This thesis examines the nature of Mesolithic activity at five spring sites in south-west England. The springs have unusual properties and the lithics associated with each site have been assessed in order to investigate whether they are indicative of unusual, or even ritualistic, behaviour related to the property of the spring. As well as lithics, some of the springs are associated with other types of material culture and in some cases features such as pits are also present. This thesis brings together the different classes of archaeological evidence and situates their study within the context of the spring and the wider landscape. Recently in Archaeology there has been an increasing interest in the significance of ‘natural places’, which has led to topographical features being seen as important, and sometimes even sacred, places in the landscape. By contrast, in Mesolithic studies, natural features such as springs are often predominantly viewed in a functional sense, as a source of potable water and a convenient focus for settlement. Occasionally however some sites, such as the Hot Spring, Bath one of the case studies presented here, have been suggested to be evidence of Mesolithic ritual behaviour. These polarised views usually arise from an analysis of lithic attributes and the contexts in which the lithics are found. The more unusual the context, and the better the quality of the artefact deposited into them, the more likely it will be equated with ‘ritual’ behaviour. The unusual nature of the five springs examined here: two hot springs at Bath Spa and three tufa depositing springs at Langley’s Lane, Somerset, Cherhill, Wiltshire and Blashenwell Dorset, allowed that premise to be questioned and the results have demonstrated that aspects of mundane and ritual behaviour are virtually indistinguishable from the lithic record alone. Yet whilst there is a variance in the treatment of materials at springs with similar properties there are also certain commonalities between them, which may suggest that shared beliefs underpinned Mesolithic cosmologies, at least in the south-west region. The springs of this study were features in what were dynamic Mesolithic landscapes and the findings suggest the practices that were carried out reflected and embodied that dynamism. Mesolithic activity at springs remains an understudied topic within British archaeology, despite the potential these sites offer to engage with theoretical concepts such as landscape, praxis, belief and cosmology. This study has attempted to redress this imbalance and reinforces the potential of springs to elicit information that will enrich current knowledge of Mesolithic lifescapes and landscapes.

This thesis explores the portable, non-indigenous material culture strongly related, but not exclusive, to one specific ethnic group in the medieval period. It is based on the idea that people from different cultural backgrounds cannot come into contact with each other without their identities being altered in some significant way, and these altered identities will be expressed in their material culture. During the period c.800-1100, the Vikings initiated contact with the inhabitants of Britain, first by raiding and attacking, then by trading and settling amongst the local populations. Whereas most research of Viking and local interaction has focused on Viking settlements in the Northern and Western Isles or the Anglo-Scandinavian town of York, this thesis focuses on the peripheral areas of Viking political control: northern England and southern Scotland. It is in these regions where there are increasing amounts of evidence of Viking activities and interactions with the local peoples. Three key research questions are asked of the materials found within the study area: 1) how and why did items of ‘Viking’ material culture enter regions outside of the centres of traditional Viking settlements? 2) How and why were these items used to conduct meaningful contacts and interactions with those people already inhabiting this land? 3) How and why were identities constructed in these regions where multiple cultural traditions came into contact with one another? A multifaceted approach is adopted to answer these questions. First, the historical sources are analysed for different contexts of contact and interaction between Vikings and non- Vikings in the study area. Second, a postcolonial approach to studying the interactions between groups was adopted in order to move away from simplistic assimilation or acculturation narratives where one group subsumes the other. Rather, this approach argues for the creation of a new social dimension in which people’s actions, routines, and identities are altered in order to negotiate and thrive within the new cultural landscape. It is argued that the hybridization seen in many of the artefacts, as well as other sources utilised throughout the thesis, is the material articulation of this new space. Finally, this thesis includes data recovered through the Portable Antiquities Scheme and Treasure Trove Scotland in addition to excavated finds. In the study region, 499 items are identified and catalogued as Viking or hybrid-Viking, many of which have no archaeological context as they are stray or metal-detected finds. Through the course of searching, three major concentrations were identified along major maritime inlets: the Solway Firth, the River Clyde, and the Forth and Tay Basins. These concentrations were turned into three case-study areas based upon concentrations of finds as well as the contextual aids of historical sources, place-names, and stone sculpture. The first case study examines the Solway Firth and determines that the Vikings were a very important part of the population, and a hybridized society is seen there. The second case study of Strathclyde also determines that the Vikings were active there; the evidence indicates smaller, more concentrated communities of Vikings that integrated into the British population of the region. The final case study of the Forth and Tay basins establishes the Vikings as important actors there, although not only in the traditional view of their attacks opening up the Pictish throne for Cinaed mac Alpin. The Vikings settled in this region and aided the formation of the new kingdom of Alba. Overall, it is shown that Vikings were much more active on the peripheries of their political establishments than has previously been realised. It is also demonstrated that people in contact with others from different cultural backgrounds will alter their routines, practices, materials, and identities in order to negotiate the new social sphere that is created by such interaction. The key to understanding this negotiation is recognising the multiple contexts in which people interact and that each situation will result in different hybridized routines, materials, and identities that are unique to that specific context.

