The subject of this study is Viking-Late Norse settlement (c. AD800-1200) in the North Atlantic, focusing on Orkney and on longhouse complexes constructed on mounds. For the first time these mound settlements are investigated as a group and as deliberately constructed mounds. Settlement mounds in Orkney are also closely associated with nearly 40 Skaill ON skáli ('hall') place-names, which place-names linked the sites with the social and economic networks of Orkney's peripatetic leaders. This association is examined more closely. The analysis also demonstrates that constructing settlements on mounds required particular building techniques, which relied heavily on the use of midden-type material. Those techniques are examined using new and freshly analysed material from published and grey literature-published excavations and surveys of sites from the Viking-Late Norse period in Orkney and elsewhere. Three core data-sets were established to provide the evidential basis: the first, also drawing on site-visits, looking broadly at mound landscapes and skáli-areas in Orkney; the second at the building techniques and materials used on settlement mounds; and the third, also requiring site-visits, at all the skáli place-name sites. The possible origins of settlement mound living in the settlers' Scandinavian homelands are investigated, then the extent to which mound living was also followed in Shetland, Caithness and the Western Isles, and finally in previously unoccupied lands, using Iceland as a case study. The mound-sites, their archaeology, mound architecture, place-names and landscape setting are also analysed in a new theoretical framework to reach fresh understandings of Viking-Late Norse settlement in Orkney. The analysis thus considers the wider cultural significance of constructing and living on settlement mounds, and what that communicated about Viking-Late Norse society. The thesis argues that Viking-Late Norse groups chose prominently-placed sites for their visual dominance and commanding views, but also that the rebuilding of mound structures in one spot, and building out and up of the mound itself using midden material, set strong cultural messages about stability, continuity and association with the surrounding landscape. The mounds were complex features of culturally meaningful architecture.

The Northern Isles are strongly influenced by changes in the North Atlantic Ocean atmosphere system and, as they project northwards from the British Isles, provide an ideal geographical opportunity to study changing climatic gradients during the last glacial/interglacial transition along with the detection of regime shifts. Three proxies, diatoms, pollen, and micro-XRF sediment chemistry, have been employed to explore the nature and timing of environmental changes within the water columns and the wider catchments of Loch of Sabiston, Orkney, and Loch of Clumlie and Loch of Grimsetter, Shetland to better understand the nature and timing of environmental change within and among the island groups. The records are constrained by radiocarbon dating, supported by tephrochronology, and the Greenland ice core chronology to enable the comparison of the records produced by this study with previous research in the North Atlantic region. The diatom and lithological results from Loch of Sabiston suggest early deglaciation at c. 23,000 cal BP followed by gradual warming (GI-1e) punctuated by the cooling events coeval with GS-1 and GI-1b. However, the pollen record reflects a lagged response in the development from colonising cold tolerant vegetation to more temperate shrub and woodland communities. The Oracadian signal is dominated by the switching on and off of the accumulation of marl which serves as a supporting indicator of warmer conditions. The Shetland landscape appears to have been deglaciated later at c. 16,400 cal BP, but also has clear representation of GI-1e and the cooling events of GI-1b and GS-1. Both the Shetland and Orkney records record the dramatic cooling of the Younger Dryas but also suggest a two stage change from colder and drier to colder and wetter conditions before the onset of the Holocene. Shetland appears to have experienced less extreme climatic changes in comparison to Orkney despite being in the same present phytogeographical region. This is likely due to the former persisting in the arctic domain and the latter being closer to the latitudinal shifts in the warmer ocean circulation of the North Atlantic during the LGIT. Comparison of the three proxies demonstrates that they may differ by several hundred years in their response to dramatic climatic changes and, therefore, highlights the strength of multi-proxy approaches to reconstructing Quaternary environments. Combining proxies such as diatom and μ-XRF scanning techniques will provide a greater understanding of the processes occurring during environmental change in this region.

The designation of World Heritage Sites (WHS) by UNESCO is the principal international and formally recognised strategy allowing the conservation of sites of outstanding cultural value throughout the world. This study demonstrates that soils and sediments influenced by cultural activities retain cultural records (soils and sediments-based cultural records, hereafter abbreviated to SSBCR) associated with WHS, and further the understanding and contribute to the cultural value of WHS. Considering The Heart of Neolithic Orkney WHS and its surrounding landscape as the study location, systematic fieldwork is combined with geoarchaeological analyses including soil organic matter content, pH, particle size distribution, phosphorus concentration, soil magnetism and thin section micromorphology to determine the nature of the SSBCR. Chronologies of the formation of SSBCR and of palaeo-environmental records were ascertained using radiocarbon analyses and optically stimulated luminescence analysis. Findings of particular importance to the interpretation of the WHS are the identification of a Late Neolithic SSBCR located between the WHS monuments. This SSBCR is a valuable cultural record of a specific Late Neolithic community and provides significant insight into the interaction between settlement and ritual aspects of the Orcadian Late Neolithic. An understanding of these interactions is of crucial importance to a fuller interpretation of the WHS and to the wider discussion of the Orcadian Neolithic. The implications of this research to other WHS designated for their cultural value are discussed, together with future conservation considerations for this specific WHS.

