The Moon, The Bonfire and the Beaker? Analysing white inlay from Beaker pottery in Aberdeenshire (original) (raw)
Related papers
The Neolithic of Mainland Scotland
In Kenneth Brophy, Gavin MacGregor and Ian B. M. Ralston (eds) The Neolithic of Mainland Scotland, 2016, pp. 261-318 This contribution is concerned with the deposition of Beaker pottery in funerary and non-funerary contexts at Neolithic monuments in Scotland during the Chalcolithic (c.2500/2400-2200 cal BC) and Early Bronze Age (c.2200-1900/1800 cal BC). It offers an analysis of the phenomenon based on a dataset that has been significantly enhanced in recent decades by research and commercial excavation and by radiocarbon dating programmes. Patterns are identified in the decoration, morphology and the character of deposition and are then contextualised with reference to the wider Beaker style tradition and regional variability. Three broad types of deposit with chronological ranges are identified and are related to the changing relevance of Neolithic monuments in the context of highly formalised Beaker funerary practices, the character of regional identities and inter-regional relations. Monolithic and decontextualised interpretations of the Beaker phenomenon in Scotland are therefore challenged. This paper includes an appendix of sites.
Pottery from excavations in Sheffield; a review and assessment of the resource
This paper was a preliminary attempt to draw attention to some of the distinctive features of 18th and 19th century sites excavated in the city of Sheffield in advance of major redevelopment work. Further work between 2005 and 2008 established that the features discussed here and specifically the use of domestic refuse as a building material was common on sites across the city. Unfortunately the limitations on research inherent in commercial archaeology precluded the kind of data analysis and research which is required to move from observation and recording to interpretation.
Exploring the Significance of Beaker Pottery through Residue Analyses
Unlike other components of the Bell Beaker assemblage, Beaker pottery itself lacks an intrinsic value since fabric analyses have demonstrated that it was locally produced. It is thought, therefore, that it was the contents, rather than the container, which were valuable. Traditionally, Bell Beakers have been said to contain alcoholic beverages which were consumed in the course of male feasting ceremonies. However, whilst beer and mead have been identified from certain examples, not all Beakers were drinking cups. Some were used as reduction pots to smelt copper ores, others have some organic residues associated with food, and still others were employed as funerary urns. It is suggested here that a symbolic connection can, however, be observed, since these activities all imply some kind of transformation.
The site at Colstoun in East Lothian is still the only excavated Scottish White Gritty Ware production site. This paper reviews all of the work that has taken place at this site from the discovery of the first kilns in 1939 through to the most recent work at the site in 2000 which included the first archaeomagnetic date for one of the kilns. Some consideration is given to what historical evidence exists regarding the site and the products and firing technology are discussed. In conclusion Colstoun’s place in Scottish ceramic studies is discussed and future research priorities suggested.
2011
The goal of this thesis is to investigate the manufacture of metalworking ceramics in late prehistoric Scotland (ca 1000BC – AD800) from the perspective of ceramic technology and with the aim to reconstruct social and material trajectories. This has been implemented through the use of an integrated analytical methodology, interpreted by developing current theories on technology. Previous studies of metalworking ceramics in Scotland have rarely paid full attention to ceramic technology; research has instead focused on metallurgical issues such as metal identification and material morphology. This is central for answering questions regarding metallurgical processes, but fails to answer important questions regarding the technology and manufacture of the ceramic material. The successful production of moulds and crucibles requires that a craft specialist has expert skills in the preparation and firing of clay as well as understanding of the process and design of metal casting. This makes metalworking ceramics an important resource for investigating variation in individual skill and experience, cultural traditions, and scale of production. The main focus is on moulds and crucibles, but parallels, both in terms of method and theory, are made to other types of metalworking ceramics and pottery. The technological relationship between pottery and metalworking ceramics is therefore a vital link in the assessment of production and technological traditions. In addition, clays from a number of sites have been sampled, with the goal to monitor the utilization of clays for the production of different ceramic materials. Materials from nine primary sites, from Traprain Law (East Lothian) in the south to Mine Howe (Orkney) in the north, are central to the discussion of ceramic technologies. The context of casting and crafts from further sites in Scotland and beyond has been essential in the reconstruction of casting production in the late prehistoric period. Developing from ideas of technology as an active process, this study has investigated the collection and preparation of clays to make different ceramic materials. This investigation has employed a range of analytical techniques frequently applied to the study of archaeological ceramics, including ceramic petrography, Scanning Electron Microscopy, X-Ray Spectrometry and X-Ray Diffraction. The focus has been on technology; studies of provenance are auxiliary to the broader questions. It is a central conclusion of this work that the production of metalworking ceramics saw a development towards a more specialised function and technology during the late prehistoric period, and that this development was closely related to material traditions, to some extent transcending wider social trajectories. This research, highlighting particular and general technologies, has showed that the study of ceramic technology of moulds and crucibles can be a valuable resource for the study metallurgical production and technology.
Beyond provenance and dating: ceramic technology in late prehistoric Scotland
A class of ceramic relatively well represented in museum collections, certainly in Scotland but also elsewhere, has been labelled as 'craggan' or 'crogan' pottery, generally with a Hebridean provenance. Though intensively collected in the late-nineteenth century, it received little attention beyond the comparisons it offered for prehistoric material in archaeology. A concomitant of this collecting interest was so-called 'Barvas Ware', a type of imitation ceramic 'discovered' in the crofting township of Barvas on the west side of the island of Lewis. When this Craggan pottery and Barvas Ware were included in an exhibition on Scottish Pottery in the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland in 1983, the opportunity was taken to fill out a sparse record. With sources hitherto unexplored, questions of production, dating, function and aesthetic were addressed through research ranging from science-based methods to fieldwork.