Dating Scotland's Neolithic non-megalithic round mounds: new dates, problems and potential

Abstract

The purpose of this contribution is to review briefly the non-megalithic round mounds of definite and probable Neolithic date in Scotland, and to draw attention to some accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates, relating to the use of four of these monuments - Midtown of Pitgalssie, one of the cairns of Atherb, East Finnercy and Pitnacree - that have been commissioned by the author over the past seven years as part of an ongoing and broad-ranging, National Museums Scotland (NMS) radiocarbon dating initiative. The issues involved in obtaining these dates, and in seeking to obtain others for Scottish non-megalithic round mounds, will be outlined. Where the potential exists to obtain further new dates, this is pointed out.