The Castle of Achanduin, Lismore—a Point of Reference for the Radiocarbon Analysis of Mortar-Entrapped Relict Limekiln Fuels

Abstract

The results of a short program of landscape, buildings and materials analysis undertaken at Achanduin Castle, Lismore, Scotland (NM 8043 3927) are presented from the pilot phase of the Scottish Medieval Castles & Chapels C14 Project (SMCCCP). The study presents the first independent chronological evidence relating to the construction of this important medieval building, by radiocarbon analysis of a limited assemblage of Mortar-Entrapped Relict Limekiln Fuel (MERLF) fragments. Informed by a wider investigation of structural phasing and sample taphonomy, these measurements are constrained within a series of different Bayesian models, to generate a range of comparative estimates for the building’s constructional chronology. The precision with which the construction of this building can now be dated, from other evidence associated with the site, makes the Achanduin Castle study a useful point of reference for wider materials research.