Reconsidering Hair Combs in Early-Historic and Viking-Age Atlantic Scotland

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Article: Ashby, S.P. orcid.org/0000-0003-1420-2108 (2009) Combs, Contact and Chronology : Reconsidering Hair Combs in Early-Historic and Viking-Age Atlantic Scotland. Medieval Archaeology. pp. 1-33. ISSN 0076-6097 https://doi.org/10.1179/007660909X12457506806081

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[email protected] https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ Published by Maney Publishing (c) Society for Medieval Archaeology early VikingAge. its implicationsfortheregion’spolitical,economic andsocialdynamicsinthe chronology andnatureofnative-Scandinaviancontact inAtlanticScotland,and Medieval Archaeology oit o eivlAcaooy20 DOI: 10.1179/007660909X12457506806081 © SocietyforMedieval Archaeology2009 ac.uk 1st andearly2ndmillennium and theoreticalissueskeytotheunderstandingof AtlanticScotlandinthelate ing intimeandspacemayinformdebate onseveralmethodological unfortunate astheyofferconsiderablepotentialfor theinvestigationofpattern- ses ofcombs,synthetictreatmentallorparts ofthecorpusisrare. Scotland. However,althoughanumberofsitereports haveincorporatedanaly- These artefactsarea‘typefind’ofthesettlements ofearly-medievalAtlantic um ofartefactualanalysis,specificallythestudyboneandantlerhaircombs. early-historic andViking-AgeAtlanticScotland(seeFig 1a), through themedi- York in2006. importance ofcontactwithIrelandandAnglo-SaxonEngland. presence throughoutAtlanticScotlandfromearlyintheVikingAge,butalsohighlights wise) inthe9thcentury,butnotbefore.ThecombevidencedemonstratesaScandinavian century orearlier,andthepatternisindicativeofNorse-nativecoexistence(peacefulother- However, noneofthesecombsisfromcontextsthatcanconfidentlybedatedtothe8th material analysisdemonstratestheprobableuseofreindeerantlerincombs‘native’style. characteristic ofearly-historicAtlanticScotland.Theapplicationnewtechniquesraw analysis ofspatialpatterningthrowlightonthedevelopmentcombstraditionallyseenas Application ofanewtypology,identificationvariationsinmanufacturingpracticeand has illuminatedthechronologyofearly-medievalScandinaviansettlementinregion. ANALYSIS OFANimportantcollectionofbone/antlerhaircombsfromAtlanticScotland 1 2 3 Department ofArchaeology,University ofYork,KingsManor,YorkYO17EP,England,UK. Ashby 2006a. Although seeFoster1990.

This paperstemsfromdoctoralresearchcompletedattheUniversityof Combs, ContactandChronology: Early-Historic andViking-Age Reconsidering HairCombsin 2 , 53,2009 Itaddressesanumberofkeyquestionsinthearchaeology Atlantic Scotland By STEVENPASHBY ad . Usingcombs,thispaperwillexaminethe 1 1 spa105@york. 3 Thisis Published by Maney Publishing (c) Society for Medieval Archaeology 2 (a) LocationofAtlanticnorthern Scotland(hatched)andwestern(black).(b)Type5.(c) Type 11 quantification, theanalysisexcludes fragmentsthatrepresentlessthan50%oforiginalcomblength. Distribution mapsforcombfindspots, bytype.Forreasonsofsecurityregardingidentificationand (square), Type12(circle)orboth Types11and12(triangle).(d)Type1c. steven pashby A McClain. fig 1 Composed by

