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Excavated by Leslie Alcock in the 1950s, the inland promontory fort of Dinas Powys is widely cited as a type site for elite settlements of post-Roman western Britain. Alcock's interpretation and dating of the main defences as a Norman-period castle were effectively disproven in the 1990s, but the excavator's original chronology continues to be cited. Here, the authors present a revised chronology, integrating new radiocarbon dates and stratigraphie analysis to re-evaluate the history of occupation. The new phasing redates the main defences to the early medieval period, which aligns with the site's notable early medieval assemblage. The findings contribute to understanding of post-Roman western Britain and the (re)occupation of late antique hilltop sites more generally. Keywords: Wales, hillfort, early medieval, radiocarbon dating, multivallate fort, Introduction Fortified sites dominate our view of the central places of power and governance in the early medieval period, particularly in northern and western Britain (Alcock 2003: 179; Seaman 2016: [...]

The evidence of funerary archaeology, historical sources and poetry has been used to define a 'heroic warrior ethos' across Northern Europe during the first millennium AD. In northern Britain, burials of later prehistoric to early medieval date are limited, as are historical and literary sources. There is, however, a rich sculptural corpus, to which a newly discovered monolith with an image of a warrior can now be added. Comparative analysis reveals a materialisation of a martial ideology on carved stone monuments, probably associated with elite cemeteries, highlighting a regional expression of the warrior ethos in late Roman and post-Roman Europe. Keywords: Scotland, late Roman, early medieval, stelae, warrior, Introduction Prehistoric and medieval burials accompanied by weapons have been documented since the nineteenth century (e.g. Harke 1990: 22; Treherne 1995: 105; Pedersen 2014: 15). Varying spatially and temporally, the [...]

Around the world, poorly preserved buildings and occupation deposits often represent the primary evidence for archaeological structures and settlements. Integrated geoarchaeological methods, such as soil chemistry and micromorphology, can be used to maximise the information obtained from such deposits regarding site preservation and the use of space. However, archaeologists are often reluctant to apply these methods if they suspect that preservation is poor or stratigraphy is not visible in the field. To assess the role that geoarchaeology can play in the interpretation of fragmented and poorly preserved structures, this paper presents the results of two case studies in which multiple geoarchaeological methods (microrefuse analysis, pH, electrical conductivity, magnetic susceptibility, loss‐on‐ignition, portable XRF and micromorphology) were applied to poorly preserved occupation deposits and fragmented buildings in early medieval coastal settlements in northeast Scotland. Micromorphology proved to be fundamental for recognising and understanding the composition of occupation deposits that had formerly been floor surfaces. It also aided interpretations for the use of space and maintenance practices and improved an understanding of the post‐depositional processes that had affected stratigraphic visibility at the macroscale. When subjected to principal component analysis, the geochemical, magnetic and microrefuse data were able to provide new details about activity areas, and successfully identified and filtered out the effects of post‐medieval contamination. Most significantly, the integrated approach demonstrates that fragmented buildings and poorly preserved occupation surfaces can retain surviving characteristics of the use of space, even if the floor surfaces were not preserved well enough to be clearly defined in the field or in thin section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The date of unique symbolic carvings, from various contexts across north and east Scotland, has been debated for over a century. Excavations at key sites and direct dating of engraved bone artefacts have allowed for a more precise chronology, extending from the third/fourth centuries AD, broadly contemporaneous with other non-vernacular scripts developed beyond the frontiers of the Roman Empire, to the ninth century AD. These symbols were probably an elaborate, non-alphabetic writing system, a Pictish response to broader European changes in power and identity during the transition from the Roman Empire to the early medieval period.Keywords: Scotland, Pictish, symbolism, carving, language, writing, IntroductionThe origins and evolution of writing are one of the most critical and transformative developments in world history (Innes 1998: 3). Writing revolutionises the forms and possibilities of communication, and [...]

Modern excavations can sometimes provide surprising new insights on antiquarian finds of metalwork. The Pictish silver hoard from Gaulcross in north-eastern Scotland provides an excellent example. Recent fieldwork, including metal-detecting, has clarified the size and composition of the hoard, and uncovered 100 new silver items, including coins, fragments of brooches and bracelets, ingots and parcels of cut, bent and broken silver known as Hacksilber. Comparisons with other hoards and with Pictish symbol stones illustrate the circumstances and date of deposition, the origin of the silver and the forms of society emerging in Scotland in the post-Roman period. Keywords: Scotland, late Roman, early medieval, Pictish, silver hoard, Hacksilber, metaldetecting, Introduction During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, many antiquities were both discovered and destroyed through processes of agricultural improvement and expansion, and their discovery was often inadequately reported. As a [...]

This article presents a series of new radiocarbon dates aimed at resolving long-standing issues concerning the development of the complex of Navan Fort, Co. Armagh, and its wider context. These include radiocarbon dates for human remains from excavations at Site A and Site B and from the area of the quarry adjacent to Navan Fort. Iron Age, early medieval and post-medieval dates from these remains complicate previous assessments of the site and its development but add important new data for Navan and its long-term evolution. In particular, evidence for a funerary dimension to the immediate environs of Navan Fort now seems apparent, while further post-medieval activity within the enclosure of Navan Fort extends the chronology of the complex well into the second millennium AD. A date from a human clavicle recovered during excavations suggests the possibility of formal deposition on the cairn of Site B during the Iron Age and supports the suggestion that the cairn was a focus of activities for a considerable period prior to the construction of its turf mound. Together these dates add nuance to our understanding of the complex and its long-term development, but also raise many new issues concerning its medieval and later role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of small-scale kingdoms in the post-Roman world of northwestern Europe is a key stage in the subsequent emergence of medieval states. Recent excavations at Rhynie in north-eastern Scotland have thrown important light on the emergence of one such kingdom, that of the Picts. Enclosures, sculptured 'symbol stones' and long-distance luxury imports identify Rhynie as a place of growing importance during the fifth to sixth centuries AD. Parallels can be drawn with similar processes in southern Scandinavia, where leadership combined roles of ritual and political authority. The excavations at Rhynie and the synthesis of dated Pictish enclosures illustrate the contribution that archaeology can make to the understanding of state formation processes in early medieval Europe. Keywords: Scotland, Rhynie, early medieval, kingdoms, hillforts, Picts, sacral kingship, Introduction The first millennium AD in northern Europe stands at the interface between prehistory and history. While some regions remain essentially prehistoric, others are informed by documentation that is often [...]

Aerial photography and excavations have brought to notice a major prehistoric ceremonial complex in central Scotland comparable to Stonehenge, although largely built in earth and timber. Beginning, like Stonehenge, as a cremation cemetery, it launched its monumentality by means of an immense circle of tree trunks, and developed it with smaller circles of posts and an earth bank (henge). A change of political mood in the Early Bronze Age is marked by one of Scotland's best preserved dagger-burials in a stone cist with an engraved lid. The perishable (or reusable) materials meant that this great centre lay for millennia under ploughed fields, until it was adopted, by design or by chance, as a centre of the Pictish kings. Keywords: Scotland, Strathearn, Neolithic, Bronze Age, third millennium BC, cremation, palisaded enclosure, timber circles, henge, cist burial, dagger burial, Pictish palace, Introduction The Perthshire village of Forteviot in central Scotland has been cited since the seventeenth century as the location of a ninth-eleventh century AD royal palace and a fine collection [...]