Torben Bjarke Ballin
Biographic Data
| ID | 5642191 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Torben Bjarke Ballin |
| GIVEN NAMES | Torben Bjarke |
| FAMILY NAME | Ballin |
| SIGNATURE | BALLIN T B |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Stirling |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 25 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 57 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 25 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2000 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
South Cuidrach
A new site in north Skye has revealed evidence of human occupation from the Late Upper Palaeolithic as well as the Early and Late Mesolithic periods, suggesting repeated visits by humans for at least 5,000 years from the Late Glacial Interstadial through the Loch Lomond Readvance and up to the mid-Holocene, a time of dynamic climatic and sea-level change. South Cuidrach is one of several sites in the north of the Isle of Skye and around the Inner…
Furness’s First Farmers
In 2015, excavations at Stainton Quarry, Furness, Cumbria, recovered remains that provide a unique insight into Early Neolithic farming in the vicinity. Five pits, a post-hole, and deposits within a tree-throw and three crevices in a limestone outcrop were investigated. The latter deposits yielded potentially the largest assemblage of Carinated Bowl fragments yet recovered in Cumbria. Lipid analysis identified dairy fats within nine of these sher…
Archaeological excavations at Nethermills Farm, Deeside, 1978–81
The Mesolithic site of Nethermills Farm, Crathes, Banchory, was identified from fieldwalking that took place between 1973 and 1977 and it was excavated between 1978 and 1981 under the direction of James Kenworthy. Kenworthy interpreted the site as a ‘hunter-gatherer camp’ with probable evidence for a circular structure, but publication of the excavation was never completed. This paper draws on specialist work undertaken immediately after excavati…
Searching for the Scottish Late Upper Palaeolithic
In connection with the recent examination, cataloguing and discussion of approximately 30,000 mainly Mesolithic lithic artefacts from Nethermills Farm at Banchory in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, excavated by the late James Kenworthy in the late 1970s and early 1980s, a small number of finds were identified as almost certainly whole or fragmented Late Upper Palaeolithic lithic artefacts, and others as pieces likely to date to this period. The Nethermi…
Excavation of a Bronze Age Ring-Groove House at Inverkip, Inverclyde
This paper describes the excavation of an unenclosed ring-groove house at Ardgowan Rise, Inverkip, Inverclyde. The remains were identified during an archaeological evaluation carried out prior to development of the site, and comprised a timber-built structure, defined by two sections of ring-groove and postholes, along with interior and exterior features. While material from most of the structural components and from the hearth has been radiocarb…
Alan Saville (31 December 1946 – 19 June 2016)
Alan Saville had a long and distinguished career in British archaeology, and following his education and early archaeological background in England, he has latterly been associated mainly with Scottish archaeology, where he held the post of Senior Curator at the Department of Scottish Archaeology and History, National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh
Scotland's intertidal prehistory
Sea-level rise and coastal change have impacted on the visibility of early to mid-Holocene sites worldwide. Due to the combination of eustatic and isostatic effects, modern coastal landscapes rarely reflect those occupied and exploited by prehistoric people. This suggests that intertidal and marine archaeology is set to become increasingly important in future studies of the coastal populations of prehistoric Britain. Though Scotland’s west coast …
Lost and found twice
Over the last few decades it has been shown that Scotland was settled – or at least occasionally visited – during the late Upper Palaeolithic period. The finds include diagnostic artefacts of Hamburgian, Federmesser and Ahrensburgian typology, but since Livens’ presentation in 1956 of three tanged arrowheads from Scotland, it has also been discussed whether northern Britain was settled or visited from the north-east, by groups belonging to the Sc…
Arran pitchstone (Scottish volcanic glass)
