Excavation of a timber round-house and broch at the Fairy Knowe, Buchlyvie, Stirlingshire, 1975-8

Northern Britain is one of the best known and most extensively resoarched frontier regions in the Roman Empire. The fluctuations of Roman occupation in the late 1st, mid 2nd and early 3rd centuries AD are quite well understood and emphasize the peripheral character of the area, which never completely succumbed to Roman conquest. It also offers the opportunity to study the processes of interaction between Rome and indigenous peoples at the limits of empire. Too often, however, these have been seen as incidental to the main action, as if the local people were only the supporting cast for the foreign stars. If separately considered at all, the indigenous population has tended to he relegated to discussion of the native background, but over the last decade or so research has moved them more strongly into the foreground.

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The mechanised testing and sequential wear‐analysis of replica Bronze Age palstave blades

Andrews

Polcar

Sofaer

et al. 2021

Archaeometry

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There have been few attempts to conduct highly controlled laboratory experiments to isolate how wear propagates on metal artefacts with differing metallurgy during simulated use. This reflects a lack of appreciation for the underlying structure of materials within the production of reference datasets for metalwork wear analysis. Here, we present the use of a drop tower (Instron CEAST 9350) to reconstruct use on replica Bronze Age palstave axes with archaeologically relevant microstructures. The development, form, and properties of surface wear at the cutting edge were sequentially analysed by low-power microscopy (digital), high-power microscopy (Scanning Electron Microscope), and microhardness indentation. Major deformations of the blade were documented by photography. This intensive approach reveals the impact of abrasive wear associated with sharpening and use, as well as the frequency and morphology of larger deformations generated by repeated impact-all of which, we demonstrate, can be overtly modified by subtle differences in metallurgy.

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Excavation of a timber round-house and broch at the Fairy Knowe, Buchlyvie, Stirlingshire, 1975-8

Cited by 8 publications

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Fur-bearing species and Scottish islands

Fur-bearing species and Scottish islands

Zones of interaction: Roman and native in Scotland

The mechanised testing and sequential wear‐analysis of replica Bronze Age palstave blades

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