1. Lake and crannog: A 2500-year palaeoenvironmental record of continuity and change in NE Scotland.
- Author
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Jones, Samantha E., López-Costas, Olalla, Martínez Cortizas, Antonio, Mighall, Tim M., Stratigos, Michael J., and Noble, Gordon
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FOSSIL microorganisms , *HUMAN settlements , *IRON Age , *METALWORK , *HUMAN ecology , *CONTINUITY , *MIDDLE Ages - Abstract
Wetland environments have been important resources for human habitation since prehistoric times and in parts of northern Europe these have witnessed the construction of artificial islet settlements, known as 'crannogs' in Scotland and Ireland. This paper presents a high-resolution multi-proxy palaeoenvironmental study from the Loch of Leys, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, the site of a recently excavated crannog that provides a chronological context for its inhabitation. The combined datasets demonstrate that the first occupation from AD 20–210 coincided not only with a transitional phase from lake to wetland (mire) but also with the timing of the first major Roman campaigns in northeast Scotland. Techniques including microfossil analysis, geochemistry, IR-spectroscopy and physical properties integrated with archaeological and historical records have helped to better define both natural changes that took place in the wetland environment and human activity (agriculture, fires, metal working) spanning the Roman Iron Age through to the present. This has allowed a better understanding of the responses of existing Iron Age communities to Roman military activity (e.g. through continuity or change in land use) as well as the resources exploited in frontier zones during the Roman and post Roman eras. This has wider significance not just for Scotland but also for other parts of Europe that had similar frontiers and conflict zones during the Roman period. • Crannogs & phases of occupation during the Iron Age & early-post medieval periods. • Multiproxy techniques determine continuity and change beyond Roman frontiers. • Interdisciplinary approaches to understand landscapes, farming & metal working. • Geochemistry, colour, FTIR & palynology identifies wetland & cultural change. • Understanding the wider context of pre-post Roman influences on communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
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