Ann MacSween - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Ann MacSween
Archaeopress Publishing Ltd eBooks, Nov 30, 2018
This chapter presents specialist reports on artefact assemblages. Most of the coarse pottery came... more This chapter presents specialist reports on artefact assemblages. Most of the coarse pottery came from Balelone, Baleshare and Hornish Point. It is acknowledged that many more well dated assemblages are needed to advance the pottery sequence for the West Coast Islands on a local and regional level. Lithics were mainly flint and quartz. The small size of the assemblages recovered and the types of contexts, cultural deposits and conflation deposits precludes any detailed discussion of the material. Geochemical analysis of pumice demonstrated that it can be correlated with dacitic pumice in Iceland, Ireland, Scotland and Norway. This material would have been collected either from contemporary or raised beach deposits and would have been used as an abrasive. Worked bone and antler included a noteworthy bone comb fragment from Hornish Point.
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Nov 30, 1995
Cumbria has many close associations with lowland Scotland. For considerable periods it was part o... more Cumbria has many close associations with lowland Scotland. For considerable periods it was part of the Scottish king's patrimony, but it was seized by William II (Rufus) when he invaded in 1092. Having taken control of Cumbria, the kings of England were not likely to part with it, and the Scots' desire to recover it has played a not inconsiderable role in Carlisle's subsequent history. Other links include pastoralism, a dispersed settlement pattern, a system of lordship based upon the shire, the social hierarchy including drengs, thanes and bondmen, and the Brittonic language, spoken until the llth century. It was a Scottish king, David I, following his mentor Henry I, who laid the foundations for the subsequent development of Carlisle. Carlisle began life as Luguvalium, a name that commemorates a major Celtic deity and perhaps one that may imply an important pre-Roman interest in the area. It came to acquire the biggest concentration ef people, when considered with Stanwix, in northwestern Roman Britain. In Roman times it was not only a major military centre, but it was also the administrative and judicial focus for the area. Its heyday probably came in the second and third centuries AD, and it is likely that it was during this period that it became the Civitas Carvetiorum. There are indications that the settlement began to fragment in the late Roman period with roads and many properties becoming derelict, although there are hints in places that occupation continued into the fifth century. Documentary sources, notably references to the bloody battle of Arthuret in 573, indicate the continuing importance of the area around the Solway Firth in the post-Roman period, but archaeological evidence from Carlisle is sparse. Anglian settlement, principally the nunnery founded by the Queen of Northumbria assisted by St Cuthbert, is, however, documented by Bede and in an Anonymous Life of St Cuthbert. Excavations have located some structural features, including dendrochronologically dated timber-lined pits, traces of buildings, and the use of some Roman roads, alongside which finds of the Anglian period are distributed. They include many Northumbrian coins (stycas) as well as cross fragments, glass, metalwork and other objects, the distribution of which attests settlement along the road to the south of the former Roman fort and towards The Lanes on the eastern side of Carlisle. Archaeological evidence, obtained largely but not entirely from the Cathedral, demonstrates the occupation of Carlisle in the Anglo-Scandinavian period. There are indications that the settlement was relatively extensive and may have included as many as four churches, although the evidence is variable in quality and reliability. Nevertheless, the evidence is good enough to refute John of Worcester's claim that Carlisle lay deserted for 200 years before the arrival of the Normans in 1092. Indeed, a consideration of the documentary evidence (Gospatric's writ), in tandem with that of the archaeology, suggests that a relatively complex settlement with many of
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Nov 30, 1993
A small excavation within the 'infirmary' produced evidence for Early Christian period metalworki... more A small excavation within the 'infirmary' produced evidence for Early Christian period metalworking and Roman pottery.
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Nov 30, 2000
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Nov 30, 1992
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Cropmarks of a cemetery containing square- and round-ditched burials were excavated at Redcastle ... more Cropmarks of a cemetery containing square- and round-ditched burials were excavated at Redcastle in 1997 and 1998. A total of sixteen graves was recorded: five in square barrows, two in round barrows and nine unenclosed graves. Another round barrow is clearly visible on the aerial photograph outside the excavation area. Preservation of the graves and the human remains therein varied considerably. Analysis of the bones identified two females, three possible females and one possible male. Radiocarbon dating showed that the burials dated from the third to eighth centuries AD. There was no readily apparent connection between gender or age and the use of square or round ditches to enclose the graves. Some evidence was recovered for Neolithic activity in the area while the remains of a timber-lined souterrain were also excavated. The fill of the souterrain contained a range of artefacts including native and Roman pottery, Roman glass and iron tools. Detailed palaeoenvironmental studies we...
