David H Caldwell
Biographic Data
| ID | 5934724 |
|---|---|
| NAME | David H Caldwell |
| GIVEN NAMES | David H |
| FAMILY NAME | Caldwell |
| SIGNATURE | CALDWELL D H |
| AFFILIATIONS | National Museums Scotland |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-0735-4410 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 37 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 22 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 37 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1974 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Burnt bones from Dùn Bhoraraic, Isle of Islay: Untangling Hebridean ‘U’ structures, Viking graves and Iron Age mortuary theatre
In terms of its material record, the Inner Hebridean island of Islay is best known for its ancient fortifications and its Viking graves. Both types of site can be seen as important markers in early landscapes of power and control. The remains of the broch on the summit of Dùn Bhoraraic, for instance, overlooks the important early harbours in the Sound of Islay and Lochindaal, while the pagan Scandinavian grave field at Ballinaby in the Rhinns com…
The Savernake horn – a relic of Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray
The Savernake horn, so-called from its ownership by families who were wardens of the English forest of that name, is a fine example of medieval art. It is carved from an elephant tusk and has silver and enamelled mounts with birds and animals as well as images of a bishop, a king and a forester, suggesting commemoration of an agreement on forestry or hunting rights. Its baldric has enamelled mounts with arms recognisable as those of Thomas Randol…
The Origins of Plaid Wearing
This paper reviews documentary and pictorial evidence from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries concerning the wearing of plaids by men. Initially, sixteenth-century sources that specifically use the term ‘plaid’ are examined, in order to build a working definition, and this is then applied to earlier sources in languages other than Gaelic, where the terminology is uncertain. The early sources provide insight regarding the origins of traditi…
Excavations at Achanduin Castle, Lismore, Argyll, 1970–5: Findings and Commentary
Excavations were undertaken at Achanduin Castle, Lismore, Argyll (NGR: NM 8043 3927), over six seasons from 1970 to 1975 under the direction of the late Dennis John Turner (1932–2013), henceforward referred to as DJT. Publication of a full report as a SAIR, assembled from the papers of DJT, has now been achieved by the other two authors of this paper, neither of whom were directly involved in the excavations. They have undertaken this task becaus…
The medieval to early modern transition in a digital age: New developments relevant to the study of domestic buildings
Transitions in the archaeological and historical record are difficult to discuss and frequently avoided. The authors briefly outline here how this topic has been studied, particularly in Post-Medieval Archaeology, reviewing differences of approach between European-based archaeologists, who stress continuities with medieval times, and archaeologists in the USA and elsewhere, who commence their studies with the arrival of Europeans. This outline is…
The Kilmichael Glassary Bell-shrine
The Kilmichael Glassary Bell-shrine is one of the treasures of National Museums Scotland. This paper re-assesses the circumstances of its discovery, its context and importance, and its role as a relic of a saint, not Moluaf, as previously suggested but possibly Columba. The wider use of handbells in the early medieval church is also considered. The bell-shrine was found in 1814, on the farm of Torbhlaren, in the parish of Kilmichael Glassary, in …
Scottish Spearmen, 1298–1314: An Answer to Cavalry
In 1298, in a departure from past practice, the Scots under William Wallace fought and lost at Falkirk with large units of spearmen. King Robert Bruce adopted this tactic in 1307. He was successful largely owing to the attention he paid to the selection and training of his men, to the arms and armour they employed, and to the choice and preparation of the field of battle. The Scottish armies of the period may have been larger than allowed by rece…
History and Surface Condition of the Lewis Chessmen in the Collection of the National Museums Scotland (Hebrides, late 12th-early 13th centuries)
This paper summarises on-going work to examine the surface condition of the 11 chess pieces in the collection of the National Museums Scotland. The chess pieces are part of the hoard found on the isle of Lewis on the west coast of Scotland and are remarkable examples of medieval ivory carving. The aim of the work is to characterise surface features that can be used to draw new information about the materials from which the pieces were made, their…
The Lewis Hoard of Gaming Pieces: A Re-examination of their Context, Meanings, Discovery and Manufacture
