Previous interpretations of the courtyarded quadrangular structure surviving on the summit at Tarbert Castle, Argyll had suggested this was the earliest upstanding building on the site, and a potent symbol of increased crown authority in the region during the early-13th-century reign of Alexander II. This paper will present a consistent suite of archaeological, architectural and documentary evidence which indicates that this building is a multiphase early-14th-century structure that post-dates the surrounding L-shaped enclosure, as well as documentary evidence suggesting that a later 13th- to 14th-century transition from private to direct royal control of the site took place. Canmore ID 39316
阿盖尔之前对塔伯特城堡山顶上幸存下来的四边形庭院建筑的解释认为，这是该遗址上最早的直立建筑，是13世纪亚历山大二世统治时期该地区君主权力增加的有力象征。本文将提供一系列一致的考古、建筑和文献证据，这些证据表明，这座建筑是一个多阶段的14世纪早期结构，比周围的l形围墙晚，同时文献证据表明，13世纪到14世纪后期，该遗址发生了从私人到王室直接控制的转变。Canmore ID 39316
{"title":"Regime change in 13th-century western Scotland","authors":"M. Thacker","doi":"10.9750/psas.151.1348","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.9750/psas.151.1348","url":null,"abstract":"Previous interpretations of the courtyarded quadrangular structure surviving on the summit at Tarbert Castle, Argyll had suggested this was the earliest upstanding building on the site, and a potent symbol of increased crown authority in the region during the early-13th-century reign of Alexander II. This paper will present a consistent suite of archaeological, architectural and documentary evidence which indicates that this building is a multiphase early-14th-century structure that post-dates the surrounding L-shaped enclosure, as well as documentary evidence suggesting that a later 13th- to 14th-century transition from private to direct royal control of the site took place. \u0000Canmore ID 39316","PeriodicalId":161764,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131065550","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
An illuminated pedigree roll, ink on paper, possibly a draft for a more finished version, is analysed as a symbol of how the Cummings of Altyre, Moray, asserted their claim to be patrilineal descendants of the medieval Red Comyns of Badenoch, during the 18th–19th centuries. This article explores the family’s interactions with historians and antiquaries, and the tensions generated between the rational search for documented historical fact against the romantic desire to maintain epic tradition, conveying local bardic tales into the fixity of print. The descent claims are considered through six notions or ‘memes’ that elevated the family’s stature by rooting it in antiquity, but lacked compelling historical evidence. A close reading of documents from the era reveals the family’s role in influencing the creation of historical narratives, its own members emerging across the period as the chief authors of their ‘official story’.
{"title":"The Cummings of Altyre and the search for an ancient genealogy","authors":"J. Cleary","doi":"10.9750/psas.151.1346","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.9750/psas.151.1346","url":null,"abstract":"An illuminated pedigree roll, ink on paper, possibly a draft for a more finished version, is analysed as a symbol of how the Cummings of Altyre, Moray, asserted their claim to be patrilineal descendants of the medieval Red Comyns of Badenoch, during the 18th–19th centuries. This article explores the family’s interactions with historians and antiquaries, and the tensions generated between the rational search for documented historical fact against the romantic desire to maintain epic tradition, conveying local bardic tales into the fixity of print. The descent claims are considered through six notions or ‘memes’ that elevated the family’s stature by rooting it in antiquity, but lacked compelling historical evidence. A close reading of documents from the era reveals the family’s role in influencing the creation of historical narratives, its own members emerging across the period as the chief authors of their ‘official story’.","PeriodicalId":161764,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland","volume":"43 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116327154","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Duns are a problematic class of monuments for Argyll. They encompass an ill-defined and diverse range of structures, with limited evidence for their chronology and functions within late prehistoric and early historic society, settlement and economy. The Isle of Islay has a notably high concentration of duns, especially in its south-east region. We describe a small-scale excavation at one of these, Dun Fhinn, designed to establish the date of its construction and that of a circular internal structure, the latter proposed by the RCAHMS as a later addition. These are shown to have functioned at the same time in the later half of the 1st millennium bc, the roundhouse likely being an integral part of the original construction. Finds were limited to a few utilised stones, fragments of burnt clay and the rim of a wooden bowl, while the charcoal assemblage provides insights into the surrounding landscape and its exploitation for fuel. We consider the significance of Dun Fhinn for development of an Iron Age chronology for Argyll. Canmore ID 38091
对阿盖尔来说，Duns是一类有问题的纪念碑。它们包含了一个不明确的和多样化的结构，在史前晚期和历史早期的社会、定居和经济中，它们的年代和功能的证据有限。伊莱岛的沙丘高度集中，尤其是在东南部地区。我们描述了其中一个的小规模挖掘，Dun Fhinn，旨在确定其建造日期和圆形内部结构，后者由RCAHMS提出，作为后来的补充。这些被证明在公元前1千年下半叶同时起作用，圆屋可能是原始建筑的一个组成部分。发现仅限于一些使用过的石头，烧焦的粘土碎片和木碗的边缘，而木炭组合提供了对周围景观及其燃料开采的见解。我们认为邓芬对发展铁器时代阿盖尔年表的意义。Canmore ID 38091
