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Excavation at the chambered cairn of Bookan, Sandwick, Orkney, in June 2002 revealed that the cairn excavated by James Farrer in 1861, and later described and planned by George Petrie and Henry Dryden, was only the primary phase in the history of the site. After the site had fallen into disrepair or been deliberately slighted, the original cairn, c. 7m in diameter, was incorporated in a stepped cairn or platform, c. 16m in diameter, bounded by three concentric revetments. The role of Bookan as the type-site for a variety of early style of chambered cairn is reconsidered, along with the `monumentalization' of the site in an Orcadian context. Separately authored contributions include

Pits and oval structures dating from the Meso to the Early and Mid Neo. Pottery and lithics also present. Later Beaker pot radiocarbon dated to 3050--2450 cal BC. There are separately authored reports on

Excavations were undertaken at a multi-vallate enclosure in advance of the construction of an extension of the M6 motorway. Geophysical survey and excavation revealed a third bank beyond two upstanding banks. Within the interior, seven separate blocks of superimposed buildings were observed, together with an eighth, single-phase structure interpreted as an animal pen. Artefacts were few, consisting of worked stones and querns, while the radiocarbon dates indicated a Romano-British date for much of the occupation, although the enclosure was built in the pre-Roman Iron Age. Includes separately authored reports on

An assemblage of 366 lithics was recovered during the characterisation of archaeological deposits, from deposits which appear to represent a scooped occupation. Analysis of the assemblage and a radiocarbon date range of 6355-6012 cal BC indicate that it belongs to the Mesolithic. The site is significant because it is the first Mesolithic material to have been recovered by excavation in the Girvan area. It also provides additional evidence for a class of semipermanent Mesolithic sites consisting of shallow scoops surrounded by turf or earthen banks.