5.7.9 Settlement

Priority 1: There is a need to better understand the diverse range of settlement types, in particular roundhouse forms in Perth and Kinross. New research methodologies and clearly reported consideration of domestic architecture are key to addressing this. Reassessing how roundhouse forms relate across geographical zones and to other contemporary monuments, both within and outwith the region, will contribute to understanding the Scottish Iron Age as a whole.

Priority 2: There is a need to refine chronology and mechanism behind the transition from roundhouses to longhouses (Pitcarmick-type buildings) at the end of the long Iron Age and into the early medieval period.

Priority 3: There is a need to explore and refine the chronology of the origin and development of monumental enclosure forms, including brochs, monumental roundhouses, duns and forts, and to compare with neighbouring regions.

Priority 4: There is a need to better understand the context of monumental enclosed forms, such as forts, crannogs and monumental roundhouses, and to improve our knowledge of contemporary environment and settlement in the wider landscape.

Priority 5: There is a need to better understand lowland enclosed settlement, known through the cropmark record, ideally through comprehensive mapping of the cropmark record and a programme of targeted excavation of multiple examples/sites. This could be considered a high priority given the ongoing destruction of cropmark sites.

Priority 6: Further consideration of the origins, nature and reuse of monumental roundhouses is required. While previously labelled ‘circular fort’, ‘ring-fort’ and ‘homestead’, they have more recently been proposed as one form of ‘monumental roundhouse’ (Hingley 1992, 14–5; Strachan 2013, 8–10). The detail of their architectural form remains unclear however, and a range of options have been suggested, from massive roofed buildings to partially roofed structures (Strachan 2013, 94–100). While their artefactual signature appears to be domestic, a better understanding of their form is required to fully appreciate their relationship to roundhouses and other forms, such as duns. Several show evidence of reoccupation or reuse in the early medieval period and the nature of this activity requires further research.

Research Questions