Title:
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Marine Crannogs : the archaeological and palaeoenvironmental potential, with special reference to Redcastle marine crannog, Beauly Firth, Scotland
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Marine crannogs are archaeological remains distributed around the Scottish
coastline.T he two groupso f sites discussedin this thesisa re located in the intertidal
zone of the upper reaches of the Firth of Clyde and the Beauly Firth. As a result of
their wet surroundingst hey have beena ssociatedw ith freshwaterc rannogsa lthough
little is known of their origins, function and structural design. Evidence from early
investigations has indicated that substantial remains are preserved beneath the
intertidal deposits. Intertidal fieldwork techniques have been developed in this thesis
to enable these sites to be surveyed, investigated and to sample some of the
archaeologya nd palacoenvironmentael videncep reservedo n them.
Evidence from previous investigations of these sites is used to re-locate them
and survey was undertaken to identify additional sites. The results from the surveys
of the existing marine crannogs are used to indicate the variety of locations, types of
remains and other characteristics of these sites. On the basis of these results, one site
was chosen for additional research. Sampling and excavation on the focus site
indicates primary and subsequent structural remains and particular sedimentary and
artefactual characteristics. Some of the remains sampled are subjected to multispectral
analysis, the results of which indicate that palaeoenvironmental indicators
arc found in marine crannog deposits and can be used to establish conditions when
the location was occupied and the site constructed. An example of the
palaeoenvironmcntal indicators analysed was diatoms, which are helpful when
investigating the position and salinity levels of contemporary water levels.
Results from the surveys and sample analysis arc used to indicate that marine
crannogs are a distinct sub-group of crannogs and that the two groups display a
regional diversity of both structures and chronology. The identification of a distinct
range of structures from Iron Age Scotland contributes to the diversity of sites from
this period.
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