Ruth Pelling - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Ruth Pelling
Internet archaeology, Mar 1, 2024
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Several archaeological sites were located and excavated by the Centre for Field Archaeology, Univ... more Several archaeological sites were located and excavated by the Centre for Field Archaeology, University of Edinburgh (CFA) during a watching brief associated with the construction of a c 13km gas pipeline from St Fergus to Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, in the summer of 1998. The discoveries comprised two Neolithic artefact scatters, Bronze Age structures and an enclosure, and two features akin to burnt mounds. Penspen Limited commissioned the work on behalf of Scottish Hydro-Electric plc.
The nature and effectiveness of subsistence strategies are central to many theories concerning em... more The nature and effectiveness of subsistence strategies are central to many theories concerning emergent complex societies and urban centres. A thorough understanding of subsistence can only be achieved by including the study of the actual plant and faunal remains which formed the subsistence base. Although research over the last two decades has slowly redressed the situation, archaeobotanical studies have hitherto been very limited within Africa, particularly outside the Nile Valley. Existing studies have tended to be dominated by testing theories concerning African centres of domestication and the origins of agriculture, in particular the origins of cultivated Pennisetum (pearl millet) or Sorghum. In terms of'complex societies' and their development, assumptions concerning the subsistence base have tended to be made in the absence of detailed archaeobotanical sampling, although a growing number of excavations at 'urban' sites have recently included detailed sampling...
<p>Conservation and promotion of biodiverse landscapes is a major target for ecological con... more <p>Conservation and promotion of biodiverse landscapes is a major target for ecological conservation and landscape management, as biodiversity is a key determinant of ecosystem functioning. Recent accelerations in the intensity of human land-use have been implicated for changes in biodiversity, but the relationships between land-use change and diversity are complex, include important historical legacies and major transformations are likely to have occurred across much longer time-scales than those covered by direct observation records. This collaborative research between Historic England and the Universities of Plymouth and Birmingham, is synthesising palaeoecological datasets from across the British Isles from both the natural and archaeological sciences to reconstruct biodiversity patterns and evaluate relationships between these patterns and land-use over multi-millennial time-scales. The fossil remains of plants, pollen and insects preserved in sediments are being compared and critically evaluated with the aim to provide valuable information about past land-use strategies, biodiversity, habitat resilience to disturbance and recovery rates. Exploring environmental change within the context of the Holocene (the last 11,700 years) allows comparison of ecosystem states across a wide range of land-use strategies, from hunter-gathering to complex patterns of land-use in later prehistoric and historical periods.</p>
Environmental Archaeology
This report describes the results of an excavation at the site of Catridge Farm, Lacock, Wiltshir... more This report describes the results of an excavation at the site of Catridge Farm, Lacock, Wiltshire, undertaken as part of the National Archaeological Identification Survey Pilot Project: West Wiltshire (A350 corridor), following an earthwork survey of settlement remains at the site. Overlying a medieval agricultural soil were the remains of an early postmedieval structure, probably a farm building, within which had been deposited a large dump of household refuse of 17th century date, including ceramics, glass vessels, metalwork, animal bone and charred plant remains. The report describes the excavated remains and the finds assemblages, including chemical analysis of the glass, and assesses the significance of the results in terms of our understanding of the settlement at Catridge and as a contribution to the archaeology of post-medieval rural households more generally.
Volubilis après Rome, 2018
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2011
We report here new evidence from the Lower Tilemsi Valley in northeastern Mali, which constitutes... more We report here new evidence from the Lower Tilemsi Valley in northeastern Mali, which constitutes the earliest archaeobotanical evidence for domesticated pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), predating other finds from Africa or India by several centuries. These materials provide further morphological details on the earliest cultivated pearl millet. Our results demonstrate that pearl millet non-shattering evolved earlier than the start of
Scottish Archaeological Internet Reports, 2010
An evaluation and subsequent targeted excavations were carried out along the route of the propose... more An evaluation and subsequent targeted excavations were carried out along the route of the proposed A68 Dalkeith Northern Bypass by the Centre for Field Archaeology (CFA) between September 1994 and March 1995, with additional watching briefs taking place in 1997. The work was commissioned by Historic Scotland on behalf of the Roads Directorate of the Scottish Office Industry Department. The bypass was not constructed at the time, and further pre-construction mitigation work was recommended in 2005, with fieldwork being carried out in 2006-08 by CFA Archaeology Ltd, for Historic Scotland on behalf of Transport Scotland.This report describes the results of the evaluations and each excavation individually. The route traverses a narrow strip of the Lothian plain which contained several prehistoric sites (two ring-groove structures, a stone-paved area and two pit alignments), a Roman temporary camp, a post-medieval building, an 18th-century designed landscape, and two industrial sites (a ...
