Mark Thacker
Biographic Data
| ID | 673540 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Mark Thacker |
| GIVEN NAMES | Mark |
| FAMILY NAME | Thacker |
| SIGNATURE | THACKER M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Stirling |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9096-3665 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 10 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 7 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 10 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Clay and lime mortars
This paper seeks to situate the mortared masonry techniques used to construct various pre-Romanesque chapels in northern and western Scotland within a broader geographical and chronological context. A combination of desk-based and fieldwork evidence is presented which highlights the apparent scarcity of mortar-bonded masonry buildings across the region before the medieval period, and demonstrates that lime and clay mortars repeatedly re-emerge in…
Regime change in 13th-century western Scotland
Previous interpretations of the courtyarded quadrangular structure surviving on the summit at Tarbert Castle, Argyll had suggested this was the earliest upstanding building on the site, and a potent symbol of increased crown authority in the region during the early-13th-century reign of Alexander II. This paper will present a consistent suite of archaeological, architectural and documentary evidence which indicates that this building is a multiph…
Pre-Romanesque Irish chapels in Scandinavian Scotland
This paper will reconsider the evidence relating to ecclesiastical buildings in Atlantic Scotland which have been ascribed to various early medieval constructional dates on the basis of Irish comparanda and historical accounts associated with Scandinavian settlement. Critical discussion will consider how archaeological, architectural, historical, and independent dating evidence have been used at different times to present consistent narratives fo…
The medieval castle of Dun Aros
An investigation of Aros Castle (NM 56287 44989) was undertaken which included low-level survey of the site’s north-west block followed by lab-based analysis of a mixed assemblage of building material samples. The study presents the first independent evidence relating to the chronology of building construction on the site and reveals the wide range of techniques and materials exploited during that process. The results are consistent with survivin…
Dating Medieval Masonry Buildings by Radiocarbon Analysis of Mortar-Entrapped Relict Limekiln Fuels—a Buildings Archaeology
This paper considers how the data returned by radiocarbon analysis of wood-charcoal mortar-entrapped relict limekiln fuels (MERLF) relates to other evidence for the construction of medieval northern European masonry buildings. A review of previous studies highlights evidence for probable residuality in the data and reflects on how this has impacted on resultant interpretations. A critical survey of various wood-fired mortar materials and lime-bur…
Castle Camus, Isle of Skye
A study of Castle Camus is presented from the pilot phase of the Scottish Medieval Castles and Chapels C14 Project (SMCCCP). The study highlights various challenges faced by investigators seeking to interpret medieval sites where contemporary documentary evidence is late and the physical upstanding remains are fragmentary. Informed by a wider programme of buildings and materials analysis, the paper presents the first independent dating evidence r…
The Castle of Achanduin, Lismore—a Point of Reference for the Radiocarbon Analysis of Mortar-Entrapped Relict Limekiln Fuels
The results of a short program of landscape, buildings and materials analysis undertaken at Achanduin Castle, Lismore, Scotland (NM 8043 3927) are presented from the pilot phase of the Scottish Medieval Castles & Chapels C14 Project (SMCCCP). The study presents the first independent chronological evidence relating to the construction of this important medieval building, by radiocarbon analysis of a limited assemblage of Mortar-Entrapped Relict Li…
Medieval buildings and environmental change
This paper presents results from an integrated programme of landscape, buildings and materials analysis undertaken at Castle Sween under the aegis of the Scottish Medieval Castles & Chapels C14 Project (SMCCCP). A suite of petrographic, archaeobotanical and radiocarbon analyses are employed to present the first independent dating evidence relating to the construction of three phases of the castle complex, including a primary phase curtain-walled …
Cille Donnain Revisited
This paper introduces the initial findings from an ongoing buildings archaeology research project. I present the results of two wide-ranging mortar surveys which describe the archaeological evidence for lime mortars within the 12th-century bicameral chapels of Atlantic Scotland and pre-Reformation chapels of the Western Isles. The diverse evidence for materials, plan form, and structure suggest important processes of cultural negotiation. I argue…
Analysis of New Artifact Collections from Archaic to Ancestral Caddo Sites in the Saline Creek Basin in Northern Smith County, Texas
This article concerns the continued documentation of prehistoric and/or historic artifacts from four sites in the Saline Creek drainage basin in the Post Oak Savannah in northern Smith County, Texas. Perttula and Walters discussed an earlier analysis of a set of collections from these same sites. Saline Creek is a northward-flowing tributary to the Sabine River. The sites are ca. 10 km south of the confluence of Saline Creek with the Sabine River…
Dating Medieval Masonry Buildings by Radiocarbon Analysis of Mortar-Entrapped Relict Limekiln Fuels—a Buildings Archaeology
This paper considers how the data returned by radiocarbon analysis of wood-charcoal mortar-entrapped relict limekiln fuels (MERLF) relates to other evidence for the construction of medieval northern European masonry buildings. A review of previous studies highlights evidence for probable residuality in the data and reflects on how this has impacted on resultant interpretations. A critical survey of various wood-fired mortar materials and lime-bur…