This work aspires to contribute to the study of ritual in as constructive and methodologically sound way as possible. The contentious issue of ritual interpretation is deliberately avoided. Instead, methodologies for positively recognising ritual and assessing its establishment are developed. The study of the establishment of ritual is based on the premise that it can be a valuable source of information for the dynamics and establishment of the given society. The entire study takes the special perspective of prehistoric and more specifically of Minoan archaeology, concentrating on the case of some open air rituals. Firstly, ritual value is attributed to some Minoan open air sites and to the relevant iconography. Subsequently, following the methodology developed in the first chapters, it is shown that all studied rituals were highly established. Moreover, some of these ritual sites could be seen as entities which also managed, produced, and invested wealth, demonstrating the great establishment of the respective rituals, and further contributing to it through their own establishment. The high level of establishment of the Minoan ritual sphere, as seen through the open air rituals, points to the great importance of rituals to the dynamics of Minoan society. It also implies a high level of establishment of other spheres such as the political or that of social relations. Finally it contributes to the overall establishment of Minoan society, as a factor which unified the politically fragmented island. Our discussion of the Minoan material demonstrated that the methodologies developed for the attribution of ritual value to an activity and for the assessment of its establishment can be beneficial for prehistoric archaeology and for most social sciences. The Minoan material profited from these ideas but also showed that their implementation is feasible.

Technological and typological analysis of lithic assemblages from southern Oman have been undertaken for this study. These assemblages are characterized by the production of elongated end products (i.e., blades/leptoliths) using varied core reduction modalities exemplified here. These modalities have been identified based on technological analysis of production waste and core reconstructions using artefact refittings. Such blade technologies are accompanied by formal tool such as tanged projectile called Fasad point, burins, endscrapers and pseude-backed knifes. This technological and typological package has been identified on both systematic surface collections and stratified sites, making it possible to place these assemblages chronologically between 10.000 and 7.000 before present (BP). The chronological and techno-typological characterization of these blade assemblages warrants its status as a lithic industry of the Late Palaeolithic technocomplex. At present, blade assemblages from stratified sites in Yemen (Shi’bat Dihya) and Oman (al Hatab) which dated to 55.000 and 11.000 BP, represent the possible source of the techno/typological package found across Southern Oman at the beginning of the Holocene. No technological or typological resemblance with any other industry from outside of Arabia has been noted, enforcing the local , Arabian, origin of the Early Holocene Populations of the South Arabian Highlands.

It is suggested that previous interpretations of the Neolithic and Bronze Ages of Aberdeenshire have, in the main, been flawed due to a pre-occupation with placing the remains of these periods within models still grounded in cultural historical frameworks. Consequently, I abandon period divisions within the thesis, and instead use the changing nature of human inhabitation of landscape, based on the available radiometric dating, as the temporal basis for the study. Thus, recent phenomenological approaches in archaeology are highlighted as a significant development to the study of past remains. Such phenomenological approaches, however, do suffer from a lack of consideration of the role ofperception in constituting social meanings in the past. The theory of the cultural sensoria is developed, therefore, and the significance of material culture, during ontogenesis, in the maintenance of social meanings is stressed. The thesis explores how human understanding of their material conditions (landscape and material culture) changed through the fourth to second millennia BC. Study of the sensory qualities of material culture indicates that a shift in balance of sensory orders, from haptic to visual dominance, took place during this period. The inter-relationship between topography and monument locations is studied. This demonstrated that the choice of monument location was constrained by a number of competing factors, such as the extent of visual field and inter-visibilities. The importance of recognising the inter-play between the materiality of monuments and landscape as a significant component in the constitution of cosmological systems is highlighted. The tension between regional traditions and local expressions within those wider traditions is explored. A variety of historical trends during the fourth and second millennia BC are identified. Ultimately, I conclude sensory studies are of considerable value to the study of all archaeological remains and that it is possible to study historical phenomenologies.

No description available.

This thesis is a study of the earliest masonry church towers in Alba, the historic core of the kingdom of Scots. The towers at Abernethy, Brechin, Dunblane, Muthill and Markinch have been briefly considered in architectural histories with dating construction as their principal concern. I maintain that there is no equivalent archaeological presence in the study of medieval churches as there is in England and Ireland. Where church archaeologies are produced in Scotland they generally do not progress past data description. As a consequence, Scottish contributions to church archaeology publications are largely written by architectural-historians, particularly Richard Fawcett, who is the sole modern authority on Scotland’s medieval churches. To distinguish my archaeology from previous research I do three things. Firstly, I review other ecclesiastical research from the past 30 years to provide a deeper historical context for these buildings. Architectural histories begin their narrative of church building from the late eleventh century based largely on extant remains. Yet from excavations and sculptural assemblages the tradition of building in stone can be dated with confidence from the late eighth century. Secondly, this study provides close fabric analyses of each tower and its immediate context, describing more architectural features than have previously been noted. These include masonry re-use at Dunblane and Abernethy indicating that stone churches pre-dated these towers. I link these architectural observations to changes in liturgical practice using Anthony Giddens’ theory of structuration, as modified for the study of archaeological remains by John Barratt. These case-studies are used to describe the material settings of religious and social practice in the eleventh and early twelfth centuries. In line with recent research on church towers in Lincolnshire and Ireland I challenge the belief that these structures were ancillary to their associated churches and were instead the focus of liturgical practice.