This thesis is a contextual study of the work of Orkney theologian John Oman (1860- 1939), with reference to personal freedom as the unifying principle. Oman’s early life in Orkney, his philosophical awakening in Edinburgh and his wide reading of European thought are the contexts explored. From these contexts emerges a theology that is eclectic in nature and which finds coherence in the principle of personal freedom. Oman’s concept of freedom is defined theologically, metaphysically and personally; this is followed by discussion of its application to the specific subject areas of Christology and Ecclesiology. The priority that Oman gives to personal freedom results in a distinctive theology of Christ and the Church. Thus, the uniqueness of Christ lies in the freedom which he exemplifies in humanity; and the Church is a community of freedom transcending institutional expression. The thesis concludes that Oman’s sui generis theology is the outcome of the heritage of freedom gifted in various contexts. However, this heritage of freedom was radicalised by Oman, as he developed his own theological vision.

Elevated risk of cardiometabolic disease is magnified by variation in body fat distribution, in particular increased accumulation of visceral fat. Genome-wide association studies have mainly focused on anthropometric indices such as WHR and BMI to assess adiposity. They successfully identified over 100 loci highlighting for total fat mainly pathways in the brain involved in the regulation of energy expenditure and appetite and for fat distribution genes expressed in adipose and the periphery. Although genetic variants affecting localised fat deposition are known, the functional mechanisms of regional fat accumulation remain poorly understood. Here, we aimed to explore the genetic contribution to body composition to gain further mechanistic insight, and increase our understanding of the role of such genetic variants in metabolic health. We focused on the isolated population of Orkney. 1,301 participants from the Orkney Complex Disease Study, ORCADES underwent DXA scans allowing direct assessment of fat mass in various depots around the body. Genetic data imputed to the 1000 Genomes Project enabled the investigation of 35 million genetic variants. We first used univariate and bivariate analysis to quantify the contribution of genetic factors to the variation of body composition and establish genetic correlations with metabolic traits. We carried out genome-wide association analyses for body composition to identify new underlying genetic loci. We sought to replicate these findings in the Icelandic AGES cohort and the UK Biobank, with 3,219 and 1,575 participants with body composition analysis, respectively. We investigated the coding variation or the regulatory landscape around the associated variants to understand their functional impact. We further focused on one of the associated loci in greater detail. To establish a potential, causal gene for the associated variants and understand the impact of genetic variation on the regulatory elements, we carried out chromatin conformation studies around ENPP6 by. We then explored the role of causal gene candidate on body composition and metabolic health in an animal mouse model. Individual fat depots were moderately heritable with heritability estimates ranging from 35-50% in ORCADES. The genetic correlations with metabolic traits were highest with android, and visceral fat and the ratio of android and gynoid fat percentage: Insulin (0.68-0.75), HOMA-B (0.58-0.70), HOMA-IR (0.69-0.75), CRP (0.47-0.55) and DBP (0.49-0.58). Genome-wide association analysis identified three regions associated with body composition: VRTN, EXOC6B and ENPP6. Low frequency variants on chromosome 4, mapping within the ENPP6 gene associated with the ratio of android and gynoid fat (p= 4.5x10-10), which replicated in abdominal fat by CT in AGES (p=0.003). Per allele, variant carriers show a reduction in android fat by 3% and visceral fat of 140g as well as lowered diastolic blood pressure of 10mmHg. Due to this evidence ENPP6 was chosen as a focus for further mechanistic and functional studies. The lead SNPs map to an ENCODE-predicted DNase1 hypersensitivity site within the second intron of the ENPP6 gene, suggesting a role in genome regulation. Marking the areas with sequence-specific probes by 3D fluorescent in situ hybridisation confirmed that the association interval co-localised more frequently with the ENPP6 promoter than with other gene promoters within the same chromosomal region in SH-SY5Y neurons (p=0.01) but not human SGBS adipocytes. This indicates ENPP6 as a possible causal gene. Consistent with this ENPP6 mRNA levels were extremely low in human subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue. ENPP6 expression is highest in the brain and kidney, suggesting a neuronal/renal mediated mechanism driving body composition. To model the impact of Enpp6 on adiposity in vivo, Enpp6-/- mice were generated and their metabolic profile investigated. Enpp6-/- mice showed a decrease in visceral fat depot and improved glucose tolerance (n= 24, pfat=0.002, pGTT=0.001). However, no difference was found with regards to their feeding or physical activity behaviour, suggesting an intrinsic alternative to maintaining an energy balance. Using the advantage of genetic drift in a population isolate and direct fat phenotyping we confirmed the contribution of genetic variants to variation in body composition and describe the involvement of three particular loci VRTN, EXOC6B and ENPP6. In particular, we describe ENPP6 as a likely neuronal mechanism underlying selectively visceral adiposity in humans and mice. This study sets a starting point for the investigation into ENPP6 as an anti-obesity and anti-diabetes therapeutic.