In the present paper, the author offers new absolute and contextual dating evidence for Scottish archaeological pitchstone. Much archaeological pitchstone from the Scottish mainland is recovered from unsealed contexts of multi-period or palimpsest sites, and pitchstone artefacts from radiocarbon-dated pits therefore provide important dating evidence for this material group and its associated exchange network. In Scotland, all archaeological pitch…
Mesolithic and Early Neolithic activity along the Dee
Excavation on a gravel ridge beside the River Dee in Aberdeen revealed a small ovoid building of early Neolithic date. Not only does this add to the very small corpus of early Neolithic buildings yet excavated in Scotland, but the survival of floors and hearths also allows some analysis of functions within the building. The structural, artefactual and radiocarbon evidence suggest that this was a permanent building in use over at least a generatio…
Room With a View
Excavations at Ravelrig Quarry, City of Edinburgh revealed activity from the Late Neolithic, and late Bronze Age, although the main phase of activity was the construction of a palisaded homestead during the early Iron Age. Inside an oval shaped palisade was a circular ring-groove roundhouse and a possible second circular structure comprising ditches and post-holes. The roundhouse contained a central hearth with associated post-holes, two large pi…
Island Quarries, Island Axeheads, and the Neolithic of Ireland and Britain
A notable feature of the Neolithic Period (4,000-2,500 cal B.C.) of northwest Europe is the exploitation of lithic sources on islands for the production of stone axeheads and other artifacts. This article focuses on three such islands: 1) Rathlin in the North Channel off the northeast coast of Ireland, 2) the island group of Shetland between the North Atlantic and the North Sea, and 3) the island of Lambay off the east coast of Ireland. This work…
State of the art’ of British gunflint research, with special focus on the early gunflint workshop at Dun Eistean, Lewis
Uncritical use of flawed literature has allowed a number of misunderstandings to affect gunflint terminology and typology, thereby preventing the establishment of a reliable chronology. With reference to the most recent research into the subject, this article discusses gunflint terminology and, on this basis, a gunflint typo-chronology is suggested. As most British gunflint assemblages known from the archaeological literature tend to be late, and…
Anders Högberg. Lithics in the Scandinavian Late Bronze Age
Anders Högberg. Lithics in the Scandinavian Late Bronze Age: sociotechnical change and persistence (British Archaeological Reports International Series 1932). 303 pages, 223 illustrations, 126 tables. 2009. Oxford: Archaeopress; 978-1-4073-0414-4 paperback. - Volume 84 Issue 325
An Upper Palaeolithic Flint and Chert Assemblage From Howburn Farm, South Lanarkshire, Scotland
This paper describes the discovery of the first open-air Upper Palaeolithic site to be found in Scotland, at Howburn, near Biggar in South Lanarkshire. An account is given of the composition and distribution of the lithic assemblage, which is discussed in terms of its British and north-west European context. Provisional parallels drawn are with the Late Hamburgian (Havelte) sites and assemblages of southern Scandinavia, northern Germany and the N…
Upper Palaeolithic evidence from Kilmelfort Cave, Argyll
An assemblage of flint and quartz artefacts recovered during the destruction of Kilmelfort Cave,Argyll, in 1956, was initially attributed to the Mesolithic period. In this paper the assemblage is reanalysedand the conclusion that it represents the residue of human occupation at the site duringthe Late Glacial Interstadial is reached. Typological considerations indicate the assemblage isof Curve-Backed Point Group (Federmessergruppen) affiliation …
Excavations on the site of a late Iron Age roundhouse and souterrain, Glen Cloy, Brodick, Isle of Arran
Archaeological monitoring during topsoil stripping of a hotel and leisure development site in Glen Cloy, Isle of Arran in 2001 revealed the presence of a well-preserved, substantial roundhouse and an associated complex souterrain. The discovery is significant in terms of the information it provides for the distribution of souterrains in Scotland generally and in the west in particular, and for settlement and craft activities on Arran in the late …
Excavations on the site of a late Iron Age roundhouse and souterrain, Glen Cloy, Brodick, Isle of Arran