{"title":"Dun Fhinn, Islay","authors":"Roddy Regan, D. Maričević, C. Barnett, S. Mithen","doi":"10.9750/psas.151.1329","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.9750/psas.151.1329","url":null,"abstract":"Duns are a problematic class of monuments for Argyll. They encompass an ill-defined and diverse range of structures, with limited evidence for their chronology and functions within late prehistoric and early historic society, settlement and economy. The Isle of Islay has a notably high concentration of duns, especially in its south-east region. We describe a small-scale excavation at one of these, Dun Fhinn, designed to establish the date of its construction and that of a circular internal structure, the latter proposed by the RCAHMS as a later addition. These are shown to have functioned at the same time in the later half of the 1st millennium bc, the roundhouse likely being an integral part of the original construction. Finds were limited to a few utilised stones, fragments of burnt clay and the rim of a wooden bowl, while the charcoal assemblage provides insights into the surrounding landscape and its exploitation for fuel. We consider the significance of Dun Fhinn for development of an Iron Age chronology for Argyll. \u0000Canmore ID 38091","PeriodicalId":161764,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland","volume":"15 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134316642","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
North Lanarkshire Council Museums is the latest custodian of some of the founding collections of the Airdrie Burgh Museum, which was established in 1895 and closed in 1974. These reflect the wide-ranging interests of their original collectors, encompassing geology, natural history, ethnography and archaeology. This paper focuses on a collection of Mediterranean antiquities which survives today from the establishment of the museum. It results from a project funded by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland to investigate this collection, and demonstrates that it can be used to examine the museum’s development and changing ethos over the intervening period. Although they were initially keenly sought after and welcomed as valuable gifts, later curators found little use for such objects in streamlined displays focused on local history and culture. Now, curatorial networks and the affordances of digital technology allow such collections of antiquities to be researched and shared with both local and wider audiences, while they can also contribute to local, national and global histories of archaeology, collection and display.
{"title":"Antiquities in Airdrie Burgh 1895–2021","authors":"A. Reeve","doi":"10.9750/psas.151.1345","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.9750/psas.151.1345","url":null,"abstract":"North Lanarkshire Council Museums is the latest custodian of some of the founding collections of the Airdrie Burgh Museum, which was established in 1895 and closed in 1974. These reflect the wide-ranging interests of their original collectors, encompassing geology, natural history, ethnography and archaeology. This paper focuses on a collection of Mediterranean antiquities which survives today from the establishment of the museum. It results from a project funded by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland to investigate this collection, and demonstrates that it can be used to examine the museum’s development and changing ethos over the intervening period. Although they were initially keenly sought after and welcomed as valuable gifts, later curators found little use for such objects in streamlined displays focused on local history and culture. Now, curatorial networks and the affordances of digital technology allow such collections of antiquities to be researched and shared with both local and wider audiences, while they can also contribute to local, national and global histories of archaeology, collection and display.","PeriodicalId":161764,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland","volume":"43 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116603402","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tanja Romankiewicz, B. Russell, G. Bailey, Tom Gardner, J. Snyder, C. Beckett
Excavation of a well-preserved stretch of the rampart of the Antonine Wall east of Watling Lodge, at Laurieston, allowed for the first micromorphological study of its earthen building materials. This revealed that the rampart core, as well as the cheeks, were constructed in well layered courses of turf blocks – but sourced from different grasslands. The evidence differs from macroscopic observations made at other sections in this area where the rampart material had been interpreted as representing a loose earth core with clay cheeks. Our results show that even when the characteristic striped sections indicative of turf are not visible in the field, thin-section analysis can confirm the use of intact soil blocks with the remains of grassed surfaces. It now seems possible that the visible variation between materials in the eastern and western sectors of the Antonine Wall may simply be due to different types of turf used, varying in subsoil composition and topsoil formation, and representing differences in landscape management and survival of vegetation. Combined with macroscopic field recording to identify Roman building practices, our analysis of this section at Laurieston also shows the care that was taken to construct a level, well-draining base for the rampart to avoid slumping and moisture build-up. Further excavations and thin-section analysis elsewhere along the Wall are now needed to confirm whether turf was more extensively used than so far anticipated for the eastern sector and whether the Antonine Wall could possibly have been built completely of turf. Such conclusions would suggest a much more standardised construction process and more extensive grassland exploitation than considered up until now. While our results demonstrate the importance of micromorphological analysis for understanding this earthen UNESCO World Heritage site, our interdisciplinary approach may also have wider relevance for research on linear earthworks in different geographical and chronological settings.
