New dates for enclosed sites in north-east Scotland

Noble, Gordon; O'Driscoll, James; MacIver, Cathy; Masson-MacLean, Édouard; Sveinbjarnarson, Oskar

doi:10.9750/psas.149.1290

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 7 publications

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“…Composite image of Burghead (left) and Dunnicaer (right) study sites showing (a) location of study sites in relation to Scotland; (b) oblique aerial image of Burghead looking south‐east with 2017 excavation trenches; (c) location of 2015–2017 Burghead excavation trenches in relation to Burghead town and Pictish ramparts; (d) location of Dunnicaer sea stack on Aberdeenshire coast; and (e) aerial drone image of Dunnicaer sea stack during 2017 excavations, showing extensive erosion at the north‐east end and location of lower terrace excavations (photographs © Gordon Noble; diagram [c] adapted from Noble et al [2018]; contains OS Data © Crown copyright and database right 2022; © University of Aberdeen).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of geoarchaeology in the interpretation of fragmented buildings and occupation surfaces: The case of coastal settlements in northeast Scotland

Reid,

Milek,

O'Brien

et al. 2023

Geoarchaeology

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Around the world, poorly preserved buildings and occupation deposits often represent the primary evidence for archaeological structures and settlements. Integrated geoarchaeological methods, such as soil chemistry and micromorphology, can be used to maximise the information obtained from such deposits regarding site preservation and the use of space. However, archaeologists are often reluctant to apply these methods if they suspect that preservation is poor or stratigraphy is not visible in the field. To assess the role that geoarchaeology can play in the interpretation of fragmented and poorly preserved structures, this paper presents the results of two case studies in which multiple geoarchaeological methods (microrefuse analysis, pH, electrical conductivity, magnetic susceptibility, loss‐on‐ignition, portable XRF and micromorphology) were applied to poorly preserved occupation deposits and fragmented buildings in early medieval coastal settlements in northeast Scotland. Micromorphology proved to be fundamental for recognising and understanding the composition of occupation deposits that had formerly been floor surfaces. It also aided interpretations for the use of space and maintenance practices and improved an understanding of the post‐depositional processes that had affected stratigraphic visibility at the macroscale. When subjected to principal component analysis, the geochemical, magnetic and microrefuse data were able to provide new details about activity areas, and successfully identified and filtered out the effects of post‐medieval contamination. Most significantly, the integrated approach demonstrates that fragmented buildings and poorly preserved occupation surfaces can retain surviving characteristics of the use of space, even if the floor surfaces were not preserved well enough to be clearly defined in the field or in thin section.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%