Almost 180 years of scholarship on the Lewis chessmen have given us a solid foundation of understanding, primarily based upon their art-historical analysis. Taking a more interdisciplinary approach (combining elements of art history with archaeology and history), this paper focuses on some over-looked themes — primarily the archaeological, gaming and political contexts of the 12th- and 13th-century North Sea world — and some more familiar themes …
The Artillery of the Dukes of Burgundy, 1363-1477
This is the first volume in a new series on armour and weapons under the general editorship of Robert Douglas Smith. The worthy aim is ‘to provide a forum for critical studies of all aspects of arms and armour and their technologies, from the end of the Roman Empire to the dawn of the modern world, both new research and works of synthesis’. This book sets out to do that for the artillery of the Dukes of Burgundy. The dukes showed a particular int…
Excavation at Aguas Buenas, Robinson Crusoe Island, Chile, of a gunpowder magazine and the supposed campsite of Alexander Selkirk, together with an account of early navigational dividers
Excavations were undertaken of a ruined building at Aguas Buenas, identified as an 18th-century Spanish gunpowder magazine. Evidence was also found for the campsite of an early European occupant of the island. A case is made that this was Alexander Selkirk, a castaway here from 1704 to 1709. Selkirk was the model for Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. A detailed discussion is given of a fragment of copper alloy identified as being from a pair of navigation…
Scotland
Scotland: Metalwork
Centre, Region, Periphery. Medieval Europe Basel 2002. Volume 1: 3Rd International Conference of Medieval and Later Archaeology
The Medieval and Later Archaeology opens up different and diverse viewpoints about the development and problems of structures, which have disappeared or survived in all the modern centres and regions of Europe. Traditional areas were characterised by cultural, economic, religious, and ethnic factors. Archaeology is able to show the growth, the change or the disappearance of special zones and centres. This main theme is presented in six sections. …
The Monymusk Requary: The Breccbennach of St Columba
The Monymusk Reliquary, an eighth-century house shrine, is now invariably assumed to be the Breccbennach, a battle standard of the Scots.This paper casts doubt on that identification
Phillips, The Anglo-Scots Wars, 1513–1550
Excavations at Caerlaverock Castle, 1955–66
The acceptance of Caerlaverock castle into guardianship was followed by consolidation of the masonry and the clearance of the silted moat. In parallel with these operations, a series of excavations was carried out to investigate the nature of the outer defences and any surviving evidence for earlier bridges. Four different phases of timber bridges had crossed the moat to the gatehouse; the first three were dated by dendrochronology to 1277, 1371 …
Excavation of a timber round-house and broch at the Fairy Knowe, Buchlyvie, Stirlingshire, 1975-8
Reports on work that revealed evidence of occupation of what was essentially a fortified farmhouse by a native elite group practising a mixed-farming economy. There are a number of specialist sections on: `Wooden posts' by John Barber (301--2); `Palaeobotanical remains' by W E Boyd (310--16); `Animal bone' by Catherine Smith & Archie Young (316--20); `Iron Age and Roman pottery' (321--31), `Objects of fired clay' (332--5) and `Industrial fired cl…
Lecture summaries 1997-8
Eight lecture summaries:Finlaggan, Islay: an archaeological overviewTracking down Scottish export pottery in South-East AsiaRiding into history: Scotland's common ridingsA new investigation into the Clava CairnsBodies, faces and teethThe first Glasgow Town House, 1737-60The Romantic interior: Sir Walter Scott and AbbotsfordScottish crannogs: construction, collapse and conflation
Auldhill, Portencross
Auldhill, on the Ayrshire coast of the Firth of Clyde, is a site with a very long history. Excavations were conducted there for a total of ten weeks in 1987, 1988 and 1989, and seven main phases were recognized, as follows: I the timber-framed fort occupied in the first millennium B.c.;II the iron age or early historic dun;III the timber castle of the twelfth-thirteenth centuries;IV the stone castle of the late thirteenth century;V the hall of th…
Excavations at Niddry Castle, West Lothian, 1986-90
Excavations at St Andrews, Castlecliffe, 1988-90
Excavation to the immediate west of the castle revealed considerable evidence of occupation (probably not continuous) dating from c. 1200 to at least the mid-sixteenth century. Most of the structures uncovered were associated with the medieval burgh not the castle. The first timber buildings gave way to a fourteenth-century tannery, probably when the castle was in ruins and unoccupied. The tannery gave way to two phases of residential buildings, …
Linlithgow Palace: An excavation in the west range and a note on finds from the palace