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
In early 2005 a particularly severe storm exposed human bones on the foreshore immediately east o... more In early 2005 a particularly severe storm exposed human bones on the foreshore immediately east of the ruins of St Thomas' Kirk. The subsequent excavation recovered fourteen individual inhumations. The skeletons exhibited a relatively high number of pathological conditions and evidence of a diet that included fish, meat and dairy products. Isotopic analysis confirms that one of the individuals was from either the outer Hebrides or Northern Shetland while the rest originated from Orkney. The graves were arranged in distinct grave plots on a north/south aligned row, clustered particularly close to the east side of St Thomas' Kirk. Imported medieval pottery, of a type unknown in Orkney or indeed Scotland, was recovered from the graves.
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
A group of burnt mounds vulnerable to coastal erosion in Shetland was surveyed in Spring 1996. Re... more A group of burnt mounds vulnerable to coastal erosion in Shetland was surveyed in Spring 1996. Rescue excavation conducted at one of these sites, Tangwick, uncovered a burnt mound in close association with a specialized, non-domestic structure of Bronze Age date. It is concluded that Tangwick represents a distinct site type, previously little recognized, and it is proposed that such sites may have been used for feasting, possibly on a seasonal basis. More broadly, the results of survey work indicate that burnt mounds in Shetland are not a homogenous class of site and this variety has not been adequately accounted for within the prevailing models. This project was funded by Historic Scotland and practical assistance was provided by Shetland Amenity Trust.
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Excavation at the chambered cairn of Bookan, Sandwick, Orkney, in June 2002 revealed that the cai... more Excavation at the chambered cairn of Bookan, Sandwick, Orkney, in June 2002 revealed that the cairn excavated by James Farrer in 1861, and later described and planned by George Petrie and Henry Dryden, was only the primary phase in the history of the site. After the site had fallen into disrepair or been deliberately slighted, the original cairn, c. 7m in diameter, was incorporated in a stepped cairn or platform, c. 16m in diameter, bounded by three concentric revetments. The role of Bookan as the type-site for a variety of early style of chambered cairn is reconsidered, along with the `monumentalization' of the site in an Orcadian context. Separately authored contributions include
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Rescue excavations on an extensive cropmark site at the confluence of the Lyne Water and Meldon B... more Rescue excavations on an extensive cropmark site at the confluence of the Lyne Water and Meldon Burn in the 1970s revealed several episodes of activity. A limited Mesolithic presence is indicated by the stone finds, but more intensive use is attested from the early/mid fourth millennium BC. Widely scattered groups of pits contained Impressed Ware of the local style. Radiocarbon dates chart this activity down to the early/mid third millennium BC, when a massive timber wall, 600 m long and up to 4 m in height, was constructed to shut off the 8 ha promontory between the Lyne Water and Meldon Burn. A timber avenue led into the enclosure on the north-west; standing posts and stones and settings of posts and stakes were erected; and cremation burials took place in the interior. No cultural material can certainly be associated with this phase and it probably lasted a century or less. A large stockade within the main enclosure could not be dated with certainty. A disturbed cist burial, yiel...
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Edinburgh University Press eBooks, Mar 22, 2016
Tuckwell Press in association with The Open University in Scotland and the University of Dundee, 1998
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 2001
The Orcadian, Nov 18, 2020
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 1997
Excavations undertaken in 1982,1984 and 1985 on cropmark sites of a promontory fort and nearby pa... more Excavations undertaken in 1982,1984 and 1985 on cropmark sites of a promontory fort and nearby palisaded homestead revealed structural remains mainly of the Iron Age and evidence of occupation or other activity from the Mesolithic to the present day. The palisaded homestead was paralleled by a similar homestead phase of the occupation of the promontory, later replaced by a fort with three periods of defence construction. The project was organized and funded by Historic Scotland (former SDD/HMB).
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 2002
Account of the discovery and excavation of a site comprising a scatter of pits or post-holes, inc... more Account of the discovery and excavation of a site comprising a scatter of pits or post-holes, including a rectangular arrangement of post-holes interpreted as a timber building. Pottery, worked stone and carbonized crop plants were recovered and the site is interpreted as a relatively short-lived agricultural settlement. Radiocarbon dating suggests an occupation date of between 3,500 and 2,920 cal BC. The report discusses the wider issues of the dating of Scottish Late Neolithic Impressed Ware and its relationship to other styles of pottery, the use of flint in Neolithic Scotland and the nature of settlement in the Neolithic.
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Total excavation revealed a later prehistoric multi-ditched and multi-palisaded enclosure succeed... more Total excavation revealed a later prehistoric multi-ditched and multi-palisaded enclosure succeeded by unenclosed settlement. Despite the obvious investment of time and labour in the construction of the numerous palisades and three large concentric ditches episodic, seasonal use of the site is strongly indicated. Total artefact retrieval produced a cannel coal assemblage which has thrown light on the manufacture of the cannel coal bracelets so typical of later prehistoric sites in west-central Scotland.
