2003 Artifact and Palaeoenvironmental Work
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As part of the preliminary post-excavation work associated with the project, study and analysis of the materials recovered are undertaken. To date this work has included preliminary studies of some of the artefacts, archaeo-botanical samples and metallurgical waste from the 2002 season. Further study of other materials from 2002 and 2003 is about to begin.
| The artefacts from the 2002 excavations are beginning to provide some interesting results. The coins from the longhouse excavation at Balnreich confirm that the excavated structure was occupied during the early nineteenth century. Conservation work has also revealed that the three heel plates (from shoes) recovered from behind the fireplace are 'concealment' shoes. There was a tradition of hiding shoes in buildings between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries in order to bring good luck. The recovery of a copper alloy brooch, bearing a deer motif, may suggest associations with Clan Hay or the Lovat Scouts. |
X-ray of the brooch from Balnreich |
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Analysis of the metallurgical waste recovered from the hut circle at Croftvellick revealed it was a fragment of metallurgical ceramic, most likely from a furnace where bog ore had been smelted. |
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Analysing palaeo-botanical remains |
Study of the archaeo-botanical samples from Balnreich, Blarmore and Croftvellick has cast light on the sorts of timber used at each site and provided opportunities for radiocarbon dating. At Balnreich, birch, ash, scots pine, larch and oak were common, while at Blarmore ash dominated the sample. At Croftvellick - the earliest of the sites - birch, hazel and oak were predominant. |
Pottery from Balnreich in situ |
Jennifer Miller and John Atkinson
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