S Ashbyand Published by Maney Publishing (c) Society for Medieval Archaeology tact. pre-Viking trafficintheNorthSea,westilllack‘smokinggun’ofearlycon- John HinesandMartinCarver)hassparkedrenewedinterestinthesubjectof by BjörnMyhre(aswellasinfluentialcontributionstothedebateinEngland native relationstiescloselytothechronologyofNorsesettlement.Thoughwork politics andpopulationdensity. surely regionallyandchronologicallyvariable,influencedbylocalenvironment, Viking-Age AtlanticScotlandintermsofwarorpeace,socialconditionswere mics. debate overthelastfewdecades,intermsofbothchronologyandsocialdyna- in itselfunlikely. make combs,wemightarguethatengagementwithanoutsideproviderisnot attention. though plentifulinwesternScandinavia—hasconsequentlygatheredmuch reindeer antler—amaterialunavailablewithintheBritishIslesattime, of the8thcentury. Scotland decades,evencenturies,priortothefirstdocumentedraidsatend suggestive ofclosecontactbetweenScandinaviansandthenativesnorthern double-sided combs canbereadilyseparatedoutinto threeclasses,referredtoasTypes 11,12and13. within thesampleaccordingto presenceorabsenceofalargenumberdiscretetraits.Figure4shows that present example,itallowsustovisualise thevariationwithinacollectionofcombsbydisplayingpatterning patterning withinasampleofartefacts, orbetweenassemblagesofartefacts(suchasfurnishedburials). Inthe variables, andtotheuseofcounts, orpresence/absencedata.Inarchaeology,itisoftenusedto identify an easilydigestibleform.Itisparticularly suitedtotheanalysisofpatterningaccordinglargenumbers of analysis inordertodemonstratethevalidityof thisnewtypology. new systembasedonArabicnumbers.Whereappropriate, Iusecorrespondence loaded nomenclaturesuchas‘Pictish’,‘native’,‘Viking’ and‘LateNorse’witha terminology tothedataset,replacingexisting culturally andchronologically This isanimportantstepasitallowstheapplicationofaclearandunambiguous which afocusonrawmaterialsortypologyinisolationcanachieve. navian’ Scotlandbeyondtheinitialcontactperiod,andinmoredepththanthat in combshavethepotentialtoilluminatesocietyandeconomicsof‘Scandi- into rawmaterialexploitation,formalmorphologyandmethodsofmanufacture ward recognitionofculturecontact. in manysituations,butpointedoutthattheresultsdonotallowstraightfor- I havestatedelsewherethatqualifiedidentificationstospecieslevelarepossible identifications, andoftherelatedclaimsastolong-termcontactcontinuity. not exist.Thishasledtoconsiderablescepticismregardingthevalidityof hensive methodologyfortheidentificationofreddeerandreindeerantlerdoes 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 Correspondence analysisisamethod ofgraphicallypresentingcomplexvariationwithinasample in Based uponAshby2007;in prepwilldetail. Ashby 2006b Ballin Smith1995;Weber1992;1993;1994;1995. Barrett 2003,80. See Graham-CampbellandBatey1998,23;ASmith131. Carver 1990;Hines1984;1992. See Barrett2003. See Bäcklund2001;Crawford1981;Morris1985;Myhre1993;2000; BallinSmith2001. 6 The beginningoftheScottishVikingAgehasbeensubjectmuch In whatfollows,Ifirstwilllayouttherelevantaspectsofanewtypology. Unfortunately, despiteanumberofpublicationsonthesubject,compre- 4 Theidentificationofanumbercombspurported‘Pictish’styleas Notwithstandingfrequentattemptstocharacterisethesocietyofearly 7 Intheabsenceofareliablelocalsourceforantlerrequiredto 8 IfBirteWeber’sassertionsarecorrect,however,thismightbe combs, contact,andchronology 9 5 Formanyscholars,thenatureofScandinavian- 10 Furthermore,theresultsofinvestigations 12 Having 11 3

