Priority 1: The development of monumental structures during the Iron Age has the potential to tell us much about the nature and scale of social organisation, and the transition from the Bronze Age. The study of forts, monumental roundhouses and brochs in the context of any surrounding settlement will help us to better understand this phenomenon more fully.
Priority 2: The artefactual assemblage from Oakbank crannog presents a valuable resource for understanding Iron Age lifeways, in particular the remarkable preservation of wooden artefacts. As yet relatively untapped for research, more extensive study of this significant collection is considered a high priority.
Priority 3: The relationship between Iron Age communities and the Roman army requires further study. Historical sources imply a turbulent relationship but specific study of cultural interaction in the context of Perth and Kinross has been limited and merits far greater investigation. The work at Castle Craig broch (Poller forthcoming) is an important first step here.
Priority 4: Iron Age pottery remains poorly understood with limited research on its function. The continued use of the ‘flat-rimmed ware’ category in particular has hindered typological research on later prehistoric pottery. Greater synthesis, reassessment of assemblages outwith established typologically restraints are key priorities going forward, although available assemblages for this remain sparse.
Priority 5: As elsewhere in Britain, close monument juxtaposition suggests reuse and adaptation of abandoned Roman military forts, such as Inchtuthil and Ardoch, in the early medieval and later periods. Closer study of these potential relationships is an important consideration for understanding how indigenous communities responded to the withdrawal of Rome, and how new social structures emerged in the region.
Priority 6: Artefacts recovered from both Roman and Iron Age contexts across the region suggest an extended period of material exchange and interaction, the nature of which required definition. Further synthesis and reassessment of both the Roman material found on Iron Age sites and Iron Age material culture present in Roman contexts should be undertaken.
Research Questions
PKARF Qu 5.40: What can further study of the Oakbank crannog assemblage tell us about everyday life?
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PKARF Qu 5.41: Can items sich as wooden artefacts, like the butter dish and animal remains such as teeth plus some faeces from farmed animals from Oakbank crannog improve our understanding of animal husbandry in the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age?
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PKARF Qu 5.42: What can further study of the Oakbank crannog plant remains tell us about everyday life?
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https://scarf.scot/researchframework/v1/question/question-6308c380d94acWhat can the Early Iron Age opium poppy seeds tell us about trade or cultivation? How can the plant remains contribute to theories on shared farming? The processing of spelt and emmer is believed to be the earliest evidence for Scotland. What can analysis of reveal about the trade and cultivation, and whether the social status of the processors can be implied by their presence or absence on a site?Active01/06/202201/06/2025The Scottish Archaeological Research Framework PKARF Qu 5.43: What can individual artefact and chemical material studies of the Oakbank crannog metalwork assemblage (including the iron dagger, copper-alloy swan neck pin, bronze ring, crucible fragments and the charcoal) reveal about metal acquisition, working and status in north-west Perth and Kinross?
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PKARF Qu 5.44: What can the presence of Roman originating material culture on non-Roman sites tell us about the regional interactions between different communities, social groupings and polities?
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PKARF Qu 5.45: What insights can artefact analysis more broadly offer to our understanding of Roman and Iron Age interactions?
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PKARF Qu 5.46: What insights into the Roman military and their followers could be gained from the examination and reappraisal of artefacts?
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PKARF Qu 5.47: To what extent can the identification and subsequent study of Roman vici, cemeteries, religious sites as well as closely associated non-Roman structures contribute to our understanding of the relationships between Roman and indigenous populations in the region?
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PKARF Qu 5.48: How can fieldwalking and other survey techniques in the areas immediately surrounding Roman forts improve our understanding of annexes and potential extramural activity?
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PKARF Qu 5.49: How can we recognise the reuse of Iron Age sites by the Romans and their response to earlier monuments in the landscape?
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PKARF Qu 5.50: Can we identify the presence of post-Roman activity on and around Roman sites by the Iron Age and medieval population. What uses were the sites put to allow the survival of the earthworks to the current day?
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PKARF Qu 5.51: To what extent is the apparent longevity of ‘flat-rimmed ware’ real or does it mask regional and chronological distinctions?
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PKARF Qu 5.52: How should ‘flat-rimmed ware’ be considered going forward and does it represent a homogenous pottery type across the second and first millennia BC?
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PKARF Qu 5.53: As a descriptor, what role does flat-rimmed ware have in future research? What is the case for the development of better terminologies and typologies with refined dates?
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PKARF Qu 5.54: To what extent is there evidence for ‘flat-rimmed ware’ extending into the first millennia AD?
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PKARF Qu 5.55: What is the relationship between Iron Age and Roman pottery on domestic sites?
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PKARF Qu 5.56: What could a synthesis of securely contexted and well-dated pottery assemblages reveal about regional and chronological distinctions within the pottery of this period, both within Perth and Kinross and in comparison with other regions?
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PKARF Qu 5.57: How could a synthesis of Iron Age pottery help to identify associations between particular settlement types?
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PKARF Qu 5.58: What could the application of lipid analysis reveal about regional pottery assemblages and what could it tell us about the complementary roles of pottery and organic containers found on waterlogged sites?
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