This report outlines the results of an archaeological excavation withing one of the cellars in 1987, and lists finds from this and other excavations and clearance work carried out in and around the palace over a number of years. The catalogue also reviews some material published elsewhere. Some of the finds shed new light on the palace and its occupants. Pottery, clay pipes, window glass and cames, wine glasses, copper alloy objects, iron objects…
Excavations at Eyemouth, Berwickshire, in a mid 16th-century trace italienne fort
Eyemouth Fort (NGR NT 943649) on the east coast of Scotland is amongst the earliest trace italienne forts erected in the British Isles. Built by the English in September 1547, it was held by them until the summer of 1550. The site was reoccupied by the French in 1557, and a new line of fortifications was begun, but not completed before they were negotiated out in July 1559. This report presents an account of excavations carried out at Eyemouth Fo…
Lead seal matrices of the 16th and early 17th century
In the sixteenth and early-seventeenth century many Scots used lead seal matrices with simple heraldic designs. This note describes seven which have survived, and presents analytical information which suggests that their makers often mixed tin with the lead to make it harder
Finlaggan and the Lordship of the Isles: An Archaeological Approach
The National Museums of Scotland are undertaking a research excavation at Finlaggan on Islay, the centre of the Lordship of the Isles. The strategic design for the programme envisages five seasons of work, the third of which was completed at the end of September 1992.1 The project owes its inception to the desire to demonstrate that archaeology can make useful contributions to our understand ing of an historical period in Scotland for which histo…
The Lewis Hoard of Gaming Pieces: A Re-examination of their Context, Meanings, Discovery and Manufacture
Almost 180 years of scholarship on the Lewis chessmen have given us a solid foundation of understanding, primarily based upon their art-historical analysis. Taking a more interdisciplinary approach (combining elements of art history with archaeology and history), this paper focuses on some over-looked themes — primarily the archaeological, gaming and political contexts of the 12th- and 13th-century North Sea world — and some more familiar themes …
History and Surface Condition of the Lewis Chessmen in the Collection of the National Museums Scotland (Hebrides, late 12th-early 13th centuries)
This paper summarises on-going work to examine the surface condition of the 11 chess pieces in the collection of the National Museums Scotland. The chess pieces are part of the hoard found on the isle of Lewis on the west coast of Scotland and are remarkable examples of medieval ivory carving. The aim of the work is to characterise surface features that can be used to draw new information about the materials from which the pieces were made, their…
Excavation of a timber round-house and broch at the Fairy Knowe, Buchlyvie, Stirlingshire, 1975-8
Reports on work that revealed evidence of occupation of what was essentially a fortified farmhouse by a native elite group practising a mixed-farming economy. There are a number of specialist sections on: `Wooden posts' by John Barber (301--2); `Palaeobotanical remains' by W E Boyd (310--16); `Animal bone' by Catherine Smith & Archie Young (316--20); `Iron Age and Roman pottery' (321--31), `Objects of fired clay' (332--5) and `Industrial fired cl…
Excavations at Eyemouth, Berwickshire, in a mid 16th-century trace italienne fort
Eyemouth Fort (NGR NT 943649) on the east coast of Scotland is amongst the earliest trace italienne forts erected in the British Isles. Built by the English in September 1547, it was held by them until the summer of 1550. The site was reoccupied by the French in 1557, and a new line of fortifications was begun, but not completed before they were negotiated out in July 1559. This report presents an account of excavations carried out at Eyemouth Fo…
Excavations at Achanduin Castle, Lismore, Argyll, 1970–5: Findings and Commentary
Excavations were undertaken at Achanduin Castle, Lismore, Argyll (NGR: NM 8043 3927), over six seasons from 1970 to 1975 under the direction of the late Dennis John Turner (1932–2013), henceforward referred to as DJT. Publication of a full report as a SAIR, assembled from the papers of DJT, has now been achieved by the other two authors of this paper, neither of whom were directly involved in the excavations. They have undertaken this task becaus…
Auldhill, Portencross
Auldhill, on the Ayrshire coast of the Firth of Clyde, is a site with a very long history. Excavations were conducted there for a total of ten weeks in 1987, 1988 and 1989, and seven main phases were recognized, as follows: I the timber-framed fort occupied in the first millennium B.c.;II the iron age or early historic dun;III the timber castle of the twelfth-thirteenth centuries;IV the stone castle of the late thirteenth century;V the hall of th…
