Dunnicaer, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

A Roman Iron Age promontory fort beyond the frontier

Bibliographic Data

ID11611449
AuthorsGordon Noble (0000-0003-4670-5658, Department of Archaeology, School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK, corresponding author), Nicholas Evans (0000-0003-0893-3713, Department of Archaeology, School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK), Derek A Hamilton (0000-0001-7021-3288, Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre), Derek Hamilton (0000-0003-4019-3823, SUERC, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK), Cathy MacIver (AOC Archaeology, Inverness, UK), Edouard Masson-Maclean (0000-0001-5789-6846, Department of Archaeology, School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK), James O''Driscoll (0000-0001-8806-6394, Department of Archaeology, School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK)
Year2020
Volume177
Issue2
Pages256-338
Publication date2020-05-28
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueArchaeological Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0066-5983 • E-ISSN: 2373-2288
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00665983.2020.1724050
OpenAlexW3001585237
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited47

Dunnicaer, Aberdeenshire, a now isolated sea stack, is the findspot of five Pictish symbol stones discovered in the nineteenth century. Excavations from 2015 to 2017 have revealed a Roman Iron Age promontory fort, providing insights into the development of fortified settlement in north-east Scotland, with fortified sites being a key feature of first millennium AD elite practice in this region. The presence of rare and unusual finds indicates contact with the Roman world to the south and changes in the character of settlement as evidenced at Dunnicaer indicate broader transitions in the later Roman Iron Age native society. The archaeological sequence at Dunnicaer sheds new light on the adoption of non-roundhouse styles of architecture in first millennium AD Scotland and provides important evidence for the dating of the Pictish symbol tradition. A consideration of the impacts of coastal erosion on promontories of this nature suggests these are amongst the most threatened archaeological sites

Ancient history · Archaeology · Excavation · Frontier · Geography · Iron Age · Promontory · Settlement (finance · Symbol (formal · Archaeological Research and Protection · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · History · Maritime and Coastal Archaeology