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South Uist is a small island in the southern half of the Outer Hebrides. In the middle of the island lies the township of Bornais. This covers a particularly flat area of land which means that the three mounds can be seen all the more clearly. These mounds have been identified as being from the Viking period, with evidence of pre-Viking habitation at the site coming from Iron Age sherds. The excavation of the Bornais settlement is a long-term project, which has been going since 1994. This first volume of results of the excavation focuses on Mound 3, but includes a discussion of the topographic and geophysical survey of all the mounds. There is also considerable analysis of the environmental remains and radiocarbon dating. ... Read more

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This series provides an introduction to the archaeological heritage of Scotland, detailing the story of one part of the country. The details are filled in by a gazetteer of the most interesting and best preserved monuments, and aim to encourage the reader to explore further using the full-colour section on day excursions. This volume details skilfully carved Pictish cross-slabs, great abbeys and castles, and the imposing cathedrals of Arbroath and St Andrews, together with the Royal Palace of Falkland. Examples of rural architecture are also documented. ... Read more

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This survey provides an accessible and broad-ranging synthesis of existing knowledge on historic Barrhead, and will inform conservation guidance for future development. The historic town of Barrhead is situated to the west of Glasgow in East Renfrewshire. Barrhead was created in the late 18th century and grew rapidly because it was in the right place at the right time. It was close to the emerging commercial centres of Glasgow and Paisley and could rely on the Levern Water to power a booming textile industry. The valley in which the town grew also has a rich earlier history. The book identifies medieval sites and charts the development of the town from the scatter of fermtouns shown on early maps and goes on to sketch the social history of a community shaped by the industrial revolution. Barrhead was elevated to the status of a burgh in 1893. Although the textile industry was in decline by this time, the lost jobs were replaced by heavy industries. The authors look at the history and archaeological potential of key sites in the town, to inform the future management of Barrhead's heritage. This book is part of the Scottish Burgh Survey - a series designed to identify the archaeological potential of Scotland's historic towns ... Read more

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The focus of this research is on the later prehistoric period, from the earliest constructional origins of western Scotland crannogs in the late Bronze Age through to their apparent emergence as status dwellings in the Early Historic period after the mid first millennium AD. The aim is to investigate the ways in which crannogs functioned as settlements, both on a practical, economic as well as a symbolic and socio-cultural level. Throughout, the primary concern is with contextualisation, considering crannogs within their correct chronological and cultural context through the critical analysis of dating evidence as well as the identification of the relevant ritual and symbolic themes- i.e. the Iron Age veneration of water. It is argued in this book that the stereotypical view of a crannog that has largely been derived from the results of work carried out on Irish crannogs has been misleading in the case of the Scottish sites, tending towards a view of crannogs as high-status strongholds, often as royal seats. Though crannogs were certainly a significant feature of the Early Historic period in Scotland, there is as yet no evidence of direct connections to royalty in this period and, based on the currently available evidence, the characterisation of crannogs as high status sites is misguided in the context of their late Bronze and Iron Age origins. ... Read more

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Offering an introduction to the archaeological heritage of Scotland, this series tells the story of parts of Scotland, tracing human impressions on the landscape from World War II relics back to the earliest pioneer days of settlement. This work examines Shetland. It includes a look at an 18th-century fort in Lerwick, a Viking-age farm beside Sumburgh Airport, Scotland's best-preserved iron-age broch on the island of Mousa, tombstones and storehouses that illustrate Shetland's North Sea trade in the 17th and 18th centuries. ... Read more

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Strategically positioned on the coastal strip between Berwick and Edinburgh, Dunbar has had a colourful history, with a sequence of fortification and settlement from the Iron Age onwards. Deriving its name from the British 'dyn-baer', meaning 'summit fort', the military value of Dunbar Castle meant that the town was hard hit by successive wars and feuds and its eventful history included a period as a French army garrison in the 16th century. Dunbar's importance as a market town, however, is reflected in its elevation to the status of a royal burgh in 1445. Its port and fishing fleet brought additional prosperity in succeeding centuries.Dunbar's rich past is reflected in the diversity of its surviving archaeology - prehistoric enclosures to the south of the town, Iron Age and Anglian settlement in Castle Park, the medieval castle, its friary, tolbooth, parish church, as well as later buildings such as the Belhaven Brewery and the harbour warehouses. ... Read more

