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Journal article
Radiocarbon dates arranged through National Museums Scotland Archaeology Department during 2007/8
The main thrust of NMS Archaeology Department's radiocarbon dating activities this year was on Scottish Bronze Age monuments, with Historic Scotland kindly funding a series of dates for funerary (and other) monuments in mid-Argyll and Morvern, with a special focus on kerb cairns, and NMS funding dates for monuments elsewhere...Sheridan, J A
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When the potters make the story...
Salanova, Laure ; Sheridan, J A
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The beads. In: M. Johnson ‘Excavation of two Early Bronze Age short cists and a prehistoric pit at Lindsayfield, near Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire'
Two short cists of Early Bronze Age date, containing prehistoric flint artefacts and shale/cannel coal beads, were discovered during topsoiling operations for the Aberdeen to Lochside Natural Gas Pipeline, to the south of Lindsayfield, near Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire. Cremated human bone from one of the cists was radiocarbon dated to the...Johnson, M ; Sheridan, J A
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The changing pace of insular life: 5000 years of microevolution in the Orkney vole(Microtus arvalis orcadensis)
Cucchi, Thomas ; Barnett, Ross ; Martinkova, Natalia ; Renaud, Sabrina ; Renvoisé, Elodie …
zooarchaeology, tooth shape, Dispersal, island evolution, geometric morphometrics, and evolutionary rate
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Portmahomack/Balintore
Sheridan, J A
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Refining the chronology of the Neolithic settlement at Pool, Sanday, Orkney: implications for the emergence and development of grooved ware
New radiocarbon dates for the Neolithic settlement at Pool on Sanday, Orkney, are interpreted in a formal chronological framework. Phases 2.2 and 2.3, during which flat-based Grooved Ware pottery with incised decoration developed, have been modelled as probably dating to between the 31st and 28th centuries cal bc. There followed...MacSween, A ; Hunter, John ; Sheridan, J A ; Bond, Julie ; Bronk Ramsey, C …
radiocarbon dates, Grooved Ware, Orkney, Bayesian modelling, and Neolithic
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A Boyne to Brodgar research framework
Note: this research framework, created by Alison Sheridan (National Museums Scotland) and Gabriel Cooney (University College Dublin), forms part of an article, ‘The Boyne to Brodgar initiative: understanding – and preserving, presenting and raising awareness of – Neolithic monuments and the people who built and used them in Ireland, Scotland...Sheridan, J A ; Cooney, Gabriel
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Archäologie ohne Aufgaben? Wie die Fortschritte naturwissenschaftlicher Verfahren die moderne archäologische Forschung an Funden beeinflussen und verändern: Scientific archaeology - to what end? How progress in the analytical methods of the natural sciences has influenced and changed modern archaeological research on finds
Modern research on archaeological artefacts has profited considerably from the use of analytical techniques from the natural sciences. Recent research has allowed us to reconstruct considerably more precise "biographies" of artefacts than was the case previously, as illustrated by several examples from the author's own current research. However, as is...Sheridan, J A
Archaeology, Natural Scientic Analysis Methods, and New Findings
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The Boyne to Brodgar initiative: understanding—and preserving, presenting and raising awareness of—Neolithic monuments and the people who built and used them in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man
This contribution introduces a new initiative, focusing on Neolithic monumentality in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man, that aims to combine fresh research and fieldwork with a strategy to raise public awareness of the wealth and interconnectedness of the monuments in these areas. The background to the initiative -...Sheridan, J A ; Cooney, Gabriel
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Settlement duration and materiality: formal chronological models for the development of Barnhouse, a Grooved Ware settlement in Orkney
Radiocarbon dating and Bayesian chronological modelling, undertaken as part of the investigation by the Times of Their Lives project into the development of Late Neolithic settlement and pottery in Orkney, has provided precise new dating for the Grooved Ware settlement of Barnhouse, excavated in 1985–91. Previous understandings of the site...Richards, C ; Jones, A M ; MacSween, A ; Sheridan, J A ; Dunbar, Elaine …