{"title":"‘Another wall of turf’","authors":"Tanja Romankiewicz, B. Russell, G. Bailey, Tom Gardner, J. Snyder, C. Beckett","doi":"10.9750/psas.151.1353","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.9750/psas.151.1353","url":null,"abstract":"Excavation of a well-preserved stretch of the rampart of the Antonine Wall east of Watling Lodge, at Laurieston, allowed for the first micromorphological study of its earthen building materials. This revealed that the rampart core, as well as the cheeks, were constructed in well layered courses of turf blocks – but sourced from different grasslands. The evidence differs from macroscopic observations made at other sections in this area where the rampart material had been interpreted as representing a loose earth core with clay cheeks. Our results show that even when the characteristic striped sections indicative of turf are not visible in the field, thin-section analysis can confirm the use of intact soil blocks with the remains of grassed surfaces. It now seems possible that the visible variation between materials in the eastern and western sectors of the Antonine Wall may simply be due to different types of turf used, varying in subsoil composition and topsoil formation, and representing differences in landscape management and survival of vegetation. Combined with macroscopic field recording to identify Roman building practices, our analysis of this section at Laurieston also shows the care that was taken to construct a level, well-draining base for the rampart to avoid slumping and moisture build-up. Further excavations and thin-section analysis elsewhere along the Wall are now needed to confirm whether turf was more extensively used than so far anticipated for the eastern sector and whether the Antonine Wall could possibly have been built completely of turf. Such conclusions would suggest a much more standardised construction process and more extensive grassland exploitation than considered up until now. While our results demonstrate the importance of micromorphological analysis for understanding this earthen UNESCO World Heritage site, our interdisciplinary approach may also have wider relevance for research on linear earthworks in different geographical and chronological settings.","PeriodicalId":161764,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland","volume":"3 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128826241","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article aims to contextualise a group of Scottish plaster ceilings dating from c 1617–1625 which all include roundels with busts of four of the Nine Worthies, to be found in houses identified by William Napier as comprising the Kellie Group. They will be viewed from two different perspectives. First, the Worthies will be considered as a subject popular in the literature and decorative arts of the period. Engravings of the Nine Worthies in a variety of formats enabled this medieval topos to retain its popularity throughout Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. They featured widely in ornament and interior decoration of this period, not least in plasterwork. By setting these Scottish ceilings within this broader context, this paper will attempt to understand the reasons for their selection. Secondly, in the light of current research into London’s plasterwork and its production in the early 17th century, the provenance of these busts will be reassessed. In 1900 Lord Balcarres’s observation of the similarity between a plaster ceiling in his house and one from the ‘Old Palace’, Bromley-by-Bow, first appeared in print. The similarities included the repetition of roundels containing three of the Nine Worthies. The London building and/or its plasterwork had already been erroneously attributed to James VI/I for many decades and this article will present the historical evidence to dispel the myths which have continued to surface into the 21st century. In addition, the documentary and visual evidence that was adduced prior to the re-creation of two Jacobean ceilings in the State Apartment of Edinburgh Castle will be examined within these contexts.