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The kingdom of Dal Riata emerged in Argyll in the early centuries AD, after the Romans had abadoned Scotland. Unlike the Picts to the north and the British Celtic tribes to the south, the rulers of Argyll were Gaelic speakers who had crossed the sea from Ireland. This book describes the results of new excavations at Dunadd, the rocky hill on which these early Scots built a citadel. The authors a;sp review previous research at the site, and discuss what we know of Dalriadic society and culture. From the Iron Age onwards, Dunadd was one of the most important regional centres, and the extensive early medieval remains have been interpreted in the past as the site where the first kings of Scotland were crowned. The elegant metal artefacts, metallurgical workshop and elaborate masonry uncovered in these new excavations support this claim and also shed new light on the development of insular art. While this volume is at heart a detailed excavation report, the wider contextual discussions (which are a hallmark of the Cardiff Studies in Archaeology series) will be of interest to anybody interested in the early, unwritten history of Scotland. ... Read more

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The Mote of Mark is a low boss of granite rising from forty-five metres above the eastern shore of Rough Firth, where the Urr Water enters the Solway, between the villages of Kippford and Rockcliffe. The summit comprises a central hollow between two raised areas of rock and was formerly defended by a stone and timber rampart enclosing one third of an acre. The Mote of Mark appears to have first attracted the attention of antiquaries in the late eighteenth century, and first assumed national importance with Alexander Curle's major work in 1913. After the interruption of the First World War, the site was left largely alone until it was re-excavated in the 1970s. These excavations, in 1973 and '79 were designed to answer three specific questions: How many phases of activity are represented in the structural history of the defenses? How many phases of activity are represented by the evidence for Early Medieval metalworking and occupation? And, how does the evidence of occupation within the defenses relate to the structural history of the defenses? This book presents the results of the excavations and their interpretation within the framework of these questions. ... Read more

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Excavations, finds and environmental remains, and historical and geological background. ... Read more

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Situated in the far south-west of Scotland, overlooking the Solway Firth, Whithorn is well-known as the site of an important early Christian monastery. The settlement was created a burgh of barony for the prior of Whithorn in the early fourteenth century. There were Christians living in the settlement at Whithorn by the mid-fifth century, and a monastery may have been founded on the priory site by the sixth century. By the eleventh century, a settlement of craftsmen and traders had grown up around this religious site. Like Tain in the north-east of Scotland, the site became a focus for pilgrimage, a profitable activity until the Reformation saw the banning of pilgrimages in 1581. In the post-medieval period the town's economy was based on cattle and agriculture, and a small amount of trade through the burgh's port at Isle of Whithorn. ... Read more

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This survey gives an accessible and broad-ranging synthesis of the history and archaeology of Govan, and aims to inform conservation guidance for future development. Situated on the south bank of the river Clyde, just to the west of Glasgow, Govan is to most people synonymous with shipbuilding and social challenge. Govan is, however, a remarkable place, its history stretching back to the fifth or sixth century AD when it was a seat of royal and religious power. The church of Govan Old stands upon one of the oldest Christian sites in western Scotland. A key factor in its history has been its location at a major river crossing point, where the Kelvin joins the Clyde, and the book also considers the role in the medieval period of Partick on the opposite bank. Govan has enjoyed two periods of great importance - as a centre of royal power in the early historic period, with a major church at Govan Old, and as the centre for marine engineering on the Clyde (and therefore the world) in the mid to late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The importance of the site in the later first millennium is reflected in the renowned collection of carved stones at Govan Old Parish Church. The collection here of tenth- and eleventh-century sculpture is the largest of its kind in Scotland. The authors consider the development of the settlement around Water Row and Govan Cross through the later medieval and post-medieval periods when it was a thriving craft centre focused on handloom weaving. At the same time, local landowners and merchants began to establish country retreats in the surrounding area. The book details, with numerous maps and images, the huge physical transformation that Govan underwent in the nineteenth century, from a small village of artisans to the centre of the world-renowned Clyde shipbuilding industry. It also considers the impact on the historic environment of its designation as a Police Burgh in 1864, and of its forced merger with Glasgow in 1912, at which point it was the fifth largest municipality in Scotland. The industrialisation of Govan brought with it a range of social issues which are explored, including recent work to revitalise the post-industrial townscape. This book is part of the Scottish Burgh Survey - a series funded by Historic Scotland designed to identify the archaeological potential of Scotland's historic towns. ... Read more

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The historic town of Maybole lies equidistant from the burghs of Ayr and Girvan in South Ayrshire. There is evidence of an early Anglian settlement and in the Middle Ages Maybole developed into an important economic, ecclesiastical and political centre. The style of architecture in the town reflects the tempestuous history of local rivalries and feuds, which encouraged the building of distinctive defensible townhouses, such as the surviving castle and the tolbooth. There was rapid industrial and economic growth in the 19th century, with new civic building, factory developments and residential expansion. The book fully explores the rapid changes of the last century and makes a detailed evaluation of the surviving evidence. ... Read more