Published by Maney Publishing (c) Society for Medieval Archaeology has beenthroughtypology. most ofthesitesinquestion,andprimarymeansgeneratingchronologies been characterisedas‘native’,‘Pictish’or‘Norse’.Thestratigraphyispoorfor Viking-Age AtlanticScotland. the combevidencewithindiscussionofchronologyandculturecontactinearly and discussionofthesocialeconomicimplications.Inparticular,Iposition consideration oftheconfluencerawmaterial,form,ornamentandtechnology, material. in whichIapplytheidentificationmethodologytostudyofarchaeological The testsgiveencouragingresultsandfacilitatetheinvestigationsthatfollow, comparisons andblindtrialsundertakenusingalargesampleofmodernantler. identification inworkedantler.Theseinvestigationstaketheformoflike-for-like navia, thepaperoutlinesresultsofinvestigationsintovalidityspecies in manufacturingmethods. consider patterningbelowthe‘type’level,specificallythatrelatingtovariations distribution oftypes,notingpreviouslyunappreciatedpatterning.Iwillalso established thisclassificationasaframeofreference,Iwillthendiscussthe 4 dating to is explicitlyforusewithintheBritishIslesandIrelandoncombsfromcontexts detail orcomparedwithmaterialfromelsewhereinEurope.Mynewtypology accepted bythearchaeologicalcommunityandhasnotbeenreconsideredin Sided High-Backed’,and‘Single-SidedNorse’. according totheclasses‘Double-sidedTypeA’,B’,‘Single- tic Scotland.Shetland,OrkneyandtheWestern Isleswereallgeographically is considerablepotentialforsocial,politicalandmaterial variationacrossAtlan- assigns anunreasonablelevelofhomogeneityto each group.Forinstance,there has provenproblematicinthepast.Furthermore, uncriticaluseoftheseterms labels suchas‘Celtic’,‘Pictish’,‘native’and‘Norse’ withchronologyandculture in headingsalongsidethenewtypology.However, theconflationofcultural cussions adoptthistraditionalchronologyandretain thepopularnomenclature and Type5(traditionally‘Viking’).Foreaseof reference,thefollowingdis- us herefitintoTypes1c,11and12(traditionally seenas‘pre-Viking’indate), and Table 1 outlinestheirfrequencyintheregion. of early-medievalAtlanticScotland. further subtypes),ofwhichfourholdparticularsignificanceinthearchaeology Curle (1982),Dunlevy(1988),MacGregor (1985)andWiberg(1987). 15 14 13 17 16 Ashby 2006a,99–136;2007; Ashbyinprep;informedbytheschemesusedAmbrosiani(1981), Curle 1982. Barrett 2003,84–6. Ashby 2007;full publication inAshbyprep. See Ashbyinprep. The firstissuethatwemustaddressisthemeansbywhichcombshave Finally, thepaperbringstogetherabovecomponents,allowingreasoned Second, withtheaimofaddressingchronologycontactScandi- Figure 2 outlinestheaspectsofthistypologyrelevanttoScottishcase, ad 700–1400. TYPOLOGY ANDTECHNOLOGY 15 Theclassificationcomprises14types(incorporating12 13 steven pashby Inparticular,combshavebeencharacterised 16 14 Thistypologyhasbeenwidely 17 Thecombsthatconcern Published by Maney Publishing (c) Society for Medieval Archaeology nrvnne ctad 1 74(64) 7 (1) 21(6) 8(19) 19(21) 1 21(21) 58(44) 4 (1) 13(16) 20(6) 6 (11) 2 1 1(6) 9(9) 17(15) 1(2) 12(14) Total Unprovenanced Scotland Mainland Scotland Western Scotland Northern Scotland intention thatthetypology outlinedinthispaperprovidesgreaterclarity and see theideaofasingle‘Norse’ or‘Scandinavian’identityasafallacy. approximating asingle, monolithic materialculture.Similarly,today’sscholars be erroneoustosuggest thatthepeoplesoftheseregionssharedanything detached fromthePictishcore(and,indeed, oneother).Itwouldtherefore 18 REGIONAL DISTRIBUTIONOFCOMBTYPESINSCOTLAND.NUMBERS See Urban´czyk 2003. IN OPENTEXTRELATETOCOMBS50%ORMORECOMPLETE; NUMBERS INPARENTHESESINDICATESMALLERFRAGMENTS, combs, contact,andchronology TENTATIVELY IDENTIFIEDTOTYPE. c51 2Total 12 11 5 1c Table 1 Saul; 5and12drawnby Birsay. example fromtheBroughof Reconstruction basedonan Buiston crannog.(12) example fromBirka.(11) Reconstruction basedonan (1c) BroughofBirsay.(5) Scotland. historic andearlyViking-Age Comb typesparticulartoearly- fig © Northamptonshire Archaeology. 2 1c and11drawnbyH 18 Itismy

