Geoarchaeological Approaches to Pictish Settlement Sites: Assessing Heritage at Risk

This project will use an innovative suite of geoarchaeological techniques to evaluate the preservation of Pictish Period buildings and the potential that fragmentary buildings have to reconstruct daily life in early medieval Scotland if analysed using geoarchaeological methods. There is currently a tremendous gap in our understanding of daily life in early medieval Scotland due to the poor preservation of Pictish buildings and the occupation deposits within them (Hall and Price 2012). In lowland and coastal areas, Pictish buildings are generally truncated by deep ploughing (e.g. Rhynie, Clarkly Hill), coastal erosion (e.g. Dunnicaer), or urban development (e.g. Burghead), while those uncovered in upland areas seem to have no preserved floor deposits for reasons that are yet to be understood (e.g. Lair in Glenshee). Geoarchaeological techniques clarify site formation processes and are a powerful research tool for identifying floor deposits, distinguishing their composition, and linking this composition to daily activities, floor maintenance processes, and living conditions (Milek and Roberts 2013), but they have yet to be applied to Pictish Period dwellings. This project will be the first to employ a suite of geoarchaeological techniques already proven to be highly effective on Viking Age sites as well as ethnographic case studies in Scotland and Iceland (Fig. 1). The student engaged to undertake this research will analyse a set of around 250 sediment samples collected over the last three years from fragmentary Pictish buildings excavated at Rhynie (Noble 2014), Burghead, Clarkly Hill (Hunter 2012), Dunnicaer (Stalker 2015), and Lair (Glenshee Archaeology Project 2016). The samples will in the first instance be analysed using integrated soil micromorphology, X9ray fluorescence (XRF), magnetic susceptibility, loss9on9ignition, pH, and micro9refuse analysis to determine preservation conditions and site formation processes, and to evaluate the ideal combination of techniques for reconstructing aspects of daily life and living conditions in early medieval Scottish settlements. The results of this first analytical stage will determine which additional state9of9the9art techniques should be applied to the samples, such as faecal lipid biomarker analysis and variable pressure9scanning electron microscopy (VP9 SEM). In addition, the supervisory team will obtain Scheduled Monument Consent to re9open old excavation trenches at the Pictish site of Pitcarmick (Carver et al. 2012; 2013) in order to take micromorphology and bulk sediment samples from floor deposits, post9hole fills, and turf walls exposed in the sections. The analysis of these samples will provide new data crucial for our understanding of (a) the range of floor9formation processes affecting Pictish dwellings, (b) whether post9 hole fills can be used to understand the original floor composition and use of space in buildings truncated by ploughing, and (c) changes in the preservation of the buildings since they were re9buried 22 years ago.
Outputs of the project will include geoarchaeological reports for the site excavators and HES, co9authored publications and conference presentations, and a geoarchaeological guidelines document for Historic Environment Scotland. As a whole, this innovative project will provide crucial new information about (a) the preservation of Pictish Period buildings in a range of environmental settings, (b) the research potential of fragmentary or damaged buildings to provide crucial information about daily life in the early medieval period if analysed using scientific methods, and (c) the major risks to the survival of this group of cultural heritage sites now and in the future. The project will fulfil several key aims of the Scottish Archaeology Strategy (Historic Environment Scotland 2015), especially enhancing our understanding of the early medieval period, improving our ability to care for and protect cultural heritage resources.