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Beaker people in Britain: migration, mobility and diet
The appearance of the distinctive ‘Beaker package’ marks an important horizon in British prehistory, but was it associated with immigrants to Britain or with indigenous converts? Analysis of the skeletal remains of 264 individuals from the British Chalcolithic–Early Bronze Age is revealing new information about the diet, migration and mobility...Pearson, Mike Parker ; Chamberlain, A ; Jay, Mandy ; Richards, Mike ; Sheridan, J A …
Beaker, Britain, Bayesian analysis, mobility, diet, Bronze Age, migration, isotope analysis, and osteology
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Beaker vessel. In: J.A. Atkinson, 'Ben Lawers: an archaeological landscape in time. Results from the Ben Lawers Historic Landscape Project, 1996–2005'
This volume presents the results of archaeological investigations between 1996 and 2005, carried out as part of the Ben Lawers Historic Landscape Project, a multi-disciplinary project based on north Loch Tayside in the Central Highlands of Scotland. Archaeological surveys and excavations formed the core of the Ben Lawers Project, but...Sheridan, J A
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Fellows remembered: Peter Woodman
Sheridan, J A
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Radiocarbon dating of a multi-phase passage tomb on Baltinglass Hill, Co. Wicklow, Ireland
Baltinglass is a multi-chamber Neolithic passage tomb in Co. Wicklow, Ireland, excavated in the 1930s. This paper presents the results of a radiocarbon dating programme on charred wheat grains and hazelnut shell found underlying the cairn, and on cremated human bone found within and near two of the monument’s five...Schulting, Rick J ; Mcclatchie, Meriel ; Sheridan, J A ; Mclaughlin, Rowan
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Population replacement in Early Neolithic Britain
The roles of migration, admixture and acculturation in the European transition to farming have been debated for over 100 years. Genome-wide ancient DNA studies indicate predominantly Anatolian ancestry for continental Neolithic farmers, but also variable admixture with local Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. Neolithic cultures first appear in Britain c. 6000 years ago...Brace, Selina ; Diekmann, Yoan ; Booth, Thomas J ; Faltyskova, Zuzana ; Rohland, Nadin …
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Broken bead or pendant roughout of jet-like material from Swandro
In June 2015, excavations in Area E at Swandro uncovered an intriguing fragment of jet-like material that had broken across a hole that had been drilled through it. (The item is Small Find No. 2344, from context 3153.) The item was passed to the author for study and identification of...Sheridan, J A
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The Beaker phenomenon and the genomic transformation of northwest Europe
From around 2750 to 2500 bc, Bell Beaker pottery became widespread across western and central Europe, before it disappeared between 2200 and 1800 bc. The forces that propelled its expansion are a matter of long-standing debate, and there is support for both cultural diffusion and migration having a role in...Olalde, Iñigo ; Brace, Selina ; Allentoft, Morten E ; Armit, Ian ; Kristiansen, Kristian …
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Artefacts with the human remains in Area C. In: Lelong, O 2018 'Fluid identities, shifting sands: Early Bronze Age burials at Cnip Headland, Isle of Lewis'. Scottish Archaeology Internet Report 75
Excavations in 2009 and 2010 on Cnip Headland, Isle of Lewis investigated three different burials in shallow pits and on a kerbed mound, containing the inhumed remains of at least nine individuals in both articulated and disarticulated states. Bone histology analysis indicates that the bodies of all but one (a...Sheridan, J A
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Kilmagadwood Early Bronze Age cemetery: excavation and initial post-excavation research
This contribution outlines the excavation and initial post-excavation research, along with subsequent fieldwork, that has been undertaken to date (October 2018) regarding an important Early Bronze Age cemetery comprising 23 urned deposits of cremated human remains and three un-urned deposits of pyre debris at Kilmagadwood, near Scotlandwell in Portmoak parish,...Sheridan, J A ; Hall, Derek ; Romera, Aida ; Welch, Nathan ; O'Grady, Oliver
bronze razors, cremation, bone toggle, bone bead, faience bead, cinerary urns, Early Bronze Age, and metal bead
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Review of various titles: Neolithic Britain and Ireland: are we nearly there?