Archaeological monitoring during topsoil stripping of a hotel and leisure development site in Glen Cloy, Isle of Arran in 2001 revealed the presence of a well-preserved, substantial roundhouse and an associated complex souterrain. The discovery is significant in terms of the information it provides for the distribution of souterrains in Scotland generally and in the west in particular, and for settlement and craft activities on Arran in the late …
A pit containing an undecorated Beaker and associated artefacts from Beechwood Park, Raigmore, Inverness
In 2004 an archaeological evaluation prior to development at Beechwood Park, adjacent to Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, revealed a pit which was found to contain both an undecorated beaker and a plano-convex flint knife at the base, with later slag from iron smithing dispersed in the fill. These associations are discussed and placed in their local and national context. Separately authored contributions include
Catpund
A prehistoric house was excavated in advance of industrial quarrying at Catpund, Shetland. Although little of the internal stratigraphy of the house remained beneath a modern cabbage enclosure (planticrub), the form of the house survived. The artefacts found in and around the house indicate the domestic activities which took place there, and the farming methods employed in the vicinity. A thorough analysis of the artefactual evidence suggests tha…
The worked quartz vein at Cnoc Dubh, Uig parish, Isle of Lewis, Western Isles
In 2002, an examination was carried out of a small quartz vein at the knoll of Cnoc Dubh, a few hundred metres from the southern shores of Loch Ceann Hulabhig on the Isle of Lewis (NGR: NB 2318 2998). The vein proved to have been worked in prehistoric time, defining it as a quarry, and it was measured, photographed and characterized. In the present paper, the Cnoc Dubh quartz quarry is presented in detail, to allow comparison with other lithic qu…
The worked quartz vein at Cnoc Dubh, Uig parish, Isles of Lewis, Western Isles
In 2002, an examination was carried out of a small quartz vein at the knoll of Cnoc Dubh, a few hundred metres from the southern shores of Loch Ceann Hulabhig on the Isle of Lewis (NGR NB 2318 2998). The vein proved to have been worked in prehistoric time, defining it as a quarry, and it was measured, photographed and characterized. In the present paper, the Cnoc Dubh quartz quarry is presented in detail, to allow comparison with other lithic qua…
Excavation of an Early Historic Palisaded Enclosure at Titwood, Mearnskirk, East Renfrewshire
A palisaded enclosure and associated features were excavated by CFA Archaeology Ltd (CFA) in advance of the construction of the proposed Glasgow Southern Orbital Road. Radiocarbon dates indicate that the palisade and at least some of the internal features date to the Early Historic period, between the 8th and 10th centuries cal. AD. The Titwood palisade is currently the only site of this date to have been excavated in western mainland Scotland, a…
An ahrensburgian‐type tanged point from shieldaig, wester ross, scotland, and its implications
A newly recognized tanged flint point from Shieldaig in north‐west Scotland is described and discussed in terms of its potential as an indicator of Lateglacial human settlement
Meldon Bridge
Rescue excavations on an extensive cropmark site at the confluence of the Lyne Water and Meldon Burn in the 1970s revealed several episodes of activity. A limited Mesolithic presence is indicated by the stone finds, but more intensive use is attested from the early/mid fourth millennium BC. Widely scattered groups of pits contained Impressed Ware of the local style. Radiocarbon dates chart this activity down to the early/mid third millennium BC, …
An ahrensburgian‐type tanged point from shieldaig, wester ross, scotland, and its implications
A newly recognized tanged flint point from Shieldaig in north‐west Scotland is described and discussed in terms of its potential as an indicator of Lateglacial human settlement
State of the art’ of British gunflint research, with special focus on the early gunflint workshop at Dun Eistean, Lewis
Uncritical use of flawed literature has allowed a number of misunderstandings to affect gunflint terminology and typology, thereby preventing the establishment of a reliable chronology. With reference to the most recent research into the subject, this article discusses gunflint terminology and, on this basis, a gunflint typo-chronology is suggested. As most British gunflint assemblages known from the archaeological literature tend to be late, and…
