Sheffield Environmental and Archaeological Research Campaign in the Hebrides Series
3.5/5
()
About this series
The first major excavation on South Uist discovered that what was thought to be a shell midden at Cill Donnain was in fact a wheelhouse, a type of dwelling used in the period c.300 BC – AD 500; under which lay the remains of a Bronze Age settlement. This settlement was partly investigated by Marik Zvelebil in 1991 and then later by Mike Parker Pearson and Kate MacDonald in 2003. The site itself is situated at the foot of a high steep-sided dune on the eastern edge of a large sand valley, close to the western shore of Loch Cill Donnain.
The archaeological report of the excavation at the Cill Donnain wheelhouse shows that, in comparison with contemporary neighbouring settlements, it was unlikely that each was an independent unit and that they were linked by social and economic inter-dependency. The wheelhouse thus provides striking new evidence that contributes to developing theories about the social, material and economic life in the period.
This volume presents the extensive archaeological evidence found at the site, including pottery, faunal remains and a variety of bone and metal tools, illustrating that the Cill Donnain landscape is rich in archaeological sites of all periods from the Beaker to the post-Medieval.
Titles in the series (3)
- Cille Pheadair: a Norse Farmstead and Pictish Burial Cairn in South Uist
7
Cille Pheadair is one of more than 20 Viking Age and Late Norse settlements discovered on the island of South Uist in the Outer Hebrides (Western Isles), off the west coast of Scotland. Its unusually well-preserved stratigraphic sequence of nine phases of occupation, including five longhouses and many smaller buildings, provides a remarkable insight into daily life on a Norse farmstead during two centuries of near-continuous occupation c. AD 1000 –1200. Although the excavation at Cille Pheadair was a rescue project undertaken before the site was destroyed by coastal erosion, it provided an opportunity to address important research questions about the domestic use of space, agricultural economy, and relationships with the wider world beyond the Outer Hebrides. Careful and ground-breaking analysis of preserved house floors provided profound insights into the changing use of space within a Norse longhouse and its surrounding outbuildings. The rich assemblage of pottery, ironwork, gold and silver reveals that the inhabitants of Cille Pheadair had long-distance connections across the Viking world. A battery of scientific studies, including faunal and floral analyses, isotopic and lipid residue analyses, and soil chemistry have revealed much about the social and economic dimensions of life on a Norse farm. Detailed survey and excavation in South Uist reveals a remarkable picture of Norse-period settlement across this island which was part of the insular Viking world between Ireland and Norway, becoming part of the Kingdom of Man and later the Kingdom of the Isles. Cille Pheadair’s status as an ordinary, if wealthy, farmstead can be contrasted with the much larger and longer-lived high-status settlement at Bornais to the north. The two sites together provide a fascinating insight into similarities and differences within the settlement hierarchy of the time that makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the Viking world.
- Cladh Hallan - Roundhouses and the dead in the Hebridean Bronze Age and Iron Age: Part I: Stratigraghy, Spatial Organisation and Chronology
8
This first of two volumes presents the archaeological evidence of a long sequence of settlement and funerary activity from the Beaker period (Early Bronze Age c. 2000 BC) to the Early Iron Age (c. 500 BC) at the unusually long-occupied site of Cladh Hallan on South Uist in the Western Isles of Scotland. Particular highlights of its sequence are a cremation burial ground and pyre site of the 18th–16th centuries BC and a row of three Late Bronze Age sunken-floored roundhouses constructed in the 10th century BC. Beneath these roundhouses, four inhumation graves contained skeletons, two of which were remains of composite collections of body parts with evidence for post-mortem soft tissue preservation prior to burial. They have proved to be the first evidence for mummification in Bronze Age Britain. Cladh Hallan’s remarkable stratigraphic sequence, preserved in the machair sand of South Uist, includes a unique 500-year sequence of roundhouse life in Late Bronze Age and Iron Age Britain. One of the most important results of the excavation has come from intensive environmental and micro-debris sampling of house floors and outdoor areas to recover patterns of discard and to interpret the spatial use of 15 domestic interiors from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age. From Cladh Hallan’s roundhouse floors we gain intimate insights into how daily life was organized within the house – where people cooked, ate, worked and slept. Such evidence rarely survives from prehistoric houses in Britain or Europe, and the results make a profound contribution to long-running debates about the sunwise organisation of roundhouse activities. Activity at Cladh Hallan ended with the construction and abandonment of two unusual double-roundhouses in the Early Iron Age. One appears to have been a smokery and steam room, and the other was used for metalworking.
