The research questions below derive from the archaeological research baseline presented in Chapter 7 Iron Age of the South West Scotland Archaeological Research Framework.
Please also consider the research questions raised in Chapter 2 Archaeological Practice and Chapter 3 Land and Environment of the South West Scotland Archaeological Research Framework.
Many of the research recommendations from the original National ScARF and other regional research frameworks are also relevant and applicable in South West Scotland.
1. Can we identify a continuity of occupation and material culture from the later Bronze Age into the early Iron Age? If so, is this a regional or intra-regional pattern? Further, does it focus on certain monument types or elements of the material culture?
2. Can we recognise in our archaeological record evidence for early use and manufacture of iron artefacts? How does this compare with our neighbouring regions? Further, is this co-terminus with a decline in copper alloy manufacture and use?
3. Are we able to recognise enduring, high-quality copper alloy manufacture within the period? Is there utilitarian copper alloy manufacture that is not recognised? Can the reappraisal of museum collections identify wrongly attributed Iron Age copper alloy artefacts?
4. Can we identify centres of iron production in our region across this period? Further, are there patterns in the types of sites being used and does this change over time and across our region?
5. With the proliferation in settlement types, are we able to recognise emerging or changing social hierarchies and networks? If so, what are the consistent patterns in our region and do these correlate to material culture? Further, is there any credible connection between these patterns and the ascribed tribal groupings from Roman sources?
6. Once the Roman campaigns have begun, can we recognise any influence or impact on settlement patterns or monument types within our region? Is there evidence for site loss through abandonment or destruction that can be chronologically linked? Further, is there evidence for the occupation of previously underutilised locations?
- One possible site type to look at is souterrains. It has been suggested that they may have been required to store surplus grain to supply to the Roman army and that the abandonment and decline of souterrains correlated with their departure. Does this match with the available evidence in the South West or is there a different pattern appearing?
7. Given anomalous thermoluminescence dates from vitrified forts in our region, can a targeted dating programme clarify the chronological pattern of vitrification of monuments in our region? Further, are there discernible patterns or event horizons in the use of this process either across the region or on an intra-regional basis?
- A dating programme in the late 1980s produced a series of thermoluminescence dates from vitrified material in timber-framed forts, the results of which placed the firing in the Bronze Age, earlier than anticipated (Strickertsson et al 1988). These forts included Auldhill and Kemp Law, but there were no supporting radiocarbon dates or artefactual evidence. In Caldwell’s paper on Auldhill, he stated that later archaeomagnetic dating of the northern sites included in the programme has since placed their vitrification in the Iron Age (Caldwell et al 1998, 66-7). Would revisiting the dating of the vitrification at Auldhill and Kemp Law produce similar results?
8. Can we identify regional or intra-regional variants of roundhouses? If so, do these reflect choices in the internal use of space, overall function or, potentially, aesthetics? Further, can we recognise any standardisation in craft practice in the construction materials or techniques used?
- Several sites in South West Scotland contain roundhouses with opposed entrances, including Carronbridge, Rispain Camp, Hayknowes Enclosures and Weirston Road. Some examples appear elsewhere in Scotland, but an increasing number are being recorded in the South West. Is this a regional variant? Is there a pattern to their form or occurrence that changes across the region or over time?
9. Do we recognise a continuation of earlier patterns in the structured division and use of the agricultural landscape? How do these relate to settlement sites, especially those enclosed, in the same landscape? Where enclosures have no settlement evidence, how can we recognise their function relative to the social, agricultural or industrial landscape? Further, do these patterns change over time or across our region?
10. With the arrival of monumentalised defended sites, can we identify evidence for conflict or inter personal violence in our region during this period? In the absence of direct evidence, can proxy evidence be used to infer violent actions or the potential for this?
11. Can we identify any direct or indirect evidence for population movement, both intra-region and extra-region?
12. Can environmental and material culture evidence create a discrete, regional picture of subsistence for our communities? If so, can the pattern of resource exploitation be shown to change over time or show intra-regional variation?
13. With the Roman presence, can we characterise the acquisition and consumption of exotic material culture and produce?
14. Where coins or evidence of coin manufacturing are recovered from indigenous sites, can these be shown through the broader material culture to reflect trade into the Roman Empire? Further, is there any evidence of coinage use between indigenous communities?
- Evidence for locally produced coinage and currency bars is generally lacking in South West Scotland, with coin finds tending to be of Roman origin and manufacture. A mould used to produce counterfeit Roman coins, however, was recovered from amongst the sand dunes at Brighouse Bay (Maynard 1994). The location of the find lay a considerable distance from known centres of Roman occupation and activity, suggesting that the counterfeiting was undertaken by native craftsmen, operating on a native site.
15. Are we able to recover additional information as to the perception, decoration and display of self? Can we link this material culture with personal characteristics (e.g. age and sex) and with inferred social status of the recovery site?
16. Can we recover evidence of the means of transport used in our region during this period? In the absence of direct evidence, can proxy evidence be used to infer reasonable options for transportation and travel?
17. Given the lack of pottery, can we identify additional material in museum assemblages from the period and establish clear typologies? Further, can synthesis enable the recognition of site characteristics that predict the recovery of pottery assemblages? Where this is the case, can we recognise social, economic or industrial drivers that create this pattern of limited manufacture and/or deposition?
- Wooden objects have been recovered from sites such as crannogs and the unusual assemblage from Over Rig. Is there a move towards using wooden vessels, such as lathe-turned dishes and bowls, instead of ceramic ones? Is it possible to recognise this, or a pattern to their use, in the available assemblages?
18. Can we re-examine metalwork deposition sites through targeted landscape survey and, where appropriate, metal detector survey and excavation, to enhance our understanding of the depositional environment and strategies? If so, can we recognise regional or intra-regional patterns and whether these change through time? Further, can we recognise connections with the broader use of the landscape, including routeways and boundaries?
19. Given the lack of funerary sites, can we identify additional human skeletal material in museum assemblages from the period? Further, can synthesis enable the recognition of site characteristics that predict the recovery of human skeletal material? Where this is the case, can we recognise social or ritual drivers that create this pattern of non-enduring burial or disposal?
20. Where human skeletal material is recovered from the region, can we investigate the characteristics of the individuals (e.g. kinship, sex, age or pathology)? Further, is there any evidence for exotic/remote origins of the individuals?