The geopolitics of the Upper Galilee at the dawn of the Iron Age: a petrographic study of Mt. Adir

Summary Excavations at Howe revealed a complex series of settlements which spanned the whole of the Iron Age period and were preceded by two phases of Neolithic activity. A probable stalled cairn was succeeded by a Maes Howe type chambered tomb which was later followed by enclosed settlements of which only scant remains survived. These settlements were replaced by a roundhouse with earth-house, built into the ruins of the chambered tomb. The roundhouse was surrounded by a contemporary defended settlement. Rebuilding led to the development of a broch structure and village. Partial collapse of tower brought about changes in the settlement, andalthougk some houses were maintained as domestic structures, others were rebuilt as iron-working sheds. The construction of smaller buildings and a later Iron Age or Pictish extended farmstead into rubble collapse accompanied a decline in the size of the settlement. The abandonment of the farmstead marked the end of Howe as a settlement site.

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Archaeological Investigations at Mavis Grind, Shetland

Glasgow Archaeological Journal ◽

10.3366/gas.1983.10.10.13 ◽

1983 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 13-39 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Stephen Cracknell ◽

Beverley Smith

Keyword(s):

Iron Age ◽

Early Iron Age ◽

Second Phase ◽

Field System ◽

M 10 ◽

Settlement Site

Summary The excavations revealed a stone house and showed that it was oval, 13 m × 10 m, with an interior about 7 m in diameter. In the first occupation phase the entrance was on the SE side. During the second phase this entrance was replaced with one to the NE and the interior was partitioned. The roof was supported on wooden posts. After the building was abandoned it was covered with peat-ash which was subsequently ploughed. There were numerous finds of steatite-tempered pottery and stone implements, which dated the site to late Bronze/early Iron Age. The second settlement, Site B, lay by the shore of the voe and consisted of two possible stone-built houses and a field system. Two trenches were dug across the structures and the results are reported in Appendix I. Although damaged in recent years it was in no further danger.

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The Excavation of a Settlement of the Later Bronze Age and Iron Age at Myrehead, Falkirk District

Glasgow Archaeological Journal ◽

10.3366/gas.1983.10.10.41 ◽

1983 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 41-71 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

G J Barclay

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Iron Age ◽

Farming System ◽

Activity Period ◽

Limited Evidence ◽

Ring Groove ◽

Domestic Activity ◽

First Millennium ◽

First Millennium Bc ◽

Actual Settlement

SUMMARY Myrehead has revealed the eroded remnants of activity from the Beaker period (Period A) onwards, with actual settlement evinced only from about the early first millennium be. The three houses and the cooking pits of Period B may have been constructed and used sequentially. This open settlement was probably replaced during the mid first millennium bc, possibly without a break, by a palisaded enclosure (Period C), which may have contained a ring-groove house and a four-post structure. Continued domestic activity (Period D) was suggested by a single pit outside the enclosure, dated to the late first millennium bc/early first millennium ad. The limited evidence of the economy of the settlements suggests a mixed farming system.

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