Excavations at Cill Donnain : a Bronze Age settlement and Iron Age wheelhouse in South Uist / by Mike Parker Pearson and Marek Zvelebil ; with contributions by Sean Bell, Gordon Cook, Chris Cumberpatch, Martin Dearne, Irene Deluis, Karen Godden, Pam Grinter, John Hamshaw Thomas, Kate MacDonald, Peter Marshall, Eddie Moth, Jean Luc Schwenninger, Helen Smith, Saleem ul Haq, Soultana Maria Valamoti and Kim Vickers.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Parker Pearson, Michael, 1957- author.

Zvelebil, Marek, author.

Series:

Sheffield environmental and archaeological research campaign in the Hebrides (Series) ; v. 9.

Sheffield environmental and archaeological research campaign in the Hebrides ; volume 9

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Excavations (Archaeology)--Scotland--South Uist.

Excavations (Archaeology).

Bronze age--Scotland--South Uist.

Bronze age.

Iron age--Scotland--South Uist.

Iron age.

Human settlements--Scotland--South Uist.

Human settlements.

Dwellings--Scotland--South Uist.

Dwellings.

Material culture--Scotland--South Uist.

Material culture.

Human ecology--Scotland--South Uist.

Human ecology.

Social archaeology--Scotland--South Uist.

Social archaeology.

Economics, Prehistoric--Scotland--South Uist.

Economics, Prehistoric.

South Uist (Scotland)--Antiquities.

South Uist (Scotland).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (248 p.)

Edition:

Hardcover edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Oxbow Books, 2014.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"The SEARCH (Sheffield Environmental and Archaeological Research Campaign in the Hebrides) project began in 1987 and covers the Scotland's Outer Hebrides. The aim of the project is to investigate how human societies adapted in the long-term to the isolated environment of the Outer Hebrides. The first major excavation on South Uist discovered that what was thought to be a shell midden at Cill Donnain was in fact a wheelhouse, a type of dwelling used in the period c. 300 BC-AD 500, under which lay the remains of a Bronze Age settlement. This settlement was partly investigated by Marek Zvelebil in 1991 and then later by Mike Parker Pearson and Kate MacDonald in 2003. The site itself is situated at the foot of a high steep-sided dune on the eastern edge of a large sand valley, close to the western shore of Loch Cill Donnain. The archaeological report of the excavation at the Cill Donnain wheelhouse shows that, in comparison with contemporary neighbouring settlements, it was unlikely that each was an independent unit and that they were linked by social and economic inter-dependency. The wheelhouse thus provides striking new evidence that contributes to developing theories about the social, material and economic life in the period. This volume presents the extensive archaeological evidence found at the site, including pottery, faunal remains and a variety of bone and metal tools, illustrating that the Cill Donnain landscape is rich in archaeological sites of all periods from the Beaker to the post-Medieval"--From publisher's website.

Contents:

Introduction / Mike Parker Pearson and Helen Smith

The excavations / Marek Zvelebil and Mike Parker Pearson

Early-Middle Bronze Age (phase 1) : a Cordoned Urn settlement / Mike Parker Pearson with Kate MacDonald

Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age occupation (phase 2) : eighth-early sixth centuries BC / Mike Parker Pearson

Before construction of the wheelhouse (phase 3) / Mike Parker Pearson

Construction and initial use of the wheelhouse (phases 4 and 5) / Mike Parker Pearson and Marek Zvelebil

Modification and abandonment of the wheelhouse (phases 6-8) / Mike Parker Pearson and Marek Zvelebil

The midden overlying the wheelhouse (phase 9) / Mike Parker Pearson

The pottery / Chris Cumberpatch

The metal finds and industrial debris

The stone tools / Mike Parker Pearson

Bone, ivory and antler tools and ornaments / Mike Parker Pearson, with species identification by John Hamshaw-Thomas and Kim Vickers

The faunal remains / Kim Vickers with Saleem ul Haq and John Hamshaw-Thomas

The carbonised plant remains / Pam Grinter and Soultana-Maria Valamoti

Marine mollusca / Sean Bell and Karen Godden

Radiocarbon dating / Peter Marshall and Gordon Cook

Conclusion: Cill Donnain's prehistoric landscape

Appendix: Context list and phasing for the 1989, 1990 and 1991 excavations at Cill Donnain III.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781782976288

1782976280

9781782976301

1782976302