Review of several volumes about Neolithic Britain: HILARY K. MURRAY, J. CHARLES MURRAY & SHANNON M. FRASER. A tale of the unknown unknowns: a Mesolithic pit alignment and a Neolithic timber hall at Warren Field, Crathes, Aberdeenshire. Oxford: Oxbow, 2009.978-1-84217-347-3 ANNA RITCHIE. On the fringe of Neolithic Europe: excavation of...Sheridan, J A
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From Mont Viso to Slovakia: the two axeheads of Alpine jade from Golianovo
Two fragments of large jadeitite axeheads were discovered in a Lengyel enclosure at Golianovo (Republic of Slovakia), close to Nitra. Spectroradiometric analysis and macroscopic characteristics indicate that, in all probability, these two artefacts — which are exceptional in this region of Europe — had come from the Neolithic quarries on...Pétrequin, P ; Errera, M ; Cassen, S ; Gauthier, E ; Hovorka, D …
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Excavations at a multi-period site at Greenbogs, Aberdeenshire, Scotland and the four-post timber architecture tradition of Late Neolithic Britain and Ireland.
This report outlines the unexpected discovery of a group of Late Neolithic structures at Greenbogs, Monymusk in Aberdeenshire, along with a series of later prehistoric features in the mid-1990s. Recent radiocarbon dating shows that two four-post timber structures found here date to the period 2890–2490 cal bc. These were found...Noble, Gordon ; Greig, Moira ; Millican, Kirsty ; Anderson, Sue ; Clarke, Ann …
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Excavations at Upper Largie quarry, Argyll & Bute, Scotland: new light on the prehistoric ritual landscape of the Kilmartin Glen
Excavations were carried out intermittently between 1982 and 2005, by various excavators, in advance of quarrying activity at Upper Largie, Kilmartin Glen, Argyll & Bute. They revealed abundant evidence of prehistoric activity, dating from the Mesolithic to the Middle Bronze Age, on a fluvioglacial terrace overlooking the rest of the...Sheridan, J A ; Cook, M ; Ellis, C
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The pottery. In: A Becket & G MacGregor, Forest grazing and seaweed foddering: early Neolithic occupation at Maybole, South Ayrshire, 114-117
Excavation of a well-preserved upstanding roundhouse revetted into a steep hillside at Navidale has revealed a structure with unusually sophisticated architectural traits dated to around 1400–1200 bc. The house was built within an agricultural landscape but its abandonment appears to have been linked to a cessation of agriculture within that...Sheridan, J A
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Bronze Age pottery. In P R J Duffy, Excavations at Dunure Road, Ayrshire: a Bronze Age cist cemetery and standing stone, 94-100
In March 2005, excavations were undertaken by Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division (GUARD) at the Craig Tara Holiday Park, Dunure Road, Ayr in advance of proposed development. Two main archaeological sites were examined. The first, a flat cist cemetery covered by an earthen mound, comprised 23 separate burial features of...Sheridan, J A
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Review of: I.A.G.Shepherd and G.J.Barclay (eds.). Scotland in ancient Europe
This volume presents the proceedings of a conference held in Edinburgh in March 2003 - one of a series of Society of Antiquaries of Scotland conferences reviewing Scotland’s past within its broader context. The previous, and first, was held in 1999 and was published by the Society in 2004 as...Sheridan, J A
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Review of I Armit, Scotland’s Hidden History
This is an updated version of Ian Armit’s popular guide to Scottish archaeological sites, first published (in paperback and hardback) in 1998. As Armit explains, the revisions have been necessitated by new discoveries and advances in our understanding of Scottish prehistory and early history to around AD 1000, with the...Sheridan, J A
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Green treasures from the magic mountains
A few prehistoric jade axeheads were found in Britain over a century ago. The number grew as the years passed: but where they had come from remained a mystery. Alison Sheridan describes new work by Pierre Pétrequin, Michel Errera and Yvan Pailler that looks finally to have cracked the problemSheridan, J A
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Croft Moraig and the chronology of stone circles
The Perthshire stone circle of Croft Moraig was excavated 40 years ago and is usually taken to illustrate the classic sequence at such monuments in Britain. A timber setting, accompanied by a shallow ditch, was replaced by two successive stone settings. The pottery associated with the earliest construction was dated...Bradley, R ; Sheridan, J A
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Review of G.Warren, Mesolithic lives in Scotland
This slim but attractively-presented volume sets out to present an account of the lives of Scotland’s earliest inhabitants that is accessible to undergraduates and to those with a general interest in archaeology. Much effort is spent in explaining complicated processes (such as sea-level change) and in demystifying specialist terminology (principally...Sheridan, J A