Meldon Bridge
Rescue excavations on an extensive cropmark site at the confluence of the Lyne Water and Meldon Burn in the 1970s revealed several episodes of activity. A limited Mesolithic presence is indicated by the stone finds, but more intensive use is attested from the early/mid fourth millennium BC. Widely scattered groups of pits contained Impressed Ware of the local style. Radiocarbon dates chart this activity down to the early/mid third millennium BC, …
An Upper Palaeolithic Flint and Chert Assemblage From Howburn Farm, South Lanarkshire, Scotland
This paper describes the discovery of the first open-air Upper Palaeolithic site to be found in Scotland, at Howburn, near Biggar in South Lanarkshire. An account is given of the composition and distribution of the lithic assemblage, which is discussed in terms of its British and north-west European context. Provisional parallels drawn are with the Late Hamburgian (Havelte) sites and assemblages of southern Scandinavia, northern Germany and the N…
Searching for the Scottish Late Upper Palaeolithic
In connection with the recent examination, cataloguing and discussion of approximately 30,000 mainly Mesolithic lithic artefacts from Nethermills Farm at Banchory in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, excavated by the late James Kenworthy in the late 1970s and early 1980s, a small number of finds were identified as almost certainly whole or fragmented Late Upper Palaeolithic lithic artefacts, and others as pieces likely to date to this period. The Nethermi…
Lost and found twice
Over the last few decades it has been shown that Scotland was settled – or at least occasionally visited – during the late Upper Palaeolithic period. The finds include diagnostic artefacts of Hamburgian, Federmesser and Ahrensburgian typology, but since Livens’ presentation in 1956 of three tanged arrowheads from Scotland, it has also been discussed whether northern Britain was settled or visited from the north-east, by groups belonging to the Sc…
Island Quarries, Island Axeheads, and the Neolithic of Ireland and Britain
A notable feature of the Neolithic Period (4,000-2,500 cal B.C.) of northwest Europe is the exploitation of lithic sources on islands for the production of stone axeheads and other artifacts. This article focuses on three such islands: 1) Rathlin in the North Channel off the northeast coast of Ireland, 2) the island group of Shetland between the North Atlantic and the North Sea, and 3) the island of Lambay off the east coast of Ireland. This work…
Upper Palaeolithic evidence from Kilmelfort Cave, Argyll
An assemblage of flint and quartz artefacts recovered during the destruction of Kilmelfort Cave,Argyll, in 1956, was initially attributed to the Mesolithic period. In this paper the assemblage is reanalysedand the conclusion that it represents the residue of human occupation at the site duringthe Late Glacial Interstadial is reached. Typological considerations indicate the assemblage isof Curve-Backed Point Group (Federmessergruppen) affiliation …
The worked quartz vein at Cnoc Dubh, Uig parish, Isles of Lewis, Western Isles
In 2002, an examination was carried out of a small quartz vein at the knoll of Cnoc Dubh, a few hundred metres from the southern shores of Loch Ceann Hulabhig on the Isle of Lewis (NGR NB 2318 2998). The vein proved to have been worked in prehistoric time, defining it as a quarry, and it was measured, photographed and characterized. In the present paper, the Cnoc Dubh quartz quarry is presented in detail, to allow comparison with other lithic qua…
Mesolithic and Early Neolithic activity along the Dee
Excavation on a gravel ridge beside the River Dee in Aberdeen revealed a small ovoid building of early Neolithic date. Not only does this add to the very small corpus of early Neolithic buildings yet excavated in Scotland, but the survival of floors and hearths also allows some analysis of functions within the building. The structural, artefactual and radiocarbon evidence suggest that this was a permanent building in use over at least a generatio…
South Cuidrach
A new site in north Skye has revealed evidence of human occupation from the Late Upper Palaeolithic as well as the Early and Late Mesolithic periods, suggesting repeated visits by humans for at least 5,000 years from the Late Glacial Interstadial through the Loch Lomond Readvance and up to the mid-Holocene, a time of dynamic climatic and sea-level change. South Cuidrach is one of several sites in the north of the Isle of Skye and around the Inner…
