Clark, P 1997 ‘Discussion’.pdf

Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland

Overview of the development of urban archaeology in Scotland from the early 1970s to 2004.

1996

Excavation to the immediate west of the castle revealed considerable evidence of occupation (probably not continuous) dating from c. 1200 to at least the mid-sixteenth century. Most of the structures uncovered were associated with the medieval burgh not the castle. The first timber buildings gave way to a fourteenth-century tannery, probably when the castle was in ruins and unoccupied. The tannery gave way to two phases of residential buildings, either of masonry or set in stone foundations. The latest of these structures were set against a new boundary wall, all probably dating to the mid-sixteenth century when the adjacent road, the Scores, was realigned. From an earlier period, Beaker sherds indicate prehistoric settlement, although no associated features could be identified. There are specialist reports on: `Coins' by Nicholas M McQ Holmes (635); `Small finds' by D Caldwell (635--45); `The inscribed stone' by John Higgitt (646--7); `Prehistoric pottery' by Helen ...

2000

This paper serves as an introduction to the special edition of the International Journal of Historical Archaeology on the theme of Scottish historical archaeology in its international context. The introduction aims to provide a context for the individual papers in the collection by briefly outlining some of the main characteristics of Scottish historical archaeology-as it has developed in the past, as it is at present and as it might develop in the future. The paper also discusses the ambiguous relationship between Scottish historical archaeology and wider historical archaeology.

Conservation and Change in Historic Towns: Research Directions for the Future, 1999

Glasgow Archaeological Journal, 1986

This is an attractively presented compendium of closelylinked archaeological, sedimentological, geological, botanical and zoological studies by Paul Mellars and thirteen other experts, examining the landscape background of the earliest hunter-gatherers on the island. Oronsay has been an important Scottish archaeological site since the first discoveries and excavations there by Symington Grieve in the 1880s. Since that time, five main shell midden sites have been identified: Caisteal nan Gillean I and II, Cnoc Sligeach, Priory Midden and Cnoc Coig. After the initial work of Grieve, the next major exploration was that of Mungo Buchanan and A Henderson Bishop, culminating in Bishop's excavations on Cnoc Sligeach in 1913. The history and relevance of these earlier campaigns are recorded here in some detail, making good use of existing publications, but expanding existing knowledge and contributing some fascinating insights into earlier antiquarian ideas and methods by the use of hitherto unpublished manuscripts, plans, correspondence and photographs from the archives of the Hunterian Museum of the University of Glasgow. Various contributions include studies of the geographical setting and environment of Oronsay, the Mesolithic coastal setting, the past and present vegetation of Oronsay and Colonsay, sedimentological analyses and land snail assemblages from the shell-midden sites, and an examination of storm frequencies along the Mesolithic coastline. The main part of the publication is a report on the major excavations at Cnoc Coig, Caisteal nan Gillean II and Priory Midden, and the smaller excavations at Caisteal nan Gillean I and Cnoc Sligeach, between 1970 and 1979, outlining research goals, recording and sampling procedures. There is detailed description of the stratigraphy and chronology of the midden deposits, and the evidence for various structural features associated with the Mesolithic occupations. Twenty-one radiocarbon dates on charcoal and mammal bone from the five shell-midden sites range from 4240+80 to 3200±380 BC and four dates on marine shells fall within the same range, the millennium of'Mesolithic/ Neolithic transition' in northern Britain. Mammalian remains include red deer, pig, grey and common seal, cetacean (possible porpoise/dolphin and whale), otter, pine marten and weasel, used as food, clothing and in the manufacture of tools, tents, boats and containers. Despite this range of species the minimum numbers represented suggest that their exploitation played a minor role in the overall subsistence strategy on the island. In particular, two different types of red deer remains, of a very small and a larger size of animal which probably inhabited different ecological regions, and the fact that they could not have been hunted on Oronsay itself, suggest that some of the animal resources were brought from a distance-Colonsay, Jura or even the Scottish mainland. Among the more intriguing discoveries are the fragments of human skeletal remains, 55 in total (49 from Cnoc Coig, 5 from Caisteal nan Gillean II and 1 from Priory Midden) and all apparently associated with the Mesolithic occupation of the sites. This is the largest single collection of loose human bones recovered from any European Mesolithic site, apart from the teeth from Hoedic. Most interesting is the emphasis on hand and foot bones, 61% of the remains from Cnoc Coig and 83% of the remains from Priory Midden and Caisteal nan Gillean If together. The contributors of this study (C Meiklejohn & B Denston) offer the suggestion '.. .

Scotland in Early Medieval Europe, 2019

This paper offers a brief commentary on the present state of play with early church archaeology in Scotland, some of the issues, and the rationale for a future approach that on the one hand puts Scottish church archaeology on the European stage while at the same time responding to and celebrating its diversity and local idiosyncrasies.

1993

The portions of the Balfarg/Balbirnie ceremonial complex excavated between 1983 and 1985 are described and related to the portions dug previously: Balbirnie stone circle (76/3594) and Balfarg henge (83/10516).The prehistoric ceremonial use of the area seems to have lasted from early in the third millennium until late in the second millennium BC (in terms of uncalibrated radiocarbon dates). The sequence began with pit-digging and pottery deposition in two parts of the site, near Balfarg Riding School (BRS) and to the west of Balfarg henge. Then, two timber structures, possibly with a mortuary function, were erected at BRS, probably in the early/mid third millennium BC (uncalibrated). The later of the two was mounded over and surrounded by a circular ditched enclosure (a henge?); this activity was associated with the deposition of Grooved Ware. At about the same time, at the west end of the site, a similar deposition of burnt and broken Grooved Ware predates the construction of the Ba...

Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland

The portions of the Balfarg/Balbirnie ceremonial complex excavated between 1983 and 1985 are described and related to the portions dug previously: Balbirnie stone circle (76/3594) and Balfarg henge (83/10516).The prehistoric ceremonial use of the area seems to have lasted from early in the third millennium until late in the second millennium BC (in terms of uncalibrated radiocarbon dates). The sequence began with pit-digging and pottery deposition in two parts of the site, near Balfarg Riding School (BRS) and to the west of Balfarg henge. Then, two timber structures, possibly with a mortuary function, were erected at BRS, probably in the early/mid third millennium BC (uncalibrated). The later of the two was mounded over and surrounded by a circular ditched enclosure (a henge?); this activity was associated with the deposition of Grooved Ware. At about the same time, at the west end of the site, a similar deposition of burnt and broken Grooved Ware predates the construction of the Ba...