Yes

Yes / A re-analysis of archaeomagnetic data from seven vitrified hillforts in Scotland, sampled in the 1980s, shows excellent agreement with recent radiocarbon dates. In the past thirty years our knowledge of the secular variation of the geomagnetic field has greatly improved, especially in the 1st millennium BC, allowing earlier archaeomagnetic data to be reconsidered. We evaluate the likelihood of the data with respect to a state-of-the-art field geomagnetic model and find close coherence between the observed directions and the model for the closing centuries of the first millennium BC. A new Bayesian method of calibration gives the most likely number of separate events required to produce a series of magnetic directions. We then show that the burning of three of the four oblong forts most likely took place around the same time, and our estimate for the date of this is indistinguishable from recent radiocarbon dates from another fort of similar type.

No description available.

Hillforts in Scotland are smaller than their counterparts in southern Britain and extremely difficult to define as a site category. This is even more true in the western and northern parts of the country traditionally described as Atlantic Scotland, where the plethora of small enclosed sites forms a continuum in terms of size and morphology that cuts across the boundaries of current classifications. Using the recent definition of a hillfort by J.D. Hill as a site type that is not a farmstead, this thesis attempts to analyse enclosed sites in terms of their area enclosed, morphology/architecture and particularly their landscape position to try to identify groups of sites or individual monuments that are these ‘not-farmsteads’. Three case study areas have been chosen for GIS-based analysis. Skye and Kintyre are in Atlantic Scotland. The former is a region where brochs have always been central to interpretations of the Iron Age, but it has a considerable number of larger hilltop enclosures classed as forts, and small, less regular drystone enclosures classed as duns. The forts of Kintyre in Argyll have been more studied, but their social role, as well as their relationship with and distinctiveness from the duns of Kintyre are still unknown. The final case study area is the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, part of Galloway, in Prof. Piggott’s Solway-Clyde province. Generally included with southern Scotland and the Borders in syntheses of Scottish prehistory, it has many aspects to its later prehistoric archaeology that may be considered ‘Atlantic’ in nature, such as small prominent drystone enclosures, promontory forts and sites with complex, traditionally Atlantic architecture. However, there are also hilltop enclosures classed as forts that are much larger than in the other two case study areas. GIS based analyses have been used, and combined with statistical testing to try to identify patterns in the landscape positioning of certain classes or sizes of enclosed site. Sites have been analysed in terms of their distance from the sea, altitude, topographic prominence, visibility in the landscape, and proximity to/visibility of agricultural land. These results have been interpreted to try to refine present site categorisations, and to attempt to identify those sites that are different from merely farmsteads.

My work deals with current konwledge of Celts in Iron Age and Roman Britain (approximately from the 6th century BC to the 5th century AD), includes infromation about chronology and periodization, Celtic society, settlement, burial practices, economic life, art and religion. The attention is devoted to today's views on Britain's share in the process of ethnogenesis of Celts and the ethnic structure of the population in pre-Roman period and the influence of the migration from the continent. The thasis further focuses primarily on the period of Roman occupation between 43 - 410 AD and the influence of Roman occupation on other aspects of Celtic society and effort to capture the development of the agricultural settlement outside the central site and explore the influences of Roman civilization in this environment. Work should, inter alia, aim to complete assessment of the extent of the continuation, modification or extinction of indigenous cultural forms.

I denna uppsats analyseras utbredningen av fornlämningar i Mälardalen och deras förhållande till miljö och geologi, med fokus på att hitta okända fornlämningar med hjälp av digitala verktyg. Kulturmiljöregistret baserat på inventeringar genomförda över tid studeras. Verktygen GIS och MaxEnt beskrivs, samt deras användning för arkeologiska landskapsstudier. De används för analys av fornlämningarnas spridningsbild. Ett antal lämningskategorier valdes ut för analys, och resultaten jämförs med tidigare forskning. Arkeologi och statistik kombinerat med naturvetenskapliga metoder används för att skapa modeller av okända lämningar som kan användas för att försöka återfinna dessa genom historiska kartor, LiDAR eller med geofysik. Spridningsmönster av figurristningar från bronsåldern påvisas ha en stark korrelation till bergarten kvartsarenit, en upptäckt som kan leda till nya tolkningar av lämningskategorin och landskapsutnyttjandet i Uppland. Uppsatsen visar på modeller och tekniker för landskapsanalys som kan vara användbara för att identifiera tidigare okända mönster och bättre förstå förhistoriska landskap samt för att skapa en brygga till framtida arkeologisk forskning med stöd av AI, drönare och stora datamängder. / In this paper, the distribution of ancient remains in the Mälardalen and their relationship to the environment and geology is analysed, focusing on finding unknown ancient remains using digital tools. Kulturmiljöregistret created from inventories carried out over time is studied. The tools GIS and MaxEnt are described, as well as their use for archaeological landscape studies and for analysis of distribution patterns of ancient remains. A number of categories of remains were selected for analysis, and the results were compared with previous research. Archaeology and statistics combined with natural science are used to create models of unknown remains for recovering them with the aid of historical maps, LiDAR or geophysics. Distribution patterns of figure carvings from the Bronze Age are shown to have a strong correlation to the rock type quartz arenite, a discovery that can lead to new interpretations of this category of remains and the landscape utilization in Uppland. The paper shows models for landscape analysis which can be useful for identifying previously unknown patterns and for better understanding of prehistoric landscapes, as well as to create a bridge to future archaeological research supported by AI, drones and large data sets.