Archaeological excavations at Nethermills Farm, Deeside, 1978–81
The Mesolithic site of Nethermills Farm, Crathes, Banchory, was identified from fieldwalking that took place between 1973 and 1977 and it was excavated between 1978 and 1981 under the direction of James Kenworthy. Kenworthy interpreted the site as a ‘hunter-gatherer camp’ with probable evidence for a circular structure, but publication of the excavation was never completed. This paper draws on specialist work undertaken immediately after excavati…
A pit containing an undecorated Beaker and associated artefacts from Beechwood Park, Raigmore, Inverness
In 2004 an archaeological evaluation prior to development at Beechwood Park, adjacent to Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, revealed a pit which was found to contain both an undecorated beaker and a plano-convex flint knife at the base, with later slag from iron smithing dispersed in the fill. These associations are discussed and placed in their local and national context. Separately authored contributions include
Meldon Bridge
Rescue excavations on an extensive cropmark site at the confluence of the Lyne Water and Meldon Burn in the 1970s revealed several episodes of activity. A limited Mesolithic presence is indicated by the stone finds, but more intensive use is attested from the early/mid fourth millennium BC. Widely scattered groups of pits contained Impressed Ware of the local style. Radiocarbon dates chart this activity down to the early/mid third millennium BC, …
Excavation of an Early Historic Palisaded Enclosure at Titwood, Mearnskirk, East Renfrewshire
A palisaded enclosure and associated features were excavated by CFA Archaeology Ltd (CFA) in advance of the construction of the proposed Glasgow Southern Orbital Road. Radiocarbon dates indicate that the palisade and at least some of the internal features date to the Early Historic period, between the 8th and 10th centuries cal. AD. The Titwood palisade is currently the only site of this date to have been excavated in western mainland Scotland, a…
An ahrensburgian‐type tanged point from shieldaig, wester ross, scotland, and its implications
A newly recognized tanged flint point from Shieldaig in north‐west Scotland is described and discussed in terms of its potential as an indicator of Lateglacial human settlement
The worked quartz vein at Cnoc Dubh, Uig parish, Isle of Lewis, Western Isles
In 2002, an examination was carried out of a small quartz vein at the knoll of Cnoc Dubh, a few hundred metres from the southern shores of Loch Ceann Hulabhig on the Isle of Lewis (NGR: NB 2318 2998). The vein proved to have been worked in prehistoric time, defining it as a quarry, and it was measured, photographed and characterized. In the present paper, the Cnoc Dubh quartz quarry is presented in detail, to allow comparison with other lithic qu…
The worked quartz vein at Cnoc Dubh, Uig parish, Isles of Lewis, Western Isles
In 2002, an examination was carried out of a small quartz vein at the knoll of Cnoc Dubh, a few hundred metres from the southern shores of Loch Ceann Hulabhig on the Isle of Lewis (NGR NB 2318 2998). The vein proved to have been worked in prehistoric time, defining it as a quarry, and it was measured, photographed and characterized. In the present paper, the Cnoc Dubh quartz quarry is presented in detail, to allow comparison with other lithic qua…
Catpund
A prehistoric house was excavated in advance of industrial quarrying at Catpund, Shetland. Although little of the internal stratigraphy of the house remained beneath a modern cabbage enclosure (planticrub), the form of the house survived. The artefacts found in and around the house indicate the domestic activities which took place there, and the farming methods employed in the vicinity. A thorough analysis of the artefactual evidence suggests tha…
Excavations on the site of a late Iron Age roundhouse and souterrain, Glen Cloy, Brodick, Isle of Arran
Archaeological monitoring during topsoil stripping of a hotel and leisure development site in Glen Cloy, Isle of Arran in 2001 revealed the presence of a well-preserved, substantial roundhouse and an associated complex souterrain. The discovery is significant in terms of the information it provides for the distribution of souterrains in Scotland generally and in the west in particular, and for settlement and craft activities on Arran in the late …
Excavations on the site of a late Iron Age roundhouse and souterrain, Glen Cloy, Brodick, Isle of Arran