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The Exloo necklace: new light on an old find
This article presents the results of recent international collaborative research into the Early Bronze Age composite necklace from Exloo, examining its circumstances and location of discovery, the history of its curation and study, its likely date, the provenance of its constituent elements, and its broader significance. The other Dutch Bronze...Haveman, E ; Sheridan, J A
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Review of M.Parker Pearson, N.Sharples, and J.Symonds, South Uist: archaeology and history of a Hebridean island
Two outstanding books have recently been published about the archaeology and history of the Outer Hebrides. Andrew Fleming’s St Kilda and the Wider World is one; Parker Pearson et al's is the other. South Uist presents the results of a major interdisciplinary and collaborative research project undertaken principally by the...Sheridan, J A
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Pifalls and other traps...why it's worth looking at museum artefacts again
Re-examination of old finds can lead to significant gains in understanding past practices. Some of the recent work undertaken by the National Museums of Scotland is showcased here. Recent work on the Loch Glashan codex satchel (p18) persuades us that, archaeologically speaking, silk purses can be made out of sows’...Sheridan, J A
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The excavation of a bronze age cemetery at Seafield West, near Inverness, Highland
Excavations in 1996 in advance of a major commercial development at Seafield West revealed a Bronze Age cemetery. Inside a ring-ditch were two adjacent graves with wooden coffins, one a boatshaped hollowed tree-trunk, the other plank-built. Both had probably contained crouched inhumation burials. Grave goods in the former included a...Cressey, M ; Sheridan, J A
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Review of R.Cleal and A.MacSween (eds.), Grooved ware in Britain and Ireland
This collection of fourteen papers (plus Introduction and Gazetteer) arose from a Neolithic Studies Group seminar that took place on a memorably eventful and frosty day in February 1994. As one of the speakers and subsequent contributors to the volume, my comments are those of an active participant in the...Sheridan, J A
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Supernatural power dressing
Jewellery from Bronze Age graves is normally interpreted as a symbol of status. Howevr, materials like jet, amber, faience and tin were also worn as talismans, writes Alison Sheridan When archaeologists found the 4,300-year-old burial of an archer and metalworker at Amesbury in Wiltshire last year, they knew at once...Sheridan, J A ; Shortland, A
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Three cists and a possible Roman road at Barbush quarry, Dunblane
Over the past 50 years a number of archaeological discoveries have been made at Barbush Quarry, Dunblane including a coin hoard, Neolithic pottery and several prehistoric funerary features. During the supervised removal of spoil heaps at the quarry a concentration of archaeological features was identified and later excavated. The features...Holden, T ; Sheridan, J A
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The National Museums Scotland ‘Dating cremated bones project’
Results from the ‘Dating Cremated Bones Project’ The second year of what is hoped to be a three-year project has continued to provide interesting new dates from prehistoric Scottish cremated human bone (see DES 2001, 129 for results from year 1). Sampling continued to focus on material with ‘interesting’ artefactual...Sheridan, J A
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In the Copper Age
We divide the ancient past into three ages: stone, bronze and iron. But leading archaeologists are saying Britain also had a copper age, between stone and bronze at around 2500–2200BC. What was it, when did it occur and why? British Archaeology canvassed the views of six archaeologists and scientists.Pitts, Mike ; Needham, S ; Heyd, Volker ; Parker Pearson, Mike ; Jay, Mandy …
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Ancient genomes indicate population replacement in Early Neolithic Britain
The roles of migration, admixture and acculturation in the European transition to farming have been debated for over 100 years. Genome-wide ancient DNA studies indicate predominantly Aegean ancestry for continental Neolithic farmers, but also variable admixture with local Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. Neolithic cultures first appear in Britain circa 4000 bc, a millennium after...Brace, Selina ; Diekmann, Yoan ; Booth, Thomas J ; Faltyskova, Zuzana ; Rohland, Nadin …
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The jet bead. In: Gibson, A. Survey and sampling at the Castle Dykes Iron Age ‘henge’, Wensleydale, North Yorkshire
Survey and sampling at the classic single-entranced henge monument at Castle Dykes, in North Yorkshire, has revealed traces of circular timber structures, interpreted as later prehistoric roundhouses, in the immediate vicinity and within the henge. Coring of the waterlogged silts of the internal ditch has produced considerable environmental data: plant,...Sheridan, J A