Exploring the location and function of a Late Neolithic house at Crossiecrown, Orkney by geophysical, geochemical and soil micromorphological methods

Abstract

Magnetic prospection wasinstrumentalin the discovery of a multiphase Neolithic settlement at Crossiecrown on Mainland Orkney. Subsequent excavation revealed a number of structures, including a large circular walled house of Late Neolithic date with a range of well-defined architectural features in its interior.This paper presents the discovery, excavation and in particular the functional analysis of this house. Soil micromorphology established the sequence from the house's initial floor construction to its abandonment.On the basis of multi-element and magnetic susceptibility data obtained from analysis of samples taken from the floor of the house, several element distributions were found to be distinctive in the way they correlated with some of the house's'fixed furniture'and moreover with the distributions of certain artefacts, notably the stone tools. The archaeological implications of these findings are discussed.

Charcoal analyses as an environmental tool for the study of Early Medieval sunken houses infills in Roztoky near Prague, Czech Republic

“…The very fine mineral material might also be carried into the houses on the soles of feet or as an airborne dust (Macphail et al, 1990;Milek, 1997). The presence of the small pit features within studied features is, on one side, an indirect indicator showing that the floors were maintained, disturbed in some way and not really covered by a wooden floor (compare with Miller et al, 1998) or skin (Jones et al, 2010). On the other hand, however, holes in the wooden floor would provide additional support to sticks or bars purposely and repeatedly driven into the sediment below.…”

“…This can happen when the central part of the roof collapses (due to the human or natural influence) (Simpson et al, 1999). The present waste causing increased bioturbation (Jones et al, 2010) is probably of a postabandonment origin, very probably a stochastic waste deposition in the ruined house/house pits. No gradual accumulation and compaction of domestic debris was observed (Simpson et al, 1999).…”

Using experimental archaeology and micromorphology to reconstruct timber-framed buildings from Roman Silchester: a new approach

“…This technique has been widely applied to the investigation of the use of space within buildings (e.g. Matthews 1995;Matthews et al 1997;Shahack-Gross et al 2005;Milek & French 2007;Karkanas & Efstratiou 2009;Jones et al 2010), as well as external spaces and middening practices (Simpson & Barrett 1996;Shillito & Matthews 2013;Shillito & Ryan 2013). The application of micromorphology to Roman urban archaeology has, up to now, been largely limited to the study of dark earths to determine their formation processes and to identify traces of past activities (e.g.…”

Soilscapes and settlements: remote mapping of activity areas in unexcavated prehistoric farmsteads

“…While this oversight is beginning to be addressed in places like Orkney (e.g. Simpson et al 2006;Jones et al 2010), these issues remain largely unexplored in the Carpathian basin. To address these questions, I formulated a conceptual and methodological framework to (1) clarify the differences and similarities between Late Neolithic and ECA single-layer settlements in south-east Hungary; (2) develop an understanding of how physical remains of everyday practice reflect a common worldview and cultural traditions regarding the use of space; and (3) to demonstrate the applicability of soilscapes and a 'sediments as material culture' approach as essential parts of both methodology and interpretation.…”