Archaeological monitoring during topsoil stripping of a hotel and leisure development site in Glen Cloy, Isle of Arran in 2001 revealed the presence of a well-preserved, substantial roundhouse and an associated complex souterrain. The discovery is significant in terms of the information it provides for the distribution of souterrains in Scotland generally and in the west in particular, and for settlement and craft activities on Arran in the late …
A pit containing an undecorated Beaker and associated artefacts from Beechwood Park, Raigmore, Inverness
In 2004 an archaeological evaluation prior to development at Beechwood Park, adjacent to Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, revealed a pit which was found to contain both an undecorated beaker and a plano-convex flint knife at the base, with later slag from iron smithing dispersed in the fill. These associations are discussed and placed in their local and national context. Separately authored contributions include
Anders Högberg. Lithics in the Scandinavian Late Bronze Age
Anders Högberg. Lithics in the Scandinavian Late Bronze Age: sociotechnical change and persistence (British Archaeological Reports International Series 1932). 303 pages, 223 illustrations, 126 tables. 2009. Oxford: Archaeopress; 978-1-4073-0414-4 paperback. - Volume 84 Issue 325
An Upper Palaeolithic Flint and Chert Assemblage From Howburn Farm, South Lanarkshire, Scotland
This paper describes the discovery of the first open-air Upper Palaeolithic site to be found in Scotland, at Howburn, near Biggar in South Lanarkshire. An account is given of the composition and distribution of the lithic assemblage, which is discussed in terms of its British and north-west European context. Provisional parallels drawn are with the Late Hamburgian (Havelte) sites and assemblages of southern Scandinavia, northern Germany and the N…
Upper Palaeolithic evidence from Kilmelfort Cave, Argyll
An assemblage of flint and quartz artefacts recovered during the destruction of Kilmelfort Cave,Argyll, in 1956, was initially attributed to the Mesolithic period. In this paper the assemblage is reanalysedand the conclusion that it represents the residue of human occupation at the site duringthe Late Glacial Interstadial is reached. Typological considerations indicate the assemblage isof Curve-Backed Point Group (Federmessergruppen) affiliation …
State of the art’ of British gunflint research, with special focus on the early gunflint workshop at Dun Eistean, Lewis
Uncritical use of flawed literature has allowed a number of misunderstandings to affect gunflint terminology and typology, thereby preventing the establishment of a reliable chronology. With reference to the most recent research into the subject, this article discusses gunflint terminology and, on this basis, a gunflint typo-chronology is suggested. As most British gunflint assemblages known from the archaeological literature tend to be late, and…
Island Quarries, Island Axeheads, and the Neolithic of Ireland and Britain
A notable feature of the Neolithic Period (4,000-2,500 cal B.C.) of northwest Europe is the exploitation of lithic sources on islands for the production of stone axeheads and other artifacts. This article focuses on three such islands: 1) Rathlin in the North Channel off the northeast coast of Ireland, 2) the island group of Shetland between the North Atlantic and the North Sea, and 3) the island of Lambay off the east coast of Ireland. This work…
Room With a View
Excavations at Ravelrig Quarry, City of Edinburgh revealed activity from the Late Neolithic, and late Bronze Age, although the main phase of activity was the construction of a palisaded homestead during the early Iron Age. Inside an oval shaped palisade was a circular ring-groove roundhouse and a possible second circular structure comprising ditches and post-holes. The roundhouse contained a central hearth with associated post-holes, two large pi…
Arran pitchstone (Scottish volcanic glass)
In the present paper, the author offers new absolute and contextual dating evidence for Scottish archaeological pitchstone. Much archaeological pitchstone from the Scottish mainland is recovered from unsealed contexts of multi-period or palimpsest sites, and pitchstone artefacts from radiocarbon-dated pits therefore provide important dating evidence for this material group and its associated exchange network. In Scotland, all archaeological pitch…
Mesolithic and Early Neolithic activity along the Dee
