Neolithic Scotland: Timber, Stone, Earth And Fire

NEOLITHIC SCOTLAND TIMBER, STONE, E ARTH AND FIRE GORDON NOBLE N S N S T, S, E  F Gordon Noble Edinburgh University Press © Gordon Noble, 2006 Edinburgh University Press Ltd 22 George Square, Edinburgh Typeset in Minion by Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Manchester and printed and bound in Great Britain by MPG Books Ltd, Bodmin, Cornwall A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN-10 0 7486 2337 X (hardback) ISBN-13 978 0 7486 2337 2 (hardback) ISBN-10 0 7486 2338 8 (paperback) ISBN-13 978 0 7486 2338 9 (paperback) The right of Gordon Noble to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Contents List of figures vi Preface x Introduction 1 1. Scotland in the Neolithic: an introduction 7 2. Islands in the fast lane: the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition 24 3. Burning down the house: the destruction of timber structures 45 4. Planting trees, planting people: long and round barrows in eastern Scotland and beyond 71 5. Megalithic architecture in Atlantic Scotland 102 6. The emergence of monument complexes 139 7. The architecture of monumental landscapes 194 8. The Early Bronze Age: deconstructing and rebuilding the past 219 Conclusion: timber, stone, earth and fire 233 Bibliography 238 Index 260 Figures 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 The ‘agricultural frontier’ Scotland in Europe Areas and regions mentioned in the text The geographical zones of Scotland The composition of the woodland in Earlier Neolithic Scotland The regional monument traditions of Earlier Neolithic Scotland The changing forms of Neolithic pottery The tides and currents of the sea The island chains of the western British Isles The major sea-routes in the Irish Sea zone The brooding presence of the Isle of Man Glecknabae chambered cairn Machrie North Earlier Neolithic field boundary and agricultural area near Brodick Shetland: a Neolithic landscape The distribution of pit-defined cursus monuments in Scotland The radiocarbon dates for timber structures in lowland Scotland The enclosure at Holywood North Kirkburn, Lockerbie The timber halls at Balbridie and Claish The enclosure at Inchtuthil The enclosures at Bannockburn Douglasmuir House 2, Coolfore, Co. Louth Cloghers, Co. Kerry Enagh Townland, Co. Derry Ballyharry, Co. Antrim Drummenny Lower, Co. Donegal Chapelfield Cowie Lamb’s Nursery Structure A Deer’s Den, Aberdeenshire Kinbeachie Farm The pits at Blairhall Burn Boghead mound 8 10 11 11 13 16 18 25 27 30 31 34 38 39 41 46 47 48 49 50 50 51 52 53 53 54 54 55 60 60 61 62 63 63 F 3.20 3.21 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 5.19 5.20 Radiocarbon dates for Neolithic settlement sites in lowland Scotland The pits to the southeast of Douglasmuir The distribution of long and round mounds and cairns in Scotland Radiocarbon dates for timber structures Aldwincle I, Northamptonshire Fussell’s Lodge