Geoarchaeological Approaches to Pictish Settlement Sites: Assessing Heritage at Risk

该项目将使用一套创新的地质考古技术来评估皮克特时期建筑的保存情况，以及如果使用地质考古方法进行分析，零碎建筑必须重建中世纪早期苏格兰日常生活的潜力。由于皮克特建筑和其中的占用沉积物保存不佳，目前我们对中世纪早期苏格兰日常生活的理解存在巨大差距（Hall和Price 2012）。在低地和沿海地区，皮克特建筑通常被深翻（如Rhynie， Clarkly Hill），海岸侵蚀（如Dunnicaer）或城市发展（如Burghead）所截短，而那些在高地地区被发现的建筑似乎没有保存的地面沉积物，原因尚不清楚（如Glenshee的Lair）。地质考古技术阐明了遗址的形成过程，是一种强大的研究工具，可以识别地面沉积物，区分其组成，并将这种组成与日常活动、地面维护过程和生活条件联系起来（Milek和Roberts 2013），但它们尚未应用于皮克特时期的住宅。该项目将首次采用一套地质考古技术，这些技术已被证明在维京时代遗址以及苏格兰和冰岛的人种学案例研究中非常有效（图1）。参与这项研究的学生将分析在过去三年中从Rhynie (Noble 2014), Burghead, Clarkly Hill (Hunter 2012), Dunnicaer （Stalker 2015）和Lair （Glenshee考古项目2016）挖掘的皮克特建筑碎片中收集的约250个沉积物样本。首先，这些样本将使用综合土壤微观形态、XRF （x射线荧光）、磁化率、着火损耗、pH值和微垃圾分析来分析，以确定保存条件和遗址形成过程，并评估重建中世纪早期苏格兰定居点日常生活和生活条件方面的理想技术组合。第一个分析阶段的结果将决定应该将哪些其他的技术应用于样品，如粪便脂质生物标志物分析和变压扫描电子显微镜（VP9 SEM）。此外，监督小组将获得预定的纪念碑许可，重新打开皮特卡米克皮克特遗址的旧挖掘沟（Carver等人，2012;2013），以便从地面沉积物、洞后填充物和部分暴露的草皮墙中采集微观形态和大量沉积物样本。对这些样本的分析将为我们理解以下问题提供至关重要的新数据：(a)影响皮克特人住宅的地板形成过程的范围，(b)是否可以使用后洞填充物来了解被犁地截断的建筑物的原始地板组成和空间使用情况，以及(c)自22年前被重新掩埋以来建筑物保存的变化。该项目的产出将包括遗址挖掘者和HES的地质考古报告，共同撰写的出版物和会议报告，以及苏格兰历史环境的地质考古指导文件。作为一个整体，这个创新的项目将提供重要的新信息，关于(a)在一系列环境设置中保存皮克特时期的建筑，(b)如果使用科学方法进行分析，残破或受损建筑的研究潜力可以提供关于中世纪早期日常生活的重要信息，以及(c)这组文化遗产现在和未来生存的主要风险。该项目将实现苏格兰考古战略（2015年苏格兰历史环境）的几个关键目标，特别是增强我们对早期中世纪时期的理解，提高我们关心和保护文化遗产资源的能力。

This project will use an innovative suite of geoarchaeological techniques to evaluate the preservation of Pictish Period buildings and the potential that fragmentary buildings have to reconstruct daily life in early medieval Scotland if analysed using geoarchaeological methods. There is currently a tremendous gap in our understanding of daily life in early medieval Scotland due to the poor preservation of Pictish buildings and the occupation deposits within them (Hall and Price 2012). In lowland and coastal areas, Pictish buildings are generally truncated by deep ploughing (e.g. Rhynie, Clarkly Hill), coastal erosion (e.g. Dunnicaer), or urban development (e.g. Burghead), while those uncovered in upland areas seem to have no preserved floor deposits for reasons that are yet to be understood (e.g. Lair in Glenshee). Geoarchaeological techniques clarify site formation processes and are a powerful research tool for identifying floor deposits, distinguishing their composition, and linking this composition to daily activities, floor maintenance processes, and living conditions (Milek and Roberts 2013), but they have yet to be applied to Pictish Period dwellings. This project will be the first to employ a suite of geoarchaeological techniques already proven to be highly effective on Viking Age sites as well as ethnographic case studies in Scotland and Iceland (Fig. 1). The student engaged to undertake this research will analyse a set of around 250 sediment samples collected over the last three years from fragmentary Pictish buildings excavated at Rhynie (Noble 2014), Burghead, Clarkly Hill (Hunter 2012), Dunnicaer (Stalker 2015), and Lair (Glenshee Archaeology Project 2016). The samples will in the first instance be analysed using integrated soil micromorphology, X9ray fluorescence (XRF), magnetic susceptibility, loss9on9ignition, pH, and micro9refuse analysis to determine preservation conditions and site formation processes, and to evaluate the ideal combination of techniques for reconstructing aspects of daily life and living conditions in early medieval Scottish settlements. The results of this first analytical stage will determine which additional state9of9the9art techniques should be applied to the samples, such as faecal lipid biomarker analysis and variable pressure9scanning electron microscopy (VP9 SEM). In addition, the supervisory team will obtain Scheduled Monument Consent to re9open old excavation trenches at the Pictish site of Pitcarmick (Carver et al. 2012; 2013) in order to take micromorphology and bulk sediment samples from floor deposits, post9hole fills, and turf walls exposed in the sections. The analysis of these samples will provide new data crucial for our understanding of (a) the range of floor9formation processes affecting Pictish dwellings, (b) whether post9 hole fills can be used to understand the original floor composition and use of space in buildings truncated by ploughing, and (c) changes in the preservation of the buildings since they were re9buried 22 years ago. Outputs of the project will include geoarchaeological reports for the site excavators and HES, co9authored publications and conference presentations, and a geoarchaeological guidelines document for Historic Environment Scotland. As a whole, this innovative project will provide crucial new information about (a) the preservation of Pictish Period buildings in a range of environmental settings, (b) the research potential of fragmentary or damaged buildings to provide crucial information about daily life in the early medieval period if analysed using scientific methods, and (c) the major risks to the survival of this group of cultural heritage sites now and in the future. The project will fulfil several key aims of the Scottish Archaeology Strategy (Historic Environment Scotland 2015), especially enhancing our understanding of the early medieval period, improving our ability to care for and protect cultural heritage resources.