Tovesson. R 2012: Orientering av liv och död under mellanneolitikum. Irland, Orkneyöarna och södra England under perioden ca 4000 f.kr – 2000 f.kr. The orientation of life and death- Ireland, Orkney, and Southern England during c 4000-2000 BC. Magisteruppsats i arkeologi. Linnéuniversitetet Kalmar Vt. 2012 Master theses in Archaeology. Linnaeus University Kalmar spring 2012. In this essay I have chosen to study how the orientation between the living and the dead during the Middle Neolithic differed. How were the settlement sites orientated in comparison with the monuments for the dead. I am also studying the way the landscape in the different regions looked like during the time the monuments were used, but also how it looks like today. Were the settlements and the grave/monuments located after a ritual scheme or just randomly. The investigation area is : Ireland as a western point, Orkney as a north point and south England as a south point. I have chose these areas to achieve a geographical approach and to look at different landscapes.   Keywords: Orientation/s, Settlements, Graves, Monuments. Ireland, Orkney, southern England. 4000 BC - 2000 BC.

There has been historical failure to exploit skeletal data in archaeological syntheses of the Neolithic, compounded by poor or cursory osteological reports. This project aimed to discover what Neolithic Orcadian life was like, arguing from skeletal evidence. Orkney's exceptional site preservation and large skeletal collections present opportunities for detailed analysis. The Orkney environment presented identifiable constraints to Neolithic lifeways. Isbister chambered cairn produced the largest assemblage of human remains from any single British Neolithic site. This was examined alongside other Neolithic collections to discover evidence for, and develop models of Neolithic life. The demographic structure indicates that twice as many adult males were deposited as females. Few young infants were in the assemblage but disproportionately many older children and young adults. Stable light isotope analysis suggested age and sex-related dietary differences with a predominantly terrestrial protein source. Pathological conditions included scurvy, multiple myeloma and osteoarthritis. Trauma and non-specific lesions were common and affected all age and sex groups. Prevalences of pathological conditions seemed high and may reflect a group selected for some reason related to disability or deformity. The interred individuals probably held some special status within their society. The chambered cairns' commingled bones do not indicate an egalitarian society or contemporary ancestor veneration but suggest monumental tombs had some special role possibly related to violent death or supernatural liminality.

No description available.

The Neolithic and late Iron Age pottery from the settlement site of Pool, Sanday, Orkney, was studied on two levels. Firstly, a morphological and technological study was carried out to establish a sequence for the site. Secondly an assessment was made of the usefulness of X-ray Fluorescence Analysis, Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectrometry and Petrological analysis to coarse ware studies, using the Pool assemblage as a case study. Recording of technological and typological attributes allowed three phases of Neolithic pottery to be identified. The earliest phase included sherds of Unstan Ware. This phase was followed by an assemblage characterised by pottery with incised decoration, which was stratified below a traditional Grooved Ware assemblage. The change in pottery styles and manufacturing methods with the Grooved Ware indicated that it evolved elsewhere. Grass tempered and burnished pottery characterised the Iron Age assemblage. Pottery samples from all phases of the site were analysed by XRF and ICPS. In addition, pottery from late Iron Age sites in the area was analysed for comparison with the Pool Iron Age pottery. XRF and ICPS analyses did not distinguish between either different phases at Pool or different Orcadian sites. This was attributed to the similarities in geological deposits over much of Orkney and the variations which can occur within a clay source. A clay survey was carried out in the vicinity of the site, and samples taken for comparison with the Pool pottery. Identification of rocks and minerals in thin section, and grain-size analysis, indicated that the Pool pottery was made locally to the site, and that both primary and secondary clays were used. It was concluded that petrological analysis is more suitable than elemental analysis in the study of coarse wares.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of St. Andrews, 2000. / Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (p. [231]-259) and index.