P Walsh 5 , Published by Maney Publishing (c) Society for Medieval Archaeology comprises one-piececombs. posite combs,Types10–13aredouble-sidedcompositewhileType14 construction andnegotiationofidentity. facilitates morenuancedunderstandingoftheusematerialculturein 6 of themanufacturingprocess,see Ambrosiani1981. side oneanotherbetweentwoormore ‘connectingplates’(sometimesreferredtoas‘sideplates’).Fordiscussion height, andareelaboratelydecorated(Fig 3). centuries andareunknowninAtlanticScotland. appear tobelargelyrestrictedurbansettlements ofthe10th,11thand12th four ironrivets,representingtheremainsofcombs withhorntoothplates.They ‘riveted mounts’:short,roughlyhewnstripsofbone,fastenedwithtwo,threeor relates totheirroleinthechronologicaldevelopmentofBritishcorpus. 1b arenotcommonfindsinScotland;theirrelevancetothepresentdiscussion highly ornatezoomorphicformsattheearlierendofthisrange.Types1aand plate. Type1bcombsdatebetweenthelate4thand8thcenturies,withsmall, total), andtheirsimilaritytoType1asuggeststhatthisformedbasictem- combs isthepresenceofsupernumeraryconnectingplates(ie3or4in as AmbrosianiAcombs,butisrathermorebroadly definedthanthis. floruit inthe9thcentury.Thegroupincludesthose examplescommonlyknown known inScandinaviabetweenthe8thandmid-10th centuries,withaparticular (Fig 2). Theselargecombs areoftenfoundinfurnishedburialsandwell Atlantic Scotland,astheyareoftenconsidered asaproxyforNorseactivity late AntiqueandearlyAnglo-Saxonperiods. characterised byatriangularorroundback.Scholarsusuallydatethemtothe 8th centuries. in bothIrelandandScotland,MacGregordatesthemtobetweenthe5th characterised bytheirdistinctiveroundbacksandornatedecoration.Wellknown discuss themindetaillaterthepaper;fornowitsufficestosaythattheyare date totheperiodbetween8thand11thcenturies. section. ing plateform,whichisconcavo-convexinprofile,andshalloworflatcross- not preserved,andarathermoreusefulcharacteristicisthedistinctiveconnect- to theirlarge,flaringendplates.However,inmanyexamplesthesefeaturesare make up rudimentary manufacture,whilethewell-known‘hogback’or‘winged’combs connecting plates,frequentlycarvedfromsplitbovidribs,andareofrather developed outoftypes1aand1b. height (Fig 3). Theydatetobetweenthe5thand8thcenturiesprobably 19 20 23 22 21 24 ‘Composite’ combsconsistofaseries of‘toothplates’and‘endplates’(or‘billets’,collectively),riveted along- Eg Biddle 1990a;MacGregor See MacGregor1985,87,91–2;Riddler 1990;1998. See Curle1982,22–4;Dunlevy1988, 356–8(‘classC’);MacGregor1985,87–8. See Ambrosiani1981, 25,62–3.

Roes 1963; To summarisetheclassificationscheme,Types1–9aresingle-sidedcom- Type 5 In contrast, Type 2 Type 3 Type 2b

combsdifferfromType1inthattheyarelongrelationtotheir combs,incontrast,arekeytotheunderstanding ofViking-Age MacGregor 1985,83. 21 Type 1c encompasses asymmetricandhandledcombs,bothofwhich . Itiscommonpracticetoidentifythesecombsbyreference

et al1999,1952–4. combsarefundamentaltomyargument(Fig 2). Iwill 19

Type 1 steven pashby Type 2a combsareshortinlength,relativetotheir 20 Thedefiningfeatureof combsarecharacterisedbyflat Type 1a 23 combsaresmalland 22