{"title":"Four Worthies on plaster ceilings in Scotland (1617–25)","authors":"Claire Gapper","doi":"10.9750/psas.151.1337","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.9750/psas.151.1337","url":null,"abstract":"This article aims to contextualise a group of Scottish plaster ceilings dating from c 1617–1625 which all include roundels with busts of four of the Nine Worthies, to be found in houses identified by William Napier as comprising the Kellie Group. They will be viewed from two different perspectives. First, the Worthies will be considered as a subject popular in the literature and decorative arts of the period. Engravings of the Nine Worthies in a variety of formats enabled this medieval topos to retain its popularity throughout Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. They featured widely in ornament and interior decoration of this period, not least in plasterwork. By setting these Scottish ceilings within this broader context, this paper will attempt to understand the reasons for their selection. Secondly, in the light of current research into London’s plasterwork and its production in the early 17th century, the provenance of these busts will be reassessed. In 1900 Lord Balcarres’s observation of the similarity between a plaster ceiling in his house and one from the ‘Old Palace’, Bromley-by-Bow, first appeared in print. The similarities included the repetition of roundels containing three of the Nine Worthies. The London building and/or its plasterwork had already been erroneously attributed to James VI/I for many decades and this article will present the historical evidence to dispel the myths which have continued to surface into the 21st century. In addition, the documentary and visual evidence that was adduced prior to the re-creation of two Jacobean ceilings in the State Apartment of Edinburgh Castle will be examined within these contexts.","PeriodicalId":161764,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland","volume":"20 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121897485","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Professor John Coles, who died on 14 October 2020 aged 90, had a long and distinguished career as a prehistorian, experimental archaeologist and wetland archaeologist, and he made substantial contributions to Scottish archaeology, as well as to European and world archaeology more generally.
{"title":"Professor John Morton Coles","authors":"A. Sheridan","doi":"10.9750/psas.150.1330","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.9750/psas.150.1330","url":null,"abstract":"Professor John Coles, who died on 14 October 2020 aged 90, had a long and distinguished career as a prehistorian, experimental archaeologist and wetland archaeologist, and he made substantial contributions to Scottish archaeology, as well as to European and world archaeology more generally.","PeriodicalId":161764,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland","volume":"107 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115750485","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Although the Neolithic period is defined by farming, physical evidence for processes associated with farming are rare, with agricultural practices usually indicated by environmental and biomolecular proxies for domesticates such as pollen evidence, ceramic residues and lipids, animal bones, plant remains and stable isotope studies. This paper will, we hope, invigorate discussion on the recognition, interpretation and significance of physical traces of farming in Scotland. The starting point will be the summary of two excavations, Wellhill and Cranberry, both Perth and Kinross, in 2014 and 2016 respectively, part of the Strathearn Environs and Royal Forteviot (SERF) project. These cropmark sites revealed evidence for possible Neolithic farming in the form of possible ard marks and field ditches. There follows a synthesis of physical evidence for Neolithic farming in Scotland, drawing together evidence for ard marks, field boundaries, cultivation ridges, cultivated middens, and soils. Recommendations are made for recognising and interpreting such features on excavations, and the potential benefits of giving a higher profile to the act of farming in our narratives about Neolithic lifeways in Scotland and beyond are briefly explored.
{"title":"Possible Neolithic ard marks and field boundaries at Wellhill and Cranberry, Perth and Kinross, and an evaluation of current physical evidence for Neolithic farming in Scotland","authors":"K. Brophy, Dene Wright","doi":"10.9750/psas.150.1295","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.9750/psas.150.1295","url":null,"abstract":"Although the Neolithic period is defined by farming, physical evidence for processes associated with farming are rare, with agricultural practices usually indicated by environmental and biomolecular proxies for domesticates such as pollen evidence, ceramic residues and lipids, animal bones, plant remains and stable isotope studies. This paper will, we hope, invigorate discussion on the recognition, interpretation and significance of physical traces of farming in Scotland. The starting point will be the summary of two excavations, Wellhill and Cranberry, both Perth and Kinross, in 2014 and 2016 respectively, part of the Strathearn Environs and Royal Forteviot (SERF) project. These cropmark sites revealed evidence for possible Neolithic farming in the form of possible ard marks and field ditches. There follows a synthesis of physical evidence for Neolithic farming in Scotland, drawing together evidence for ard marks, field boundaries, cultivation ridges, cultivated middens, and soils. Recommendations are made for recognising and interpreting such features on excavations, and the potential benefits of giving a higher profile to the act of farming in our narratives about Neolithic lifeways in Scotland and beyond are briefly explored.","PeriodicalId":161764,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland","volume":"46 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133657061","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper tells the story of the ephemeral and relatively fleeting use of Holyrood Park, Edinburgh between 1914 and 1919. The domestic life and training regime of the units who camped in the Park, in particular the 10th (Liverpool Scottish) King’s Regiment (Liverpool), is described using contemporary documents and photographs. The practice trenches and anti-invasion defences in the south-east corner of the Park are described, along with the large First World War infantry training camp, rediscovered during the research, in the grounds of Duddingston House. The paper also considers the interaction between the soldiery and the city, within the constraints imposed by paucity of evidence – with individuals and with the city’s civic life and its role in the war. Light is cast on socially conservative and morally judgemental views of the interaction between soldiers and young women – the ‘khaki fever’ of the early months of the war.