Libyan Studies, 1998
The Fezzan Project is investigating the last 10,000 years of human settlement, landscape evolutio... more The Fezzan Project is investigating the last 10,000 years of human settlement, landscape evolution and climatic change in the Germa region in southern Libya. The second season in February–March 1998 comprised interdisciplinary research in archaeology and geography, centred around excavation and survey work carried out at the site of Old Germa. To date, three phases of mud brick buildings have been partially explored. In addition, wider geomorphological study and archaeological survey and fieldwalking were carried out elsewhere in the Germa/Twesh oasis and around el-Hatiya. Numerous sites were discovered, including a new hillfort of Zinchecra type and several valley centre ‘villages’ of Garamantian/Roman date. Artefactual studies were carried out on pottery and lithics, animal bones and seeds. Further work on the subterranean irrigation features, thefoggaras, have confirmed their pre-Islamic origins.
Libyan Studies, 1999
This report summarises the work of the third season of the Fezzan project which took place in Jan... more This report summarises the work of the third season of the Fezzan project which took place in January 1999. The main environmental findings of the project team of specialist geographers are providing confirmation of dramatic climatic and environmental change over the last 100,000 years and give more precise dates for some of these changes. The excavations in Old Germa (ancient Garama) have continued through Islamic levels, with elements of five main phases of buildings now having been recorded. Additional standing structures, including one of Germa's main mosques, have been surveyed. Field survey around Germa has revealed further new settlement sites of prehistoric, Garamantian and Islamic date. Of particular importance is a series of lithic and pottery scatters relating to neolithic occupation along the edge of the Ubari Sand Sea, to the north of Germa. Further investigation of the irrigation channels (foggaras) has revealed significant new information about their size, constru...
Journal of Archaeological Science, Feb 28, 2011
We report here new evidence from the Lower Tilemsi Valley in northeastern Mali, which constitutes... more We report here new evidence from the Lower Tilemsi Valley in northeastern Mali, which constitutes the earliest archaeobotanical evidence for domesticated pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), predating other finds from Africa or India by several centuries. These materials provide further morphological details on the earliest cultivated pearl millet. Our results demonstrate that pearl millet non-shattering evolved earlier than the start of grain size increases and that once domesticated, pearl millet spread widely and rapidly. Additional ...
Internet archaeology, Mar 1, 2024
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Several archaeological sites were located and excavated by the Centre for Field Archaeology, Univ... more Several archaeological sites were located and excavated by the Centre for Field Archaeology, University of Edinburgh (CFA) during a watching brief associated with the construction of a c 13km gas pipeline from St Fergus to Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, in the summer of 1998. The discoveries comprised two Neolithic artefact scatters, Bronze Age structures and an enclosure, and two features akin to burnt mounds. Penspen Limited commissioned the work on behalf of Scottish Hydro-Electric plc.
The nature and effectiveness of subsistence strategies are central to many theories concerning em... more The nature and effectiveness of subsistence strategies are central to many theories concerning emergent complex societies and urban centres. A thorough understanding of subsistence can only be achieved by including the study of the actual plant and faunal remains which formed the subsistence base. Although research over the last two decades has slowly redressed the situation, archaeobotanical studies have hitherto been very limited within Africa, particularly outside the Nile Valley. Existing studies have tended to be dominated by testing theories concerning African centres of domestication and the origins of agriculture, in particular the origins of cultivated Pennisetum (pearl millet) or Sorghum. In terms of'complex societies' and their development, assumptions concerning the subsistence base have tended to be made in the absence of detailed archaeobotanical sampling, although a growing number of excavations at 'urban' sites have recently included detailed sampling...
