 30 days!
Into the Iron age and there is much less evidence of Pictish settlement, possibly due to the poorer soil. 'Pit' names nearby illustrate the areas of better soil, like Pitmedden, Pitscaff, Pitmillan etc. The improved soil conditions to the south and west are in part due to deposition of old red sandstone and volcanic sediments carried North East from Strathmore by the last phase of the last ice sheet. At Forvie, the ice sheet was stopped by ice from the Highlands and the Scandinavian ice sheet moving South West.
The use of the Ythan by man through the ages
- Bronze age/ Iron Age: Possible route to reach Deveron and avoid the NE corner of Scotland, also to settlements between Bennachie and Turriff. Fishing and collecting shellfish predominated.
- We know the Vikings plundered Ellon, so perhaps a long boat made it up the Ythan? Otherwise Viking evidence in the area is scant, save the lasting name of St Olaf Kirk in Cruden following the battle there in 1012 between Malcolm II and the Danes.
- Newburgh: In 1261, Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan used monies from the rent of Forvie to found a hospital and chapel on the South Bank. The duties were performed by the Cistercian monks of the Abbey of Deer and they lived in Monksholme. It is probable that the monks constructed fish traps to catch salmon and sea trout and to take mussels as well.
Newburgh continued to grow as it became the outport for Ellon and the improvement in agricultural techniques led to a surplus of grain. This could be readily exported from Newburgh, as even as late as 1750, the main road north from Aberdeen followed the beach.
Newburgh never became a huge port however, partly due to the difficult navigation and shifting sub water sand banks, although pilots were usually provided from Newburgh or Collieston. In 1570 a ban on trade was enforced by Aberdeen Harbour because Newburgh offered lower trading costs. Ships were impounded and sails removed to prevent trading.
The difficulties of navigation prevented Newburgh from becoming a fishing village, but the mussels made the village important to the fish communities far and wide. Mussels were collected to provide Footdee and Torry with bait. Overfishing was beginning to become a problem, and around 1850, the fishermen of Collieston were prevented from fishing for haddock more than twice a day, because the mussel population was becoming depleted, rather than the haddock!
The early 18th C saw continued improvements to agriculture and lime was imported to the Ythan to counteract acidic soils. This gave the Newburgh area further competitive edge with improved yields of cereals.
As coal replaced peat as the main source of fuel, the Ythan again became an important point for importing.
By the end of the 19th C, roads and railways had reached Ellon, steam ships were larger and needed bigger ports and so the port at Newburgh fell into disuse. Mitchell and Rae continued to import coal and fertiliser until around 1960.
- Smugglers used the dunes as hiding places in preference to the caves that everyone knew about. They smuggled gin, tea, claret and silk and hid them in pits dug into the sand reinforced with boards and covered in sail cloth.
Forvie village
- the Kirk was founded in the 7th C and was dedicated to St Adamnan who later became the 9th Abbot of Iona. Some say the 9 day storm starting on August 18th, 1413 devastated the village, this date coincides with eruptions of Hecla in Iceland and Vesuvius. Rattray harbour became Loch of Strathbeg at the same time. Rabbits excavate bones from time to time and the octagonal granite font can be seen in the Stevenson Visitor centre at Little Collieston. The village was certainly 'overblown' by 1654 according to parish records.
The story of the curse of Forvie tells of the death of the laird around 1391, leaving his 3 daughters dispossessed of their inheritance. These maidens were driven from their home and either cast adrift or taken to France, where they uttered the following curse:
If ever maydenis malysone
Dyd licht upon dry land,
Lat nocht bee fund in Furvye's glebys
bot thystl, bente and sande.
- World War II - Army used the area as an artillery range, there are shell holes in the ground, and mortar bombs have been removed, but there still are a few unexploded ones out there, which the shifting sands made impossible to locate. Anti-tank defences and a 'pill box' are still on the beach, although have become rather submerged into the dunes in places.
- The reserve was used as a sporting estate for many years, but there are few, if any grouse left. Forvie became an NNR in 1959, the Ythan Estuary was added in 1979 and there are now also European and Worldwide designations: SPA, SCI (formerly cSAC), Ramsar site.
- 2003 - SNH bought 2/3 of the reserve from Sir Richard Sutton's settled estate (Slains Estate). Main land uses now are for wildlife conservation, recreation and educational purposes. Only parts not in SNH's ownership are the intertidal areas (Crown Estate) and a small parcel of privately owned land. 3 staff members work all year round, there is a seasonal Tern Warden and several volunteers.
Further reading
- 2Gorman, Martyn L. (ed.) The Ythan: a Festschrift for George Dunnet. Aberdeen University, March 1992. Hawke-Smith, C.F (1980) Two Mesolithic Sites near Newburgh, Aberdeenshire. Proc Soc Antiq Scot 1978-1980 110: 497-534
- 1Kirk, W. (1953) Prehistoric sites at the Sands of Forvie, Aberdeenshire. Aberdeen Univ Review. 35: 150-171.
- Kirk, W. (1958) The Lower Ythan in Prehistoric Times. In J.A.Godsman (ed.) History of the Burgh and Parish of Ellon, Aberdeenshire. 26-35. Lindsay, Aberdeen.
- Walton, Kenneth (date unknown, c.1965) The Ythan Estuary, Aberdeenshire. Geography as Human Ecology. pp30-54 Edward Arnold (Publishers) Ltd.