27 May 2017, Starts: 09:45, Ends: 17:00

Archaeological Research in Progress

Annual conference jointly organised by Archaeology Scotland and Society of Antiquaires of Scotland.

National Museums Scotland Auditorium EH1 1JF (enter via the Lothian Street doors)

£35 for Soc Ant Scotland Fellows, Archaeology Scotland members, students. Others £40. Includes lunch

Programme and booking details on Society of Antiquaries of Scotland website. 

PROGRAMME:

0915 Registration at the National Museums Scotland Auditorium, EH1 1JF, enter via Lothian Street doors

 

Morning Session – Chaired by David Caldwell, President of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Bronze Age sword and wooden scabbard

The Carnoustie Bronze Age sword and wooden scabbard © GUARD Archaeology Ltd

0945 Welcome and Opening Remarks

 

0955 Neolithic Halls, Bronze Age roundhouses and a late Bronze Age hoard at Carnoustie

Alan Hunter Blair (GUARD Archaeology)
Since autumn 2016 excavations by GUARD Archaeology have revealed a large prehistoric settlement at Carnoustie in Angus containing one of the largest Neolithic halls ever found in Scotland and a Late Bronze Age weapon hoard.

1020 Revealing the Cochno Stone
laser scanning of the Cochno Stone

Initial results of the Scottish Ten laser scanning of the Cochno Stone. This image shows less than 5% of the surface of the stone. Copyright: Historic Environment Scotland

Dr Kenneth Brophy (University of Glasgow)
In 2016, one of the largest prehistoric rock-art panels in Britain was revealed for the first time in 51 years on the edge of Glasgow. This talk will tell the remarkable story of the Cochno Stone.

1045 Metal Detecting in Scotland: Understanding the extent, its character & opportunities for engagement

Dr Natasha Ferguson (Treasure Trove Unit Officer) and Kevin Munro (Senior Designations Officer, HES)
This collaborative project with HES, TTU & GUARD Archaeology Ltd aims to enhance understanding of metal detecting activity in Scotland, ultimately to encourage positive interaction with the historic environment and identify opportunities for positive engagement

1110 Questions

1125 Tea and Coffee and Displays and Bookstalls

1155 Recent Excavations at Smelter’s Cave, Rosemarkie, on the Black Isle
Facial reconstruction of the skeletal remains

Facial reconstruction of the skeletal remains recovered from Smelter’s Cave. Copyright: CAHID University of Dundee

Steven Birch (West Coast Archaeological Services)
Archaeological investigations at a number of caves near Rosemarkie, on the Black Isle have revealed evidence for Early Medieval activity including metalworking and the remains of a man who had been brutally killed.

1220 Northern Picts: Latest Finds and Results

Dr Gordon Noble (University of Aberdeen)

1245 Questions

1300 Launch of Discovery and Excavation in Scotland

1310 Lunch and Displays and Bookstalls

 

Afternoon session chaired by Beverley Ballin-Smith, President of Archaeology Scotland

1410 Scottish Medieval Window Glass: Chemical analysis

Helen Spencer (Heriot Watt University)
Window glass from Elgin Cathedral

Window glass from Elgin Cathedral. Copyright: Historic Environment Scotland/Robin Murdoch

Medieval window glass from thirteen Scottish sites has been characterised by scientific analysis. The results show that the glass was made and imported from several sites in Europe and how the glass recipes over the period.

1435 The SCOT2K Project: Progress in dating native pine buildings and archaeological sites in Scotland

Dr Coralie Mills (University of St Andrews & Dendrochronicle)
The SCOT2K project has developed native pine dendrochronology for climatological and heritage objectives. A new dating method has allowed 19 Scottish pine structures, from cruck-frames to castles, to be dated.

1500 Questions

1515 Tea and Coffee and Displays and Bookstalls

 

1545 Riddle’s Court: A Merchants House fit for a King
16th century bread oven

A newly discovered late 16th century bread oven. Copyright CFA Archaeology

Dr Mike Cressey (CFA Archaeology Ltd)
The results of archaeological monitoring coupled with an extensive programme of historical research, have caused us to reassess the status of the North Block and existing ideas on the architectural evolution of Riddle’s Court.

1610 Desperately seeking Stevenson

Dr E. Photos-Jones (University of Glasgow), B. Barrett (University of Glasgow), A. di Renzoni (ISMA-CNR), G. Christidis (Technical University of Crete) and J. Hansom (University of Glasgow)
Investigating 19th century Scottish industry abroad and within a European context, we attempt to reconstruct terrain, installations and processes pertaining to Stevenson’s period of work; also to those of earlier and later phases, when present.

1635 ‘The most powerful naval fortress in the Empire’: the defence of the Firth of Forth 1880 to 1977
Inchmickery island

Photograph of Inchmickery island, defended in both the First and Second World Wars; its legendary resemblance to a ship is coincidental, not planned. Copyright: G J Barclay

Gordon Barclay & Ron Morris
A project to explore and document the defences of the Forth, to understand what was built, and why, and what survives, and to put them in their wider historical context.

1700 Questions and Closing Remarks