Lead seal matrices of the 16th and early 17th century
In the sixteenth and early-seventeenth century many Scots used lead seal matrices with simple heraldic designs. This note describes seven which have survived, and presents analytical information which suggests that their makers often mixed tin with the lead to make it harder
The pottery industry at Throsk, Stirlingshire, in the 17th and early 18th century
The bulk of pottery from 17th- and early 18th-century sites in Scotland is a particular type of earthenware, much of which may have been made at Throsk near Stirling. This paper describes a fieldwork project at Throsk, achieved with funding from Historic Buildings and Monuments, Scottish Development Department (now Historic Scotland), and gives a catalogue of the different vessels produced. Methods of manufacture are discussed as well as the uses…
Ardrossan Castle, Ayrshire: A preliminary account
NS 232422. The 13th-century castle had a small courtyard entered through a gatehouse with vaulted cellars to one side. The gatehouse was rebuilt, then refloored and the doorway narrowed and eventually blocked to convert it into a tower-house in late 14th century. A new entrance may have been made on the other side of the castle, with keyhole gunports in the wall; 16th-century mouthed gunports were added. A grave-slab was re-used as a lintel to an…
Fragments of a brigandine from Coldingham Priory, Berwickshire
A medieval crescent-shaped dagger-pommel from Fortingall, Perthshire
A wooden-stocked fishtail pistol
The National Museum purchased a fine Scottish pistol at auction at Christie's, London, lot 167, 20 April 1977 (pis 25a, 26, 27).It is a fishtail butted pistol with left-hand snaphance lock, brass barrel and brazil wood stock, struck on the lock plate with the mark RA (pi 26a) and dated 1618 at the breech.The lock plate, powder pan and cover are of brass and the stock is inlaid with brass decorative strips, a thistle on one side and a rose on the …
Leather guns and other light artillery in mid-17th century Scotland
Leather guns were a 17th century experiment in gun manufacture that began in Switzerland and was adopted in Scotland. Their advantage was lightness: a relatively thin metal barrel was tightly wound with rope, wire or cord and encased in leather. Twenty-three such guns exist in Scotland, representing six types, and as a whole are distinguished from other European examples by several special features. James Wemyss in Fife was the principal Scottish…
An enamelled plaque from Borve, Benbecula
The museum has just acquired a gilt bronze enamelled plaque from Borve, Benbecula, in the Outer Hebrides (fig 1).It measures 61.5 mm by 61 mm and iS decorated with the figure of Christ.Round its edge is a border infilled with pale blue or turquoise enamel.There are some specks of red which suggest that it was originally of that colour.The designs on the rest of the plaque have been reserved against a background of deep blue enamel, the colour of …
J. M. Hill, Celtic warfare, 1595–1763
Excavations at Smailholm Tower, Roxburghshire
The courtyard attached to the 15th century towerhouse contained a second residential building, interpreted as hall and chamber, and a kitchen block. Discussion includes history and architectural analysis of the tower and field survey of the surrounding land. Wide range of 17th century artefacts (see also 90/728). A R
Tantallon Castle, East Lothian: A catalogue of the finds
Catalogue of medieval and later finds from several excavations at Tantallon Castle. Most could be dated to the years before 1699 and many are of a military nature
A silver pendant cross from Dumbarton Castle
Describes a silver pendant cross, dating to the late thirteenth or fourteenth century, found at Dumbarton Castle
The pottery industry at Throsk, Stirlingshire, in the 17th and early 18th century
The bulk of pottery from 17th- and early 18th-century sites in Scotland is a particular type of earthenware, much of which may have been made at Throsk near Stirling. This paper describes a fieldwork project at Throsk, achieved with funding from Historic Buildings and Monuments, Scottish Development Department (now Historic Scotland), and gives a catalogue of the different vessels produced. Methods of manufacture are discussed as well as the uses…
Finlaggan and the Lordship of the Isles: An Archaeological Approach
The National Museums of Scotland are undertaking a research excavation at Finlaggan on Islay, the centre of the Lordship of the Isles. The strategic design for the programme envisages five seasons of work, the third of which was completed at the end of September 1992.1 The project owes its inception to the desire to demonstrate that archaeology can make useful contributions to our understand ing of an historical period in Scotland for which histo…
Lead seal matrices of the 16th and early 17th century