- Excavations at Cill Donnain: A Bronze Age Settlement and Iron Age Wheelhouse in South Uist
9
The SEARCH (Sheffield Environmental and Archaeological Research Campaign in the Hebrides) project began in 1987 and covers the Scotland’s Outer Hebrides. The aim of the project is to investigate how human societies adapted in the long-term to the isolated environment of the Outer Hebrides. The first major excavation on South Uist discovered that what was thought to be a shell midden at Cill Donnain was in fact a wheelhouse, a type of dwelling used in the period c.300 BC – AD 500; under which lay the remains of a Bronze Age settlement. This settlement was partly investigated by Marik Zvelebil in 1991 and then later by Mike Parker Pearson and Kate MacDonald in 2003. The site itself is situated at the foot of a high steep-sided dune on the eastern edge of a large sand valley, close to the western shore of Loch Cill Donnain. The archaeological report of the excavation at the Cill Donnain wheelhouse shows that, in comparison with contemporary neighbouring settlements, it was unlikely that each was an independent unit and that they were linked by social and economic inter-dependency. The wheelhouse thus provides striking new evidence that contributes to developing theories about the social, material and economic life in the period. This volume presents the extensive archaeological evidence found at the site, including pottery, faunal remains and a variety of bone and metal tools, illustrating that the Cill Donnain landscape is rich in archaeological sites of all periods from the Beaker to the post-Medieval.
Mike Parker Pearson
Mike Parker Pearson is Professor of British Later Prehistory at University College London. A distinguished prehistorian he has been involved with many major projects, including leading the recent Stonehenge Riverside Project. His many publications include Stonehenge: Exploring the Greatest Stone Age Mystery (2012) and From Machair to Mountains: archaeological survey and excavation in Uist (2012).
Related to Sheffield Environmental and Archaeological Research Campaign in the Hebrides
Related ebooks
Odyssey Presents: Anthology #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJustly Poetic Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTill Death Us Do Part Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBehind the Scenes at Sega: The Making of a Video Game Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Man in the Mirror Journal: Everything Begins and Ends with You Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFAME: Psy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe First Extraterrestrial Signal: The Global Reaction to the Signal from the Outer Space Aliens Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAs I Muse Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Adventures of Eli and Jake Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsConfessions for the Narrow Road: It's Within You! Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBaneberry Creek: Academy for Wayward Fairies #3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVincent Price Presents #06 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFAME: Pop Stars #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSoma Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRun to Win Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlackbeard Legacy #2 Volume 1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOur Dream House Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFemale Force: Hillary Clinton: Road to Secretary of State Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLazar & Jingles and Bunson in Holiday Gifts Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhen Reindeer Learned to Fly Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe GOD of Isreal (ISRAEL) and the Legend of The Christ: The LORD of Life, Light, & Love Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMicroguardians explain HIV and AIDS Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVincent Price Presents: Tales from the Darkness #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVincent Price Presents: Tinglers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMy Best Friend, Maximum Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFemale Force: Cher Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOrion the Hunter: Giant Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSweet Pea Saves the Rainbows Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOrbit: Bon Jovi Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLet Me Tell You Some Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Archaeology For You
How to Survive in Ancient Greece Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sex and Erotism in Ancient Egypt Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5America Before: The Key to Earth's Lost Civilization Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Hidden History: Lost Civilizations, Secret Knowledge, and Ancient Mysteries Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/51177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed: Revised and Updated Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Epic of Gilgamesh Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secret History of America: Classic Writings on Our Nation's Unknown Past and Inner Purpose Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Disinformation Guide to Ancient Aliens, Lost Civilizations, Astonishing Archaeology & Hidden History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Survive in Ancient Egypt Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Underwater Ghost Towns of North Georgia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Memory Code Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Earth Chronicles Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to the Seven Books of The Earth Chronicles Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Far Traveler: Voyages of a Viking Woman Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Lost King: The Search for Richard III Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Anunnaki Chronicles: A Zecharia Sitchin Reader Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fifty Things You Need to Know About World History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5100 Hieroglyphs: Think Like an Egyptian Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ancestors: A prehistory of Britain in seven burials Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Omm Sety's Egypt: A Story of Ancient Mysteries, Secret Lives, and the Lost History of the Pharaohs Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mound Builders Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Brutish Museums: The Benin Bronzes, Colonial Violence and Cultural Restitution Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women across the Ancient World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stone Artifacts of Texas Indians Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Indian New England Before the Mayflower Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mystery of the Olmecs Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Atlantis Pyramids Floods: Why Europeans are White Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Discovery of Tutankhamun's Tomb (Illustrated Edition) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related categories
Reviews for Sheffield Environmental and Archaeological Research Campaign in the Hebrides
2 ratings0 reviews