Excavation on a gravel ridge beside the River Dee in Aberdeen revealed a small ovoid building of early Neolithic date. Not only does this add to the very small corpus of early Neolithic buildings yet excavated in Scotland, but the survival of floors and hearths also allows some analysis of functions within the building. The structural, artefactual and radiocarbon evidence suggest that this was a permanent building in use over at least a generatio…
Excavation of a Bronze Age Ring-Groove House at Inverkip, Inverclyde
This paper describes the excavation of an unenclosed ring-groove house at Ardgowan Rise, Inverkip, Inverclyde. The remains were identified during an archaeological evaluation carried out prior to development of the site, and comprised a timber-built structure, defined by two sections of ring-groove and postholes, along with interior and exterior features. While material from most of the structural components and from the hearth has been radiocarb…
Alan Saville (31 December 1946 – 19 June 2016)
Alan Saville had a long and distinguished career in British archaeology, and following his education and early archaeological background in England, he has latterly been associated mainly with Scottish archaeology, where he held the post of Senior Curator at the Department of Scottish Archaeology and History, National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh
Scotland's intertidal prehistory
Sea-level rise and coastal change have impacted on the visibility of early to mid-Holocene sites worldwide. Due to the combination of eustatic and isostatic effects, modern coastal landscapes rarely reflect those occupied and exploited by prehistoric people. This suggests that intertidal and marine archaeology is set to become increasingly important in future studies of the coastal populations of prehistoric Britain. Though Scotland’s west coast …
Lost and found twice
Over the last few decades it has been shown that Scotland was settled – or at least occasionally visited – during the late Upper Palaeolithic period. The finds include diagnostic artefacts of Hamburgian, Federmesser and Ahrensburgian typology, but since Livens’ presentation in 1956 of three tanged arrowheads from Scotland, it has also been discussed whether northern Britain was settled or visited from the north-east, by groups belonging to the Sc…
Archaeological excavations at Nethermills Farm, Deeside, 1978–81
The Mesolithic site of Nethermills Farm, Crathes, Banchory, was identified from fieldwalking that took place between 1973 and 1977 and it was excavated between 1978 and 1981 under the direction of James Kenworthy. Kenworthy interpreted the site as a ‘hunter-gatherer camp’ with probable evidence for a circular structure, but publication of the excavation was never completed. This paper draws on specialist work undertaken immediately after excavati…
Searching for the Scottish Late Upper Palaeolithic
In connection with the recent examination, cataloguing and discussion of approximately 30,000 mainly Mesolithic lithic artefacts from Nethermills Farm at Banchory in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, excavated by the late James Kenworthy in the late 1970s and early 1980s, a small number of finds were identified as almost certainly whole or fragmented Late Upper Palaeolithic lithic artefacts, and others as pieces likely to date to this period. The Nethermi…
Furness’s First Farmers
In 2015, excavations at Stainton Quarry, Furness, Cumbria, recovered remains that provide a unique insight into Early Neolithic farming in the vicinity. Five pits, a post-hole, and deposits within a tree-throw and three crevices in a limestone outcrop were investigated. The latter deposits yielded potentially the largest assemblage of Carinated Bowl fragments yet recovered in Cumbria. Lipid analysis identified dairy fats within nine of these sher…
South Cuidrach
A new site in north Skye has revealed evidence of human occupation from the Late Upper Palaeolithic as well as the Early and Late Mesolithic periods, suggesting repeated visits by humans for at least 5,000 years from the Late Glacial Interstadial through the Loch Lomond Readvance and up to the mid-Holocene, a time of dynamic climatic and sea-level change. South Cuidrach is one of several sites in the north of the Isle of Skye and around the Inner…
Archaeology (25 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (23 works) · Geography (22 works) · Geology (19 works) · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (14 works) · Geology (9 works) · Excavation (8 works) · Historical and Cultural Archaeology Studies (8 works) · History (8 works) · Mesolithic (8 works)