{"title":"The military uses of Holyrood Park, Edinburgh in the First World War","authors":"G. Barclay","doi":"10.9750/psas.150.1319","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.9750/psas.150.1319","url":null,"abstract":"This paper tells the story of the ephemeral and relatively fleeting use of Holyrood Park, Edinburgh between 1914 and 1919. The domestic life and training regime of the units who camped in the Park, in particular the 10th (Liverpool Scottish) King’s Regiment (Liverpool), is described using contemporary documents and photographs. The practice trenches and anti-invasion defences in the south-east corner of the Park are described, along with the large First World War infantry training camp, rediscovered during the research, in the grounds of Duddingston House. The paper also considers the interaction between the soldiery and the city, within the constraints imposed by paucity of evidence – with individuals and with the city’s civic life and its role in the war. Light is cast on socially conservative and morally judgemental views of the interaction between soldiers and young women – the ‘khaki fever’ of the early months of the war.","PeriodicalId":161764,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland","volume":"35 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133726514","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cetacean remains have been recovered from archaeological sites all over Europe, but are especially abundant in Scotland. These remains originate from all periods and have often been worked into artefacts or tools, including chopping blocks, plaques, combs, pegs, snecks and perforated vertebral epiphyseal discs. It still remains unclear which species were exploited and to what extent active whaling was undertaken in the region. To address these questions Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) was undertaken on 35 cetacean specimens from five sites in Scotland (Jarlshof, Brough of Birsay, Quoygrew, Deerness and Freswick Links), dating from the Iron Age to the post-medieval period. Furthermore, morphological analysis was performed on the material in order to optimise the ZooMS identifications. A large variety of species were identified, including high numbers of Balaenidae sp and Globicephalinae sp. Comparison with other ZooMS studies in north-western Europe revealed equally high specimen numbers for these species, but also fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), sperm whale (Phy-seter macrocephalus) and humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae). Moreover, one grey whale (Eschrichtius robustus) was identified in the Scottish specimens, adding to an increasing number of specimens indicating that the grey whale was once abundant in European waters. Furthermore, only one specimen of the common minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) was identified, despite modern stranding data which suggests this is the most common large whale species in Scottish waters. The large variety of species identified suggests that opportunistic scavenging was likely the primary method of acquiring cetaceans, though historical and ethnographic sources suggest that two distinct forms of active whaling may have occasionally been undertaken. The high number of Globicephalinae specimens from Jarlshof raise the possibility that drive-hunting might have already been undertaken at the site during the Iron Age. View supplementary materials here: Table 1 | Table 2 | Table 3 |
{"title":"Whaling in Iron Age to post-medieval Scotland","authors":"Y. van den Hurk, K. McGrath","doi":"10.9750/psas.150.1324","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.9750/psas.150.1324","url":null,"abstract":"Cetacean remains have been recovered from archaeological sites all over Europe, but are especially abundant in Scotland. These remains originate from all periods and have often been worked into artefacts or tools, including chopping blocks, plaques, combs, pegs, snecks and perforated vertebral epiphyseal discs. It still remains unclear which species were exploited and to what extent active whaling was undertaken in the region. To address these questions Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) was undertaken on 35 cetacean specimens from five sites in Scotland (Jarlshof, Brough of Birsay, Quoygrew, Deerness and Freswick Links), dating from the Iron Age to the post-medieval period. Furthermore, morphological analysis was performed on the material in order to optimise the ZooMS identifications. \u0000A large variety of species were identified, including high numbers of Balaenidae sp and Globicephalinae sp. Comparison with other ZooMS studies in north-western Europe revealed equally high specimen numbers for these species, but also fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), sperm whale (Phy-seter macrocephalus) and humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae). Moreover, one grey whale (Eschrichtius robustus) was identified in the Scottish specimens, adding to an increasing number of specimens indicating that the grey whale was once abundant in European waters. Furthermore, only one specimen of the common minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) was identified, despite modern stranding data which suggests this is the most common large whale species in Scottish waters. \u0000The large variety of species identified suggests that opportunistic scavenging was likely the primary method of acquiring cetaceans, though historical and ethnographic sources suggest that two distinct forms of active whaling may have occasionally been undertaken. The high number of Globicephalinae specimens from Jarlshof raise the possibility that drive-hunting might have already been undertaken at the site during the Iron Age. \u0000View supplementary materials here: Table 1 | Table 2 | Table 3 |","PeriodicalId":161764,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133575656","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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