Excavations at Cill Donnain : a Bronze Age settlement and Iron Age wheelhouse in South Uist /
Parker Pearson, Michael,1957-author.
Zvelebil, Marek,author.
"The SEARCH (Sheffield Environmental and Archaeological Research Campaign in the Hebrides) project began in 1987 and covers the Scotland's Outer Hebrides. The aim of the project is to investigate how human societies adapted in the long-term to the isolated environment of the Outer Hebrides. The first major excavation on South Uist discovered that what was thought to be a shell midden at Cill Donnain was in fact a wheelhouse, a type of dwelling used in the period c. 300 BC-AD 500, under which lay the remains of a Bronze Age settlement. This settlement was partly investigated by Marek Zvelebil in 1991 and then later by Mike Parker Pearson and Kate MacDonald in 2003. The site itself is situated at the foot of a high steep-sided dune on the eastern edge of a large sand valley, close to the western shore of Loch Cill Donnain. The archaeological report of the excavation at the Cill Donnain wheelhouse shows that, in comparison with contemporary neighbouring settlements, it was unlikely that each was an independent unit and that they were linked by social and economic inter-dependency. The wheelhouse thus provides striking new evidence that contributes to developing theories about the social, material and economic life in the period. This volume presents the extensive archaeological evidence found at the site, including pottery, faunal remains and a variety of bone and metal tools, illustrating that the Cill Donnain landscape is rich in archaeological sites of all periods from the Beaker to the post-Medieval"--Publisher's website.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Introduction / Mike Parker Pearson and Helen Smith -- The excavations / Marek Zvelebil and Mike Parker Pearson -- Early-Middle Bronze Age (phase 1) : a Cordoned Urn settlement / Mike Parker Pearson with Kate MacDonald -- Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age occupation (phase 2) : eighth-early sixth centuries BC / Mike Parker Pearson -- Before construction of the wheelhouse (phase 3) / Mike Parker Pearson -- Construction and initial use of the wheelhouse (phases 4 and 5) / Mike Parker Pearson and Marek Zvelebil -- Modification and abandonment of the wheelhouse (phases 6-8) / Mike Parker Pearson and Marek Zvelebil -- The midden overlying the wheelhouse (phase 9) / Mike Parker Pearson -- The pottery / Chris Cumberpatch -- The metal finds and industrial debris -- The stone tools / Mike Parker Pearson -- Bone, ivory and antler tools and ornaments / Mike Parker Pearson, with species identification by John Hamshaw-Thomas and Kim Vickers -- The faunal remains / Kim Vickers with Saleem ul Haq and John Hamshaw-Thomas -- The carbonised plant remains / Pam Grinter and Soultana-Maria Valamoti -- Marine mollusca / Sean Bell and Karen Godden -- Radiocarbon dating / Peter Marshall and Gordon Cook -- Conclusion: Cill Donnain's prehistoric landscape -- Appendix: Context list and phasing for the 1989, 1990 and 1991 excavations at Cill Donnain III.
"The SEARCH (Sheffield Environmental and Archaeological Research Campaign in the Hebrides) project began in 1987 and covers the Scotland's Outer Hebrides. The aim of the project is to investigate how human societies adapted in the long-term to the isolated environment of the Outer Hebrides. The first major excavation on South Uist discovered that what was thought to be a shell midden at Cill Donnain was in fact a wheelhouse, a type of dwelling used in the period c. 300 BC-AD 500, under which lay the remains of a Bronze Age settlement. This settlement was partly investigated by Marek Zvelebil in 1991 and then later by Mike Parker Pearson and Kate MacDonald in 2003. The site itself is situated at the foot of a high steep-sided dune on the eastern edge of a large sand valley, close to the western shore of Loch Cill Donnain. The archaeological report of the excavation at the Cill Donnain wheelhouse shows that, in comparison with contemporary neighbouring settlements, it was unlikely that each was an independent unit and that they were linked by social and economic inter-dependency. The wheelhouse thus provides striking new evidence that contributes to developing theories about the social, material and economic life in the period. This volume presents the extensive archaeological evidence found at the site, including pottery, faunal remains and a variety of bone and metal tools, illustrating that the Cill Donnain landscape is rich in archaeological sites of all periods from the Beaker to the post-Medieval"--Publisher's website.
Excavations (Archaeology)
Bronze age
Iron age
Human settlements
Dwellings
Material culture
Human ecology
Social archaeology
Economics, Prehistoric
Excavations at Cill Donnain.