In the UK sites of conflict, in particular battlefields, are becoming more frequently associated with the label ‘heritage at risk’. As the concept of battlefield and conflict archaeology has evolved, so too has the recognition that battlefields are dynamic, yet fragile, archaeological landscapes in need of protection. The tangible evidence of battle is primarily identified by distributions of artefacts held within the topsoil, such as lead projectiles, weapon fragments or buttons torn from clothing; debris strewn in the heat of battle. Much of the battlefield therefore remains as a faint footprint, and where it survives, may provide valuable information, if recorded accurately. Drawing evidence from numerous sources, including a two year monitoring programme of the auction site eBay, from October 2008 until November 2010 and data produced by the heritage sector, this research intends to highlight the activities of hobbyist metal detectorists as a key issue in the conservation and management of sites of conflict. Whist the research recognises the positive contribution of hobbyist metal detecting through engagement with archaeologists, responsible practice and the discovery of previously unknown sites of conflict, it also identifies the negative impact of this activity through the unrecorded removal of battle-related material resulting in the erosion of artefact scatters and ultimately the loss of important national heritage. Another important element of this research has been to further understand the nature of this activity and the motivation to metal detect on sites of conflict, achieved through the presentation of detailed case studies and the application of sociological frameworks such as ‘serious leisure’ (Stebbins 1992). Overall, the fundamental aim of the research has been to inform heritage management strategies to ensure the future protection of landscapes of conflict in the UK.

This thesis describes an approach to the study of medieval rural settlement in Mid-Argyll which involved a combination of archaeological survey and historic geography. The techniques used included archaeological fieldwork, excavation, geophysical survey, and the consultation of historic maps, documentary evidence and aerial photographs. The area covered in this thesis includes the parishes of Kilmartin, Kilmichael Glassary and North Knapdale in Mid-Argyll, Scotland. Initial wide ranging fieldwork and consideration of the historical context was followed by more detailed investigations which are presented as four case studies, at Bàrr Mór, Glennan, Carnasserie and North Knapdale. This work has provided a greater understanding of the chronology, architecture, social organisation, economy and material culture of medieval rural settlement in Mid-Argyll. The thesis concludes that the current scarcity of the physical remains of medieval settlement may be a result of a combination of the use of perishable materials, subsequent cultivation of settlement sites, deliberate demolition and re-use of structures and the lack of dating material. Despite this, there is a potential for understanding how people utilised and moved through the landscape, through further examination of the physical remains of shielings, pre-Improvement farmsteads, castles as well as utilising other disciplines such as palynology and Gaelic literary sources.

Monuments of stone, earth and wood were built for the first time at the beginning of the Neolithic period in Scotland (4000 BC). While archaeological attention and investigation has focused upon monuments of stone and earth, those of timber have generally received much less attention and remain to be fully accepted and integrated into wider understandings of the Neolithic. This is despite a rich record of cropmark timber monuments held within the aerial archives of the National Monuments Record of Scotland (NMRS) and an increasing number of excavated timber monuments. This thesis is an attempt to remedy this imbalance. It examines all the evidence for timber monuments of Neolithic date currently recorded in Scotland, integrating those recorded as cropmarks with those uncovered during excavation and considers their place within the wider Neolithic repertoire. As the majority of timber monuments have been recorded as cropmarks, this thesis strives to move beyond cropmarks and the morphology of sites and argues that strict typologies serve to constrain the archaeological record. Instead a more contextual approach is taken whereby other factors, such as materialities or the use of space are taken into account. This is particularly put into practice within three case study areas where a landscape approach, employing field visits and a bodily engagement with the location of sites, is combined with GIS analysis and the consideration of the case study areas as a whole. Consideration of timber monuments, both at a country-wide level and at the more detailed level of the three case study areas, demonstrates the wide range of timber monuments that were constructed and the important part they had to play within the wider monumental repertoire of Neolithic Scotland. Timber monuments can be suggested to reflect wider values and ideals shared by Neolithic communities as well as more local concerns and engagements by individual groups and communities. The monuments built may reflect some of the ways in which communities thought through and transformed their relationships to the forest and the wider environment and provide perspectives upon the importance of place and memory, the influence and important role of the environment, and the regional nature and diversity evident throughout Neolithic Scotland. Ultimately, this thesis demonstrates that timber monuments were important spaces and places that were used by Neolithic communities for many different purposes and so should form an important part of any consideration of the Neolithic period in Scotland.