Cille Pheadair is one of more than 20 Viking Age and Late Norse settlements discovered on the island of South Uist in the Outer Hebrides (Western Isles), off the west coast of Scotland. Its unusually well-preserved stratigraphic sequence of nine phases of occupation, including five longhouses and many smaller buildings, provides a remarkable insight into daily life on a Norse farmstead during two centuries of near-continuous occupation c. AD 1000 –1200. Although the excavation at Cille Pheadair was a rescue project undertaken before the site was destroyed by coastal erosion, it provided an opportunity to address important research questions about the domestic use of space, agricultural economy, and relationships with the wider world beyond the Outer Hebrides. Careful and ground-breaking analysis of preserved house floors provided profound insights into the changing use of space within a Norse longhouse and its surrounding outbuildings. The rich assemblage of pottery, ironwork, gold and silver reveals that the inhabitants of Cille Pheadair had long-distance connections across the Viking world. A battery of scientific studies, including faunal and floral analyses, isotopic and lipid residue analyses, and soil chemistry, have revealed much about the social and economic dimensions of life on a Norse farm. Detailed survey and excavation in South Uist, reveals a remarkable picture of Norse-period settlement across this island which was part of the insular Viking world between Ireland and Norway, becoming part of the Kingdom of Man and later the Kingdom of the Isles. Cille Pheadair’s status as an ordinary, if wealthy, farmstead can be contrasted with the much larger and longer-lived high-status settlement at Bornais to the north. The two sites together provide a fascinating insight into similarities and differences within the settlement hierarchy of the time that makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the Viking world.
Les mer
A ground-breaking multi-disciplinary account of the archaeology of a single Norse farmstead on South Uist in the Outer Hebrides.
List of figures List of tables Contributors Acknowledgements   1. Cille Pheadair and the Norse period in South Uist M. Parker Pearson   2. The Pictish burial cairn, cal AD 640–780 M. Parker Pearson, J Williams, A. Chamberlain, P. Marshall, J. Montgomery, J. Evans and C. Chenery   3. Initial construction and occupation (phase 1), starting cal AD 945–1020 M. Parker Pearson, M. Brennand, C. Ellis,  J. Bond, C. Paterson, J. Mulville and C. Ingrem   4.   The earliest deposits above the pits (phase 2), starting cal AD 945–1020 M. Parker Pearson, M. Brennand, C. Ellis,  J. Bond, C. Paterson, J. Mulville and C. Ingrem   5. The first stone longhouse: House 700 (phase 3), constructed cal AD 1030–1095 M. Parker Pearson, M. Brennand, , H. Manley, H. Smith, P. Marshall, J. Bond, C. Paterson, J. Mulville and C. Ingrem   6.  The second stone longhouse: House 500 (phase 4), constructed cal AD 1060–1110 M. Parker Pearson, M. Brennand, H. Manley, H. Smith, P. Marshall, C. Ellis,  J. Bond, C. Paterson, E.J. Pieksma, J. Mulville, C. Ingrem, P. Austin and J. Williams   7. Modification of House 500 (phase 5), rebuilt cal AD 1070–1125 M. Parker Pearson, M. Brennand, H. Manley, H. Smith, P. Marshall,  J. Bond, C. Paterson, J. Mulville, C. Ingrem and P. Austin   8. The sheds (phase 6), constructed cal AD 1100–1155 M. Parker Pearson and M. Brennand, H. Manley, H. Smith, P. Marshall, J. Bond, C. Paterson, J. Mulville, C. Ingrem and P. Austin   9. The east–west longhouse: House 312 (phase 7), constructed cal AD 1105–1160 M. Parker Pearson, M. Brennand,, H. Manley, H. Smith and P. Marshall, C. Ellis, J. Bond, C. Paterson, J. Mulville, C. Ingrem and P. Austin   10. The last longhouse: House 007 (phase 8), constructed cal AD 1140–1205 M. Parker Pearson, M. Brennand, H. Manley, H. Smith and P. Marshall, C. Ellis, J. Bond, C. Paterson, J. Mulville, C. Ingrem and P. Austin   11. Reuse and abandonment of the ruins of House 007 (phase 9), ending cal AD 1160–1245 M. Parker Pearson, M. Brennand,, H. Manley, H. Smith and P. Marshall,  J. Bond, C. Paterson, J. Mulville, C. Ingrem and P. Austin   12. The ceramics J. B. Bond, E.J. Pieksma, D. Dungworth and M. Parker Pearson   13. The combs, ornaments, weights and coins C. Paterson with contributions by M. Parker Pearson and E. Besly   14. The bone and antler tools C. Paterson   15. The iron knives, tools and weapons M. Parker Pearson   16. The stone artefacts M. Parker Pearson, G.D. Gaunt, C. Paterson, M. Edmonds and K. Martin   17. Industrial activity D. Dungworth, M. Parker Pearson and H. Smith   18. The faunal remains – mammals J. Mulville, A. Powell, J. Williams, C. Ingrem and J.R. Jones   19. The faunal remains – birds, fish and molluscs J. Best, J. Cartledge†, C. Ingrem, E. Walters, H. Smith and M. Parker Pearson   20. The human remains A. Chamberlain   21. The carbonized plant remains and wood charcoal H. Smith, S. Colledge and P. Austin   22. Absorbed and visible organic residues L. Cramp and R.P. Evershed   23. Soil micromorphology C. Ellis   24. Radiocarbon dating P. Marshall, M. Parker Pearson and G. Cook   25. The Cille Pheadair farmstead in its context B.E. Crawford and M. Parker Pearson   Bibliography Index
Les mer
Unusually good preservation provided for the first detailed study of the archaeology of a Norse farmstead through time including five longhouses and many smaller buildings

Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9781785708510
Publisert
2018-07-26
Utgiver
Oxbow Books
Høyde
297 mm
Bredde
210 mm
Aldersnivå
P, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
656

Biografisk notat

Mike Parker Pearson is Professor of British Later Prehistory at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London. A distinguished prehistorian, he has been involved with many major projects, including leading the recent Stonehenge Riverside Project. Mark Brennand is Senior Historic Environment Officer for Cumbria County Council. After completing his BA in Archaeology at the University of Sheffield, he worked in East Anglia and supervised excavations at Cille Pheadair in the 1990s. Jacqui Mulville is Professor of Archaeology at Cardiff University. A distinguished bioarchaeologist, she is a field archaeologist with 35 years of excavation experience whose research focuses on osteoarchaeology, human and animal identities, and island archaeologies concentrated on Britain. Helen Smith has been Senior Lecturer in Archaeology at Bournemouth University, specialising in the analysis of archaeobotanical remains, having completed her PhD in Archaeology at the University of Sheffield on traditional farming practices of the Western Isles.