SAIR 28:Early medieval settlement and ironworking in Dornoch, Sutherland: excavations at The Meadows Business Park

by Russel Coleman and Effie Photos-Jones
with contributions by Simon Chenery, Adrian Cox, Derek Hall, Mhairi Hastie and Catherine Smith

ISBN 978 0 903 903 97 4

Published in March 2009 by The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, in association with The Council for British Archaeology and Historic Scotland, in Adobe Acrobat format. Available free of charge (see Terms & Conditions of Use).

Report Abstract

Monitoring and excavation during the development of a new business park in Dornoch in 1997 revealed numerous features including a building, ditched enclosures and several hearths, all sealed beneath an artefact-rich cultivation soil. Radiocarbon dates obtained place the main period of activity here in the late 1st millennium ad. The evidence recovered also suggests a tradition of ironworking here from the early medieval period continuing through into the medieval period. A small assemblage of finds was recovered from the excavation, including quantities of iron slag, bog iron ore, fragments from a clay-lined furnace, whale bone, a bone counter and a bone pin beater. This paper reports on the results of the work and includes an extended section on the analysis of the iron-making and -working evidence.

The post-excavation analysis and reporting of the results was funded by Historic Scotland.

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Report content

	Title Page
	Table of Contents
	List of Illustrations
	List of Tables
1	Abstract
2	Introduction
	2.1 Historical and archaeological background
3	The excavation
	3.1 Phase 1: ditches and iron-making/working (8th–9th centuries AD)
	3.1.1 Ditches
	3.1.2 Iron-making/working debris, hearth and pits
	3.2 Phase 2: building, enclosures, pits and ironworking (9th–10th centuries AD)
	3.2.1 Midden
	3.2.2 Large enclosure
	3.2.3 Building
	3.2.4 Small enclosure and gullies
	3.3 Phase 3: enclosure (10th–11th centuries AD)
	3.3.1 Ditch
	3.3.2 Pit
	3.4 Phase 4: medieval features (15th century AD)
	3.5 Radiocarbon dates
	3.6 The pottery Derek W Hall
	3.6.1 Geochemical fingerprinting of Dornoch pottery Simon Chenery
	3.7 The artefacts Adrian Cox
	3.7.1 Copper-alloy objects
	3.7.2 Bone objects
	3.8 Metallurgical wastes analysis Effie Photos-Jones
	3.8.1 Introduction: setting the scene
	3.8.2 The site
	3.8.3 About bloomery iron-making
	3.8.4 Conclusions
	3.9 The faunal remains Catherine Smith
	3.9.1 Marine resources
	3.10 The plant remains Mhairi Hastie
	3.10.1 Pit 49
	3.10.2 Significance of the cereal remains
	3.10.3 Wood charcoal identifications
4	Discussion
5	Acknowledgements
6	References

Published by The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, in association with The Council for British Archaeology and Historic Scotland, in Adobe Acrobat format. Available free of charge (see Terms & Conditions of Use).

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