Type 4 consistsof Type 1b 24 The

Published by Maney Publishing (c) Society for Medieval Archaeology combs, contact,andchronology © JDRichardsetal. Specialists; 3drawnbyFrancesChaloner, by RichardJackson,©FieldArchaeology and 13drawnbyHSaul;1b2b drawn (13) FreswickLinks,Highland. Yorkshire. (10)WellingtonRow, York. Lane, York.(3)Cottam,EastRiding of Bridge Lane,York.(2b)Blue (1a) WellingtonRow,York.(1b)Blue Viking-Age Scotland. not particulartoearly-historicor Comb typesreferredtointhetext,but fig 3 1a, 10 7 Published by Maney Publishing (c) Society for Medieval Archaeology paper. and laterMiddleAges. dominates collectionsfromnorthernAtlanticScotlandinthelateVikingAge clearly developedinScandinaviasometimethelate10thcentury,andit riveting andplating.Thereisalsosignificantvariationwithinthetype.Type9 lack complexincisedornament,thisisreplacedbydecorativeuseofcopper-alloy is highlydistinctive,asallType9combsarefinelycutand,thoughtheytendto later MiddleAges,andIwillnotfocusonthemhere. like Types6and7,Type8combsbelongprimarilytothelateVikingAge and arerelevanttodiscussionsofAtlanticScotland(particularlyinthewest)but, rectilinear profile.Allthreesub-typesseemtohaveanIrishcentreofproduction semi-circular sectionandarealsodistinguishablebytheirunusuallystraight, case. Curle andDunlevy(‘class C’inthelatter),thatareofinterestScottish but itistheornate,high-backedcompositecombs, suchasthoserecordedby ‘single-sided high-backedcombs’:type1c are particularlygermanetothepresentargument. simple, usefulness ofthetypologyitself(Fig 4). Finally, from Types11and12,demonstratesthelegitimacy ofthetechniqueand combs allowstherecognitionofType13asadiscrete group,clearlyseparated Specifically, thefactthatcorrespondenceanalysis ofdouble-sidedcomposite Scotland, butitssignificanceinthepresentpaperislargelymethodological. has beenthefocusofsomeattentioninstudylatermedievalAtlantic diversity, butallexamplesdatetobetweenthe12thand15thcenturies.Thetype tively arrangedcopper-alloyrivets.Otherwise,thereisconsiderablein-group double-sided equivalentofType9;theyfeaturedifferentiatedteethanddecora- are keytounderstandingearly-historicScotland. Types 11and12 and 1b,relatestotheirroleinthedevelopmentoflaterforms.Iwilldiscuss the BritishIslesandnorthernEuropetheirrelevancehere,likeTypes1a profiles (Fig 3). DatedexamplescomefromRomanandlate-antiquecontextsin (ie thetoothgaugeisdifferentoneithersideofcomb)anddenticulateend distinctive, featuringgeometricorzoomorphicornament,differentiatedteeth Scandinavia, butarerareinScotland. Type 7 shorter 8 Type 8a same tradition,butarecharacterisedbytheirdistinctiveconnectingplateform. trapezoidal inthisregard,while 27 26 25 Curle 1982,22–4; Dunlevy1988,356–8. See ClarkeandHeald2002. See Flodin1989;Hamilton1956, 166; Hansen2005,180–6;ASmith2007,468;Wiberg1987. 27 As wehaveseen,Type1consistsofthreesubtypes ofsingle-sidedcomb, Types 10–13aredouble-sidedcompositeforms. Type 9 Thesecombsmakeup Type 1c,towhichwemayassignabroaddate Type 6 one-piece arecharacteristicofthe10thcenturyinEngland,Irelandandparts combshaveconnectingplatesoftriangularsection, isthefinalgroupofsingle-sidedcombsinthistypology.Thetype construction,maybedividedupintothreesub-types, butnone (whichequatestoAmbrosiani’sclassB),andthelong,irregular (Fig 2) atlengthbelow;hereitsufficestosaythattheseforms 25 However,thesecombsarenotthefocusofthis steven pashby Type 8c Type 8 haveconnectingplateswithadeep, combsseemtodevelopfromthe Type 14 Type 13 combs,whichsharea Type 10 combsarethe Type 8b combsare are 26