Medieval buildings and environmental change
This paper presents results from an integrated programme of landscape, buildings and materials analysis undertaken at Castle Sween under the aegis of the Scottish Medieval Castles & Chapels C14 Project (SMCCCP). A suite of petrographic, archaeobotanical and radiocarbon analyses are employed to present the first independent dating evidence relating to the construction of three phases of the castle complex, including a primary phase curtain-walled …
Analysis of New Artifact Collections from Archaic to Ancestral Caddo Sites in the Saline Creek Basin in Northern Smith County, Texas
This article concerns the continued documentation of prehistoric and/or historic artifacts from four sites in the Saline Creek drainage basin in the Post Oak Savannah in northern Smith County, Texas. Perttula and Walters discussed an earlier analysis of a set of collections from these same sites. Saline Creek is a northward-flowing tributary to the Sabine River. The sites are ca. 10 km south of the confluence of Saline Creek with the Sabine River…
Cille Donnain Revisited
This paper introduces the initial findings from an ongoing buildings archaeology research project. I present the results of two wide-ranging mortar surveys which describe the archaeological evidence for lime mortars within the 12th-century bicameral chapels of Atlantic Scotland and pre-Reformation chapels of the Western Isles. The diverse evidence for materials, plan form, and structure suggest important processes of cultural negotiation. I argue…
Dating Medieval Masonry Buildings by Radiocarbon Analysis of Mortar-Entrapped Relict Limekiln Fuels—a Buildings Archaeology
This paper considers how the data returned by radiocarbon analysis of wood-charcoal mortar-entrapped relict limekiln fuels (MERLF) relates to other evidence for the construction of medieval northern European masonry buildings. A review of previous studies highlights evidence for probable residuality in the data and reflects on how this has impacted on resultant interpretations. A critical survey of various wood-fired mortar materials and lime-bur…
Castle Camus, Isle of Skye
A study of Castle Camus is presented from the pilot phase of the Scottish Medieval Castles and Chapels C14 Project (SMCCCP). The study highlights various challenges faced by investigators seeking to interpret medieval sites where contemporary documentary evidence is late and the physical upstanding remains are fragmentary. Informed by a wider programme of buildings and materials analysis, the paper presents the first independent dating evidence r…
The Castle of Achanduin, Lismore—a Point of Reference for the Radiocarbon Analysis of Mortar-Entrapped Relict Limekiln Fuels
The results of a short program of landscape, buildings and materials analysis undertaken at Achanduin Castle, Lismore, Scotland (NM 8043 3927) are presented from the pilot phase of the Scottish Medieval Castles & Chapels C14 Project (SMCCCP). The study presents the first independent chronological evidence relating to the construction of this important medieval building, by radiocarbon analysis of a limited assemblage of Mortar-Entrapped Relict Li…
Medieval buildings and environmental change
This paper presents results from an integrated programme of landscape, buildings and materials analysis undertaken at Castle Sween under the aegis of the Scottish Medieval Castles & Chapels C14 Project (SMCCCP). A suite of petrographic, archaeobotanical and radiocarbon analyses are employed to present the first independent dating evidence relating to the construction of three phases of the castle complex, including a primary phase curtain-walled …
Pre-Romanesque Irish chapels in Scandinavian Scotland
This paper will reconsider the evidence relating to ecclesiastical buildings in Atlantic Scotland which have been ascribed to various early medieval constructional dates on the basis of Irish comparanda and historical accounts associated with Scandinavian settlement. Critical discussion will consider how archaeological, architectural, historical, and independent dating evidence have been used at different times to present consistent narratives fo…
The medieval castle of Dun Aros
An investigation of Aros Castle (NM 56287 44989) was undertaken which included low-level survey of the site’s north-west block followed by lab-based analysis of a mixed assemblage of building material samples. The study presents the first independent evidence relating to the chronology of building construction on the site and reveals the wide range of techniques and materials exploited during that process. The results are consistent with survivin…
Regime change in 13th-century western Scotland
Previous interpretations of the courtyarded quadrangular structure surviving on the summit at Tarbert Castle, Argyll had suggested this was the earliest upstanding building on the site, and a potent symbol of increased crown authority in the region during the early-13th-century reign of Alexander II. This paper will present a consistent suite of archaeological, architectural and documentary evidence which indicates that this building is a multiph…
Clay and lime mortars
This paper seeks to situate the mortared masonry techniques used to construct various pre-Romanesque chapels in northern and western Scotland within a broader geographical and chronological context. A combination of desk-based and fieldwork evidence is presented which highlights the apparent scarcity of mortar-bonded masonry buildings across the region before the medieval period, and demonstrates that lime and clay mortars repeatedly re-emerge in…
Archaeology (10 works) · History (9 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (7 works) · History (7 works) · Geology (6 works) · Historical Studies of British Isles (6 works) · Geography (5 works) · Chronology (4 works) · Maritime and Coastal Archaeology (4 works) · Masonry (4 works)