<p>Conservation and promotion of biodiverse landscapes is a major target for ecological con... more <p>Conservation and promotion of biodiverse landscapes is a major target for ecological conservation and landscape management, as biodiversity is a key determinant of ecosystem functioning. Recent accelerations in the intensity of human land-use have been implicated for changes in biodiversity, but the relationships between land-use change and diversity are complex, include important historical legacies and major transformations are likely to have occurred across much longer time-scales than those covered by direct observation records. This collaborative research between Historic England and the Universities of Plymouth and Birmingham, is synthesising palaeoecological datasets from across the British Isles from both the natural and archaeological sciences to reconstruct biodiversity patterns and evaluate relationships between these patterns and land-use over multi-millennial time-scales. The fossil remains of plants, pollen and insects preserved in sediments are being compared and critically evaluated with the aim to provide valuable information about past land-use strategies, biodiversity, habitat resilience to disturbance and recovery rates. Exploring environmental change within the context of the Holocene (the last 11,700 years) allows comparison of ecosystem states across a wide range of land-use strategies, from hunter-gathering to complex patterns of land-use in later prehistoric and historical periods.</p>
Environmental Archaeology
This report describes the results of an excavation at the site of Catridge Farm, Lacock, Wiltshir... more This report describes the results of an excavation at the site of Catridge Farm, Lacock, Wiltshire, undertaken as part of the National Archaeological Identification Survey Pilot Project: West Wiltshire (A350 corridor), following an earthwork survey of settlement remains at the site. Overlying a medieval agricultural soil were the remains of an early postmedieval structure, probably a farm building, within which had been deposited a large dump of household refuse of 17th century date, including ceramics, glass vessels, metalwork, animal bone and charred plant remains. The report describes the excavated remains and the finds assemblages, including chemical analysis of the glass, and assesses the significance of the results in terms of our understanding of the settlement at Catridge and as a contribution to the archaeology of post-medieval rural households more generally.
Volubilis après Rome, 2018
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2011
We report here new evidence from the Lower Tilemsi Valley in northeastern Mali, which constitutes... more We report here new evidence from the Lower Tilemsi Valley in northeastern Mali, which constitutes the earliest archaeobotanical evidence for domesticated pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), predating other finds from Africa or India by several centuries. These materials provide further morphological details on the earliest cultivated pearl millet. Our results demonstrate that pearl millet non-shattering evolved earlier than the start of
Scottish Archaeological Internet Reports, 2010
An evaluation and subsequent targeted excavations were carried out along the route of the propose... more An evaluation and subsequent targeted excavations were carried out along the route of the proposed A68 Dalkeith Northern Bypass by the Centre for Field Archaeology (CFA) between September 1994 and March 1995, with additional watching briefs taking place in 1997. The work was commissioned by Historic Scotland on behalf of the Roads Directorate of the Scottish Office Industry Department. The bypass was not constructed at the time, and further pre-construction mitigation work was recommended in 2005, with fieldwork being carried out in 2006-08 by CFA Archaeology Ltd, for Historic Scotland on behalf of Transport Scotland.This report describes the results of the evaluations and each excavation individually. The route traverses a narrow strip of the Lothian plain which contained several prehistoric sites (two ring-groove structures, a stone-paved area and two pit alignments), a Roman temporary camp, a post-medieval building, an 18th-century designed landscape, and two industrial sites (a ...
Libyan Studies, 1998
The Fezzan Project is investigating the last 10,000 years of human settlement, landscape evolutio... more The Fezzan Project is investigating the last 10,000 years of human settlement, landscape evolution and climatic change in the Germa region in southern Libya. The second season in February–March 1998 comprised interdisciplinary research in archaeology and geography, centred around excavation and survey work carried out at the site of Old Germa. To date, three phases of mud brick buildings have been partially explored. In addition, wider geomorphological study and archaeological survey and fieldwalking were carried out elsewhere in the Germa/Twesh oasis and around el-Hatiya. Numerous sites were discovered, including a new hillfort of Zinchecra type and several valley centre ‘villages’ of Garamantian/Roman date. Artefactual studies were carried out on pottery and lithics, animal bones and seeds. Further work on the subterranean irrigation features, thefoggaras, have confirmed their pre-Islamic origins.
Libyan Studies, 1999
This report summarises the work of the third season of the Fezzan project which took place in Jan... more This report summarises the work of the third season of the Fezzan project which took place in January 1999. The main environmental findings of the project team of specialist geographers are providing confirmation of dramatic climatic and environmental change over the last 100,000 years and give more precise dates for some of these changes. The excavations in Old Germa (ancient Garama) have continued through Islamic levels, with elements of five main phases of buildings now having been recorded. Additional standing structures, including one of Germa's main mosques, have been surveyed. Field survey around Germa has revealed further new settlement sites of prehistoric, Garamantian and Islamic date. Of particular importance is a series of lithic and pottery scatters relating to neolithic occupation along the edge of the Ubari Sand Sea, to the north of Germa. Further investigation of the irrigation channels (foggaras) has revealed significant new information about their size, constru...
Journal of Archaeological Science, Feb 28, 2011
We report here new evidence from the Lower Tilemsi Valley in northeastern Mali, which constitutes... more We report here new evidence from the Lower Tilemsi Valley in northeastern Mali, which constitutes the earliest archaeobotanical evidence for domesticated pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), predating other finds from Africa or India by several centuries. These materials provide further morphological details on the earliest cultivated pearl millet. Our results demonstrate that pearl millet non-shattering evolved earlier than the start of grain size increases and that once domesticated, pearl millet spread widely and rapidly. Additional ...