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Archaeopress Publishing Ltd eBooks, Nov 30, 2018
This chapter presents specialist reports on artefact assemblages. Most of the coarse pottery came... more This chapter presents specialist reports on artefact assemblages. Most of the coarse pottery came from Balelone, Baleshare and Hornish Point. It is acknowledged that many more well dated assemblages are needed to advance the pottery sequence for the West Coast Islands on a local and regional level. Lithics were mainly flint and quartz. The small size of the assemblages recovered and the types of contexts, cultural deposits and conflation deposits precludes any detailed discussion of the material. Geochemical analysis of pumice demonstrated that it can be correlated with dacitic pumice in Iceland, Ireland, Scotland and Norway. This material would have been collected either from contemporary or raised beach deposits and would have been used as an abrasive. Worked bone and antler included a noteworthy bone comb fragment from Hornish Point.
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Nov 30, 1995
Cumbria has many close associations with lowland Scotland. For considerable periods it was part o... more Cumbria has many close associations with lowland Scotland. For considerable periods it was part of the Scottish king's patrimony, but it was seized by William II (Rufus) when he invaded in 1092. Having taken control of Cumbria, the kings of England were not likely to part with it, and the Scots' desire to recover it has played a not inconsiderable role in Carlisle's subsequent history. Other links include pastoralism, a dispersed settlement pattern, a system of lordship based upon the shire, the social hierarchy including drengs, thanes and bondmen, and the Brittonic language, spoken until the llth century. It was a Scottish king, David I, following his mentor Henry I, who laid the foundations for the subsequent development of Carlisle. Carlisle began life as Luguvalium, a name that commemorates a major Celtic deity and perhaps one that may imply an important pre-Roman interest in the area. It came to acquire the biggest concentration ef people, when considered with Stanwix, in northwestern Roman Britain. In Roman times it was not only a major military centre, but it was also the administrative and judicial focus for the area. Its heyday probably came in the second and third centuries AD, and it is likely that it was during this period that it became the Civitas Carvetiorum. There are indications that the settlement began to fragment in the late Roman period with roads and many properties becoming derelict, although there are hints in places that occupation continued into the fifth century. Documentary sources, notably references to the bloody battle of Arthuret in 573, indicate the continuing importance of the area around the Solway Firth in the post-Roman period, but archaeological evidence from Carlisle is sparse. Anglian settlement, principally the nunnery founded by the Queen of Northumbria assisted by St Cuthbert, is, however, documented by Bede and in an Anonymous Life of St Cuthbert. Excavations have located some structural features, including dendrochronologically dated timber-lined pits, traces of buildings, and the use of some Roman roads, alongside which finds of the Anglian period are distributed. They include many Northumbrian coins (stycas) as well as cross fragments, glass, metalwork and other objects, the distribution of which attests settlement along the road to the south of the former Roman fort and towards The Lanes on the eastern side of Carlisle. Archaeological evidence, obtained largely but not entirely from the Cathedral, demonstrates the occupation of Carlisle in the Anglo-Scandinavian period. There are indications that the settlement was relatively extensive and may have included as many as four churches, although the evidence is variable in quality and reliability. Nevertheless, the evidence is good enough to refute John of Worcester's claim that Carlisle lay deserted for 200 years before the arrival of the Normans in 1092. Indeed, a consideration of the documentary evidence (Gospatric's writ), in tandem with that of the archaeology, suggests that a relatively complex settlement with many of
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Nov 30, 1993
A small excavation within the 'infirmary' produced evidence for Early Christian period metalworki... more A small excavation within the 'infirmary' produced evidence for Early Christian period metalworking and Roman pottery.
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Nov 30, 2000
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Nov 30, 1992
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Cropmarks of a cemetery containing square- and round-ditched burials were excavated at Redcastle ... more Cropmarks of a cemetery containing square- and round-ditched burials were excavated at Redcastle in 1997 and 1998. A total of sixteen graves was recorded: five in square barrows, two in round barrows and nine unenclosed graves. Another round barrow is clearly visible on the aerial photograph outside the excavation area. Preservation of the graves and the human remains therein varied considerably. Analysis of the bones identified two females, three possible females and one possible male. Radiocarbon dating showed that the burials dated from the third to eighth centuries AD. There was no readily apparent connection between gender or age and the use of square or round ditches to enclose the graves. Some evidence was recovered for Neolithic activity in the area while the remains of a timber-lined souterrain were also excavated. The fill of the souterrain contained a range of artefacts including native and Roman pottery, Roman glass and iron tools. Detailed palaeoenvironmental studies we...