Published by Maney Publishing (c) Society for Medieval Archaeology range ofthe5thto8thcenturies(Fig 2). elusive, astheformhasparallelsinbothType1a and 1b. in timesofpoliticalunrest, alliancesthatmaywellhavebeenmediated via exchange. referred toas‘Frisianbarredzoomorphiccombs’, andacquiredbymeansofgift for 1chavingdevelopedinScotlandoutofexamples ofType1b,frequently 30 29 28 A Smith2000. See Hills1981. MacGregor 1985,87–8. 30 Shenoteshistoricalevidenceforalliancesbetween PictsandSaxons combs, contact,andchronology 28 TheoriginsofType1caresomewhat by SAshby. on thepatterningvisibleinFig4a. Plot, showingtheinfluenceofkeyvariables absence ofdiscretetraits.Bottom:Variable combs accordingtopatterninginpresence/ Top: ObjectPlot,showingdistributionof composite combsfromScotland. Correspondence analysisofdouble-sided fig 4 29 AndreaSmithargues Composed 9 Published by Maney Publishing (c) Society for Medieval Archaeology representation oftype1bcombsonPictishsculpture. the terminologyusedbySmithisreplacedHendersons’classifi cation. SeeASmith2003,fi g 2g,hfor symbol stones’aretermed‘symbol-bearingcross-slabs’(Henderson andHenderson2004).Inthispaper 2003, 86. publication offurtherdatesfrom‘Norse’ contextsintheJarlshofregion.SeealsoAshmore1993,12–14; Barrett (2000, 89)hassuggestedthatthepresence ofaringedpininHamilton’sPhaseImaybemoretelling. We await based uponthehistoricallyattested datesforraidselsewhereintheBritishIsles.Incontrast,Stumman-Hansen in thepublishedreport. ment ofthissiteinthe10thcentury,ratherthan around no Type1ccombsfromJarlshof,butartefactualevidencesuggestsfirstsettle- in theregion,limitingcollectionsonemightusetotestcontinuity.Thereare number offragmentsinthe‘Norse’phasesIVandVatBuckquoy. the BroughofBirsay,andRitchiefoundtwocompleteType1ccombsa as CurlenotedthepersistenceofType1cinto‘LowerNorseHorizon’at Indeed, wecannotexcludethepossibilityofanextendedcurrency,particularly centuries, butthereareanumberfromprobable(ifinsecure)latercontexts. problem inthearchaeologyofearly-medievalAtlanticScotland. both sitesarecharacterisedbyalackofabsolutedating.Thisispartwider as Ballinderry(CoWestmeath)andLagoreMeath)crannogs. region. ThisseemsparticularlylikelygivenType1c’spresenceatIrishsitessuch Scotland, perhapsfullyformed,afterdevelopmentinIrelandandtheIrishSea see 1basanAnglo-SaxonandFrisiantemplate,while1carrivedinnorthern lines fromasharedearly-medievalancestor(1a).Itmaybeappropriateto two in1c).Theexplanationmaywellbethattheydevelopedalongdivergent ences (suchastheuseofthreeorfourconnectingplatesinType1bandonly larities (theirhigh,ornatebacksinparticular),therearealsosignificantdiffer- transferral. ThoughsomeexamplesofType1band1cdocertainlysharesimi- earliest dateremainselusive. convincing representationsofthetype. referred toasClassIsymbolstones),andsomeoftheseexamplesdoseembe proposes thatthesecombsaredepictedonsymbol-incisedstones(traditionally in theOrkneyIslands)aretoofragmentarytobepersuasive. examples fromPool,Sanday,andtheBrochofBurrian,NorthRonaldsay(both evidence. Type1bcombshaveneverbeenfoundinScotlandandherproposed and Smith’sargumentisinitiallyconvincing,butitreliantuponindirect members oftheeliteinlatercenturies. in thiswayandtherearedocumentaryreferencestotheirexchangebetween reciprocal agreements. 10 34 33 37 36 35 40 39 38 32 31 Recently, ‘ClassIsymbolstones’havebeenreclassifi ed simplyas‘symbol-incisedstones’,while‘ClassII A Smith2000,184–5. A Smith2000,185;cf Foster 1990,161. Hencken 1942,1950. See Hamilton1956,106.Hamilton’s proposeddateforthearrivalofNorsesettlersatJarlshofappears tobe See Foster1990. Curle 1982,22;Ritchie1977,194–6. Bede, See Graham-Campbell2002. Furthermore, demonstrably9th-centurysettlementsitesarenotcommon It isworthconsideringthealternativetoanAnglo-Saxon/Pictishaxisof Unfortunately, securelydatedexamplesofType1ccombsarefewandtheir Ecclesiastical HistoryoftheEnglishPeople