In the sixteenth and early-seventeenth century many Scots used lead seal matrices with simple heraldic designs. This note describes seven which have survived, and presents analytical information which suggests that their makers often mixed tin with the lead to make it harder
Excavations at St Andrews, Castlecliffe, 1988-90
Excavation to the immediate west of the castle revealed considerable evidence of occupation (probably not continuous) dating from c. 1200 to at least the mid-sixteenth century. Most of the structures uncovered were associated with the medieval burgh not the castle. The first timber buildings gave way to a fourteenth-century tannery, probably when the castle was in ruins and unoccupied. The tannery gave way to two phases of residential buildings, …
Linlithgow Palace: An excavation in the west range and a note on finds from the palace
This report outlines the results of an archaeological excavation withing one of the cellars in 1987, and lists finds from this and other excavations and clearance work carried out in and around the palace over a number of years. The catalogue also reviews some material published elsewhere. Some of the finds shed new light on the palace and its occupants. Pottery, clay pipes, window glass and cames, wine glasses, copper alloy objects, iron objects…
Excavations at Eyemouth, Berwickshire, in a mid 16th-century trace italienne fort
Eyemouth Fort (NGR NT 943649) on the east coast of Scotland is amongst the earliest trace italienne forts erected in the British Isles. Built by the English in September 1547, it was held by them until the summer of 1550. The site was reoccupied by the French in 1557, and a new line of fortifications was begun, but not completed before they were negotiated out in July 1559. This report presents an account of excavations carried out at Eyemouth Fo…
Auldhill, Portencross
Auldhill, on the Ayrshire coast of the Firth of Clyde, is a site with a very long history. Excavations were conducted there for a total of ten weeks in 1987, 1988 and 1989, and seven main phases were recognized, as follows: I the timber-framed fort occupied in the first millennium B.c.;II the iron age or early historic dun;III the timber castle of the twelfth-thirteenth centuries;IV the stone castle of the late thirteenth century;V the hall of th…
Excavations at Niddry Castle, West Lothian, 1986-90
Excavations at Caerlaverock Castle, 1955–66
The acceptance of Caerlaverock castle into guardianship was followed by consolidation of the masonry and the clearance of the silted moat. In parallel with these operations, a series of excavations was carried out to investigate the nature of the outer defences and any surviving evidence for earlier bridges. Four different phases of timber bridges had crossed the moat to the gatehouse; the first three were dated by dendrochronology to 1277, 1371 …
Excavation of a timber round-house and broch at the Fairy Knowe, Buchlyvie, Stirlingshire, 1975-8
Reports on work that revealed evidence of occupation of what was essentially a fortified farmhouse by a native elite group practising a mixed-farming economy. There are a number of specialist sections on: `Wooden posts' by John Barber (301--2); `Palaeobotanical remains' by W E Boyd (310--16); `Animal bone' by Catherine Smith & Archie Young (316--20); `Iron Age and Roman pottery' (321--31), `Objects of fired clay' (332--5) and `Industrial fired cl…
Lecture summaries 1997-8
Eight lecture summaries:Finlaggan, Islay: an archaeological overviewTracking down Scottish export pottery in South-East AsiaRiding into history: Scotland's common ridingsA new investigation into the Clava CairnsBodies, faces and teethThe first Glasgow Town House, 1737-60The Romantic interior: Sir Walter Scott and AbbotsfordScottish crannogs: construction, collapse and conflation
Phillips, The Anglo-Scots Wars, 1513–1550
Centre, Region, Periphery. Medieval Europe Basel 2002. Volume 1: 3Rd International Conference of Medieval and Later Archaeology
The Medieval and Later Archaeology opens up different and diverse viewpoints about the development and problems of structures, which have disappeared or survived in all the modern centres and regions of Europe. Traditional areas were characterised by cultural, economic, religious, and ethnic factors. Archaeology is able to show the growth, the change or the disappearance of special zones and centres. This main theme is presented in six sections. …
The Monymusk Requary: The Breccbennach of St Columba
The Monymusk Reliquary, an eighth-century house shrine, is now invariably assumed to be the Breccbennach, a battle standard of the Scots.This paper casts doubt on that identification
Scotland
History (29 works) · History (28 works) · Archaeology (22 works) · Art (20 works) · Historical Studies of British Isles (16 works) · Ancient history (15 works) · Scottish History and National Identity (14 works) · Maritime and Coastal Archaeology (10 works) · Geography (9 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (8 works)