Early Medieval Settlement in Upland Perthshire: Excavations at Lair, Glen Shee 2012-17

Inbunden, Engelska, 2019

AvDavid Strachan,David Sneddon,Richard Tipping

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Archaeological evidence for settlement and land use in early medieval Scottish upland landscapes remains largely undiscovered. This study records only the second excavation of one important and distinctive house form, the Pitcarmicktype building, in the hills of north-east Perth and Kinross. Excavation of seven turf buildings at Lair in Glen Shee has confirmed the introduction of Pitcarmick buildings in the early 7th century AD. Clusters of these at Lair, and elsewhere in the hills, are interpreted as integrated, spatially organised farm complexes comprising byre-houses and outbuildings. Their form has more to do with contemporary traditions across the North Sea than with local styles.There is a close link between 7th-century climatic amelioration and their spread across the hills, and it is argued that this was a purposeful re-occupation of a neglected landscape. Pitcarmick buildings were constructed and lived in by precocious, knowledgeable, and prosperous farming communities. Pollen analysis has shown the upland economy to have been arable as well as pastoral, and comparable contemporary economic ‘recovery’ is suggested from similar analyses across Scotland. The farms at Lair were stable and productive until the 11th century when changes, poorly understood, saw their demise.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2019-10-31
Mått205 x 290 x 9 mm
Vikt1 410 g
FormatInbunden
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor202
FörlagArchaeopress
ISBN9781789693157

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Arkeologiska perioder och områden inom Historia och arkeologi

David Strachan has worked in curatorial field archaeology in Wales, England and Scotland, at both national and local level, over the last 30 years. Having established the Historic Environment Record and planning archaeology service for Perth and Kinross in 2000, as Director of Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust he maintains interests in the Scottish ‘long’ Iron Age, intertidal and upland archaeology, and aerial photography.David Sneddon has 20 years professional experience in archaeology, the last eight years of which were with Northlight Heritage where he was Project Manager. He recently co-founded Clyde Archaeology who provide archaeological and heritage services across the UK.Richard Tipping has worked on problems of interpreting northern British landscapes since 1984 as a palaeo-ecologist, historical geomorphologist, geo-archaeologist and environmental historian. He has authored, co-authored and edited twelve books and more than 250 peer-reviewed and other contributions.

List of FiguresList of TablesAcknowledgementsList of ContributorsNotes1. Introduction (Strachan and Tipping)1.1 Background to the project1.2 North-west European turf and timber houses: an international context for the excavations at Lair1.3 The archaeological setting1.4 Pollen-analytical evidence for land-use change in and around Glen Shee1.5 Historical and political contexts1.6 The Pictish language and place-names in and around Glen Shee1.7 The catchment of the Allt Corra-lairige: geology, topography, soils and climate1.8 Mapping of the field remains1.9 Key sites in the study area1.10 Research objectives2. Results of Archaeological Fieldwork, Radiocarbon Dating, Peat-Stratigraphic and Pollen Analyses (Sneddon, Strachan and Tipping)2.1 Introduction2.2 Topographic and geophysical survey2.3 Excavation2.4 Geo-archaeological analyses2.5 Radiocarbon dating2.6 Peat-stratigraphic and pollen-analytical evidence for environmental and land-use change2.7 Charcoal analysis3. The Small Finds (Strachan and Sneddon)3.1 Introduction3.2 Lithics3.3 Stone tools3.4 A decorated stone spindle whorl3.5 The iron objects3.6 The vitrified material3.7 The pottery3.8 The glass bead3.9 Animal bone4. Discussion (Strachan, Tipping and Sneddon)4.1 Introduction4.2 Archaeological and pollen-analytical evidence for later prehistoric settlement and use of the uplands4.3. A Late Iron Age–early medieval settlement continuum?4.4 Lair immediately prior to the construction of the Pitcarmick buildings4.5 Chronology and sequence of the buildings at Lair4.6 The buildings at Lair: form and function4.7 The buildings at Lair: turf, stone, timber and thatch4.8 The buildings at Lair: spatial patterning4.9 Re-visiting the morphology of Pitcarmick buildings4.10 Early medieval buildings in the North Sea area4.11 The socio-political context and geographic patterns of Pitcarmick buildings in north-east Perthshire4.12 The rural economy at Lair AD 600-660 to AD 975-1025: palynological evidence and implications4.13 The wider context of 7th century AD agrarian expansion4.14 The function of Pitcarmick buildings4.15 The social status of ‘Pitcarmick’ communities4.16 After the ‘Pitcarmicks’5. Conclusions5.1 Introduction5.2 Threats to the resource5.3 The impact of the Glenshee Archaeology Project5.4 Lessons learned5.5 Potential for future researchReferences Appendix A Index

Devotees of upland field archaeology in Britain will be familiar with some of its eternal problems: inadequate chronological precision, few finds and often poor connectivity between structural data from settlement archaeology and landscape-level palaeoenvironmental studies. This attractively presented and sparingly written monograph shows that these issues can be substantially overcome with well-planned collaboration between field surveyors, excavators and palaeobotanists.