A norse settlement in the outer hebrides : excavations on mounds 2 and 2a, bornais, south uist / edited by Niall Sharples.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Sharples, Niall M., editor.

Series:

Bornais ; 3

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Antiquities.

South Uist (Scotland)--Antiquities.

South Uist (Scotland).

Bornais (Scotland)--Antiquities.

Bornais (Scotland).

Scotland--South Uist.

Scotland--Bornais.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (726 pages) : illustrations.

Edition:

Hardback.

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania : Oxbow Books, [2019]

Summary:

The settlement at Bornais in the Western Isles of Scotland is one of the largest rural settlements known from the Norse period in Britain. It spans the period from the fifth to the fifteenth century AD when the Atlantic seaboard was subject to drastic changes. The islands were systematically ravaged by Viking raiders and then colonised by Norse settlers. In the following centuries the islanders were central to the emergence of the Kingdom of Man and the Isles, played a crucial role in the development of the Lordship of the Isles and were finally assimilated into the Kingdom of Scotland.0This volume explores the stratigraphic sequence uncovered by the excavation of Bornais mounds 2 and 2A. The excavation of mound 2 revealed a sequence of high status buildings that span the Norse occupation of the settlement. One of these houses, constructed at the end of the eleventh century AD, was a well preserved bow-walled longhouse and the careful excavation and detailed recording of the floor layers has revealed a wealth of finds that provides invaluable insight into the activities taking place in this building. The final house in this sequence is very different in form and use, and clearly indicates the increasing Scottish influence on the region at the beginning of the thirteenth century.0The excavation of mound 2A provides an insight into the less prestigious areas of the settlement and contributes a significant amount of evidence on the settlement economy. The area was initially cultivated before it became a settlement local and throughout its life a focus on agricultural activities, such as grain drying and processing, appears to have been important. In the thirteenth century the mound was occupied by a craftsman who produced composite combs, gaming pieces and simple tools.

Contents:

Bornais and the Norse settlement of the North Atlantic

The late Iron Age and early Norse activity on mound 2 / N Sharples and O Davis

The early Norse activity on mound 2A / N Sharples and K Waddington

The middle Norse house on mound 2 (BC) / N Sharples and O Davis

The middle Norse transition phase on mound 2 (BD) / N Sharples and O Davis

The middle Norse activity on mound 2A / N Sharples and K Waddington

The late Norse activity on mound 2 / N Sharples and O Davis

The late Norse activity on mound 2A / N Sharples and K Waddington

The peripheral stratigrpahic sequences (areas A, H, I and J) / N Sharples and O Davis

The final occupation of the settlement / N Sharples, O Davis and K Waddington

The chronology

Comparative analysis of the assemblages from mounds 2 and 2A.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781789250497

1789250498

9781789250473

1789250471