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
In early 2005 a particularly severe storm exposed human bones on the foreshore immediately east o... more In early 2005 a particularly severe storm exposed human bones on the foreshore immediately east of the ruins of St Thomas' Kirk. The subsequent excavation recovered fourteen individual inhumations. The skeletons exhibited a relatively high number of pathological conditions and evidence of a diet that included fish, meat and dairy products. Isotopic analysis confirms that one of the individuals was from either the outer Hebrides or Northern Shetland while the rest originated from Orkney. The graves were arranged in distinct grave plots on a north/south aligned row, clustered particularly close to the east side of St Thomas' Kirk. Imported medieval pottery, of a type unknown in Orkney or indeed Scotland, was recovered from the graves.
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
A group of burnt mounds vulnerable to coastal erosion in Shetland was surveyed in Spring 1996. Re... more A group of burnt mounds vulnerable to coastal erosion in Shetland was surveyed in Spring 1996. Rescue excavation conducted at one of these sites, Tangwick, uncovered a burnt mound in close association with a specialized, non-domestic structure of Bronze Age date. It is concluded that Tangwick represents a distinct site type, previously little recognized, and it is proposed that such sites may have been used for feasting, possibly on a seasonal basis. More broadly, the results of survey work indicate that burnt mounds in Shetland are not a homogenous class of site and this variety has not been adequately accounted for within the prevailing models. This project was funded by Historic Scotland and practical assistance was provided by Shetland Amenity Trust.
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Excavation at the chambered cairn of Bookan, Sandwick, Orkney, in June 2002 revealed that the cai... more Excavation at the chambered cairn of Bookan, Sandwick, Orkney, in June 2002 revealed that the cairn excavated by James Farrer in 1861, and later described and planned by George Petrie and Henry Dryden, was only the primary phase in the history of the site. After the site had fallen into disrepair or been deliberately slighted, the original cairn, c. 7m in diameter, was incorporated in a stepped cairn or platform, c. 16m in diameter, bounded by three concentric revetments. The role of Bookan as the type-site for a variety of early style of chambered cairn is reconsidered, along with the `monumentalization' of the site in an Orcadian context. Separately authored contributions include
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Rescue excavations on an extensive cropmark site at the confluence of the Lyne Water and Meldon B... more Rescue excavations on an extensive cropmark site at the confluence of the Lyne Water and Meldon Burn in the 1970s revealed several episodes of activity. A limited Mesolithic presence is indicated by the stone finds, but more intensive use is attested from the early/mid fourth millennium BC. Widely scattered groups of pits contained Impressed Ware of the local style. Radiocarbon dates chart this activity down to the early/mid third millennium BC, when a massive timber wall, 600 m long and up to 4 m in height, was constructed to shut off the 8 ha promontory between the Lyne Water and Meldon Burn. A timber avenue led into the enclosure on the north-west; standing posts and stones and settings of posts and stakes were erected; and cremation burials took place in the interior. No cultural material can certainly be associated with this phase and it probably lasted a century or less. A large stockade within the main enclosure could not be dated with certainty. A disturbed cist burial, yiel...
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Edinburgh University Press eBooks, Mar 22, 2016
Tuckwell Press in association with The Open University in Scotland and the University of Dundee, 1998
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 2001
The Orcadian, Nov 18, 2020
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 1997
Excavations undertaken in 1982,1984 and 1985 on cropmark sites of a promontory fort and nearby pa... more Excavations undertaken in 1982,1984 and 1985 on cropmark sites of a promontory fort and nearby palisaded homestead revealed structural remains mainly of the Iron Age and evidence of occupation or other activity from the Mesolithic to the present day. The palisaded homestead was paralleled by a similar homestead phase of the occupation of the promontory, later replaced by a fort with three periods of defence construction. The project was organized and funded by Historic Scotland (former SDD/HMB).
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 2002
Account of the discovery and excavation of a site comprising a scatter of pits or post-holes, inc... more Account of the discovery and excavation of a site comprising a scatter of pits or post-holes, including a rectangular arrangement of post-holes interpreted as a timber building. Pottery, worked stone and carbonized crop plants were recovered and the site is interpreted as a relatively short-lived agricultural settlement. Radiocarbon dating suggests an occupation date of between 3,500 and 2,920 cal BC. The report discusses the wider issues of the dating of Scottish Late Neolithic Impressed Ware and its relationship to other styles of pottery, the use of flint in Neolithic Scotland and the nature of settlement in the Neolithic.
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Total excavation revealed a later prehistoric multi-ditched and multi-palisaded enclosure succeed... more Total excavation revealed a later prehistoric multi-ditched and multi-palisaded enclosure succeeded by unenclosed settlement. Despite the obvious investment of time and labour in the construction of the numerous palisades and three large concentric ditches episodic, seasonal use of the site is strongly indicated. Total artefact retrieval produced a cannel coal assemblage which has thrown light on the manufacture of the cannel coal bracelets so typical of later prehistoric sites in west-central Scotland.
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland