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| STAR MONOGRAPH SERIES | |
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Monograph 1 About
one third of this cliff-edge site had been lost to coastal erosion when
it was excavated in 1984 and in situ preservation was not possible.
Full excavation facilitated detailed analysis of the architecture and
depositional history of the site while extensive radiocarbon dating
demonstrated intermittent use for inhumation and constant exploitation
of the site by otters, dogs, birds and latterly by rabbits. The site's
interpretation implies, inter alia, that chambered cairns were easily
erected and as easily lost from the field record; that inhumation was
the common burial practice and that totemism did not form part of the
Neolithic rituals associated with chambered cairns. Limited Stock Available
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Monograph 2 Survey and excavation were undertaken to inform decision making about
the management of the cultural resources around the Machriewater/Blackwater
catchment, then under threat from afforestation. Mesolithic spreads, Neolithic
settlement sites and field systems, extensive Beaker Period, Later Bronze
Age and Iron Age landscapes of hut groups, clearance cairns, burial cairns,
field banks and agricultural remains, together with Dark Age fields, all
form part of the palimpsest of sites within the research area. Pedological
processes like podzolisation, gleying and peat formation have caused geochemical
changes in virtually all of the soil contexts of these sites and this
aspect of the human interaction with the landscape is considered in some
detail.
Limited Stock Available
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Monograph 3 The upgrading of the road between Bonar Bridge and Lairg, Sutherland
provided access to an area rich in archaeological remains. From 1988 to
1991 an intensive programme of survey and excavation was undertaken which
recorded evidence of vestigial Neolithic settlement, extensive Bronze
Age settlement and agriculture and its subsequent collapse. After 500
years, during the Iron Age, settlement and extensive agricultural landuse
resumed and persisted until circa AD 1000. Thereafter, the land was dominated
by pastural landuse. The final extensive phase of settlement was reflected
by the excavation of a turf long-house from which the tenants, like so
many of their neighbours, were probably cleared in 1807. Focusing on the
dynamic relationship between the successive human populations and the
landscape, the project has sought to chart the duration and impact of
each major phase of landuse through various artefactual and ecofactual
studies. These approaches, including soil pedology, plant macrofossil
studies and palynological analysis, were supported by the most extensive
radiocarbon-dating programme to date in Scotland.
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Monograph 4 Excavations at Buiston Crannog revealed that extensive occupation deposits
still survived, despite drainage of the surrounding loch and subsequent
excavation in the 19th century. Radiocarbon dating indicates that the
crannog was initially built during the period of Roman occupation, but
dendrochronological analysis of the structural timbers has demonstrated
that the bulk of the surviving occupation deposits relate to a short period
of activity in the first half of the 7th century AD. Settlement on the
crannog consisted, at any one time, of a single round house within a defensive
perimeter and analysis of the macroplant remains and the invertebrate
assemblage have provided insights into the conditions in which these structures
were inhabited. A wide range of organic artefacts, primarily wood and
leather, was recovered, complementing the rich inorganic artefact assemblage
retrieved during the 19th century excavations. The natural environment
of the crannog, the nature of the settlement, and the status of the inhabitants
and their relationship to the ruling elite of British Strathclyde are
amongst the themes explored in this text.
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Monograph 5 This report presents an illustrated account of the excavation of the
remains of buildings identified as a sixteenth-century house of the Observantine
Friars. The evidence points to a gradual development of the Friary, from
the initial construction of the north range in the early 1500s through
the addition of other buildings which would ultimately enclose a central
cloister. The waters of the adjacent Skiprunning Burn were managed by
the friars, with drains led into a lade or water-channel diverted from
the stream. Analysis of building materials, artefacts and ecofacts recovered
during the excavation provides insights into the diet and living conditions
of the friars.
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Monograph 6 The farm lands between the Forth and the Tyne represent one of the richest
areas in Britain for crop-mark sites, many of them evidently the remains
of Iron Age enclosed settlements. New housing developments at Fishers
Road provided a unique opportunity for the detailed investigation of two
adjacent enclosures within the space of a single year. Interlinked by
a series of over 50 radiocarbon dates, the two investigations encompass
extensive studies of the archaeological remains, artefacts, animal bones,
plant remains and sediments. The dating programme indicates that the two
Fishers Road sites were in contemporary use for at least part of their
lives, leading to an exploration in this account of the nature of the
relationship between them.
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Monograph 7
During the period 1996-2000, excavations of the Roman Vicus associated
with the Roman Fort were conducted by AOC Archaeology within the
scheduled area in the grounds of the Inveresk Gate estate at Inveresk,
East Lothian. This was done in advance of development by Cala Homes
(Scotland) and was a consequence of earlier important discoveries by
Gordon Maxwell and Gordon Thomas. As well as confirming the results of
the earlier excavations, the AOC excavations enhance understanding of
the development of the Roman Vicus and the life within it. The
excavations also demonstrate new evidence for how the Roman fort was
constructed, and waste management during the occupation of the fort.
The Inveresk Gate excavations also suggest that Inveresk had a
strategic role for the Romans occupation of Southern Scotland,
independent of the Antonine Wall. This Monograph is essential reading
for the study of the chronology and nature of the Roman occupation of
Southern Scotland.
Limited Stock Available
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Monograph 8
This is the first of two volumes on the series of archaeological
excavations carried out by AOC Archaeology at Kintore, Aberdeenshire.
The sites all lie within a Roman temporary marching camp but the
settlement sequence stretches from the Neolithic through to the
Mediaeval period. The evidence is superlative - from the largest
assemblage of Neolithic pottery in Aberdeenshire, the largest cluster
of roundhouses excavated anywhere in Scotland to the largest number of
Roman bread ovens excavated on any military site in the Empire!
PRICE: £30.00 + £5.00 P&P per volume
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| OTHER PUBLICATIONS | |
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INTERPRETING STRATIGRAPHY: CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS, 25TH NOVEMBER 1992, EDINBURGH (PAPERBACK)
A Number of themes emerged from the conference on stratification in
Edinburgh on 25 November, 1992. The first of these was the evolution of
procedures for the post-excavation analysis of very large sites. The
lectures by Shepherd, Steane and Hammer, et al are presented here and
seem to indicate the emergence of a commonality of philosophy and
approach on urban sites which is mirrored in Lowe's description of AOC
(Scotland) Ltd's approach to deeply stratified rural sites.
PRICE: £5.00 + £2.00 P&P per volume
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