Buteux 1997,97;Hedges1983;MacGregor 1975;Young1956. 31 40 Conceivably,combswereanappropriateitemforuse Thoughexamplesareknownfromearlylevelsat Site 36 steven pashby Smithsuggestsadatebetweenthe5thand6th , inSherley-Price1990,125;Sorrell1996. 32 34 Indeed,thismechanismseemsfeasible, Thecasethereforeremainsunproven. ad 800, assuggested 33 39 However,she 35 38

However, 37

Published by Maney Publishing (c) Society for Medieval Archaeology eta ieig0020.136 0.055 0.022 0.071 0.002 0.006 0.022 0.006 0.129 0.001 ContributiontoAxis 2 ContributiontoAxis 1 0.129 0.056 Ornamented endplates Horizontal panelsofornament Central riveting Complex endplateproﬁ Plano-convex connectingplatesection Copper-alloy rivets Undecorated connectingplates Variable types bytheirsmallersize,differentiatedteeth(ie High-medieval (‘late-Norse’)formsaredistinguishablefromtheaforementioned or CurleTypeB(longer,lackingincomplexornament,withungraduatedteeth). length fromthecentretoends,andbevelled,highlyornateconnectingplates) ally referredtoaseitherCurleTypeA(straight-ended,withteethgraduatedin classification ofdouble-sidedcombs.‘Pre-Viking’,iron-rivetedformsaregener- double-sided compositecombs:types11and12 nor ruleoutapersistenceintotheearliestVikingAge. cal rangeofType1cisdifficulttoascertain,anditneitherpossibleconfirm excavations comesfromPool,butthiswasunstratified. equivocal. and House2),againabsolutedatingislacking,aNorseassociation 2 atSkaill,Deerness(Midden3,andunstratifiedcontextsrelatingtoHouse1 combs. classification, allowingitsincorporationintothebroaderschemeofEuropean lists themostimportant.Wemayusethisanalysisinordertoredefine analysis studiedpatterningacrossalargenumberofvariables(57),butTable selves plotinseparateareasofthegraph,withaverysmallareaoverlap.The medieval types(notconsideredindetailhere)andCurle’sTypesABthem- A andB)separateoutveryclearlyfromthoseconventionallyseenashigh- strates thelegitimacyofdistinction(Fig 4). Theearly-medievalforms(Curle double-sided compositecombsfromtheregionandresultingplotdemon- tive analysis. its rootsinspecialistexperienceandsubjectivejudgementratherthanquantita- tellingly, theuseofcopper-alloyrivets. teeth andoneofacoarsergauge),widerangeendplateprofilesand,most 44 43 42 41 FIGURE 4, USED TOIDENTIFYFORMALGROUPINGSINDOUBLE-SIDED Ashby 2007;inprep. Curle 1982. A Smith2007,466. Edwards 1997,76. Many studentsofearly-medievalScotlandhaveacceptedatripartite This typologygoesbacktoCurle’sworkattheBroughofBirsay,andhas MAJOR CONTRIBUTIONSTOCORRESPONDENCE ANALYSISIN 44 41 TheonlydefinitiveType1ccombthatIamawareoffromlater 43 However,Ihaveundertakenacorrespondenceanalysisofall combs, contact,andchronology l 0060.004 0.056 le COMBS. Table 2

having onesetoffine-gauge 42 Inall,thechronologi- 11

2 Published by Maney Publishing (c) Society for Medieval Archaeology symbols. Thereislittle consensus regardingtheirdates,andthekeylines of finely finished,reliefsculptures thatjuxtaposeChristianiconography and adorned with‘Pictishsymbols’,whilethesymbol-bearing cross-slabsaredressed, symbol-bearing cross-slabs).Symbol-incisedstones arerough,undressedand (renderings ofType11combsoccuronsymbol-incised stonesandType12on of evidencerelatingtothefirstquestionconcerns carvingsonPictishsculpture another; andwhethereitherformpersistedinto the VikingAge.Thekeypiece appeared first;whethertheywerelatertobecome contemporarywithone regional fashionsorfunctionalalternatives. consider thepossibilitythattwoformswere contemporary,representing Types 11and12outