Bere is a landrace of barley, adapted to the marginal conditions of northern Scotland, especially those of the Northern and Western Isles. The history of bere on these islands is long and, in an era of diminishing landrace cultivation, bere now represents one of the oldest cereal landraces in Europe still grown commercially. The longevity of bere raises the possibility of using grain characteristics of present-day specimens to identify bere in the archaeological record. Geometric modern morphometric (GMM) analysis of grains from bere and other barley landraces is conducted to determine whether landraces can be differentiated on grain morphology. Results indicate that there are morphological differences between bere and other British and Scandinavian landraces, and between bere from Orkney and the Western Isles, both of which are apparent in genetic analysis. This finding paves the way for the identification of bere archaeologically, helping to establish its status as living heritage and securing its commercial future. More broadly, this work indicates the potential of grain GMM for the recognition of cereal landraces, permitting the ancestry and exchange of landraces to be traced in the archaeological record.

Abstract:In the context of unanswered questions about the nature and development of the Late Neolithic in Orkney, a summary is given of research up to 2015 on the major site at the Ness of Brodgar, Mainland, concentrating on the impressive buildings. Finding sufficient samples for radiocarbon dating was a considerable challenge. There are indications from both features and finds of activity predating the main set of buildings exposed so far by excavation. Forty-six dates on 39 samples are presented and are interpreted in a formal chronological framework. Two models are presented, reflecting different possible readings of the sequence. Both indicate that piered architecture was in use by the 30th century cal BC and that the massive Structure 10, not the first building in the sequence, was also in existence by the 30th century cal BC. Activity associated with piered architecture came to an end (in Model 2) c. 2800 cal BC. Midden and rubble infill followed. After an appreciable interval, the hearth at the centre of Structure 10 was last used c. 2500 cal BC, perhaps the only activity in an otherwise abandoned site. The remains of some 400 or more cattle were deposited over the ruins of Structure 10: in Model 2, in the mid-25th century cal BC, but in Model 1 in the late 24th or 23rd century cal BC. The chronologies invite comparison with the near- Powered by Editorial Manager® and ProduXion Manager® from Aries Systems Corporationneighbour of Barnhouse, in use from the later 32nd to the earlier 29th century cal BC, and the Stones of Stenness, probably constructed by the 30th century cal BC. The Ness, including Structure 10, appears to have outlasted Barnhouse, but probably did not endure in its primary form for as long as previously envisaged. The decay and decommissioning of the Ness might coincide with the further development of the sacred landscape around it; but precise chronologies for both the Ring of Brodgar and Maeshowe are urgently required. The spectacular feasting remains deposited above Structure 10 may belong to a radically changing world, coinciding (in Model 2) with the appearance of Beakers nationally, but it was arguably the by now mythic status of that building which drew people back to it. (Richards, 2013; Richards & Jones, 2016). The idea of chambered cairns persisted into this period, but now, in contrast to earlier styles of simple-chambered and stalled cairns, these probably principally took the form of the passage grave, of 'Maeshowe' type (Henshall, 1972), seen in the construction of monuments such as Quanterness, Quoyness and Maeshowe itself (Renfrew, 1979; Davidson & Henshall, 1989;Schulting et al., 2010;Griffiths & Richards, 2013; MacSween et al., 2015;Griffiths, 2016). Their elaborate architecture, with marked separation of the interior from the exterior, controlled access via passages, and gradation among internal chambers, may have derived from or been part of active connections with the apogee of the passage tomb tradition in eastern Ireland (Sheridan, 2004;Schulting et al., 2010;Hen...

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This paper examines the impact on woodlands associated with burnt mound use 6 from floodplain sediments and peats, using a combination of pollen, non-pollen 7 palynomorphs, micro-and micro-charcoal and worked wood for the first time. We 8 present this data from a multi-period burnt mound complex, dating from the Late 9 Neolithic to the Medieval period, at Ballygawley, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland, to 10 reconstruct vegetation changes from the Neolithic onwards to establish the 11 significance of these changes, in particular on woodlands, whilst the burnt mounds 12 were in use. The findings from the macroscopic charcoal suggests the most abundant 13 trees were commonly, but not exclusively, exploited. Local woodland was seemingly 14 unaffected by use of burnt mounds during the Neolithic and early Bronze Age based on pollen evidence. A sustained increase in microscopic charcoal coincides with a permanent decrease in alder-carr woodland during a period of near continuous burnt mound use between 1725 and 530 BC and a second phase of high microscopic charcoal values, c. AD 880, corresponds to the end of the penultimate phase of burnt mound use. Evidence from the worked wood indicates that some form of woodland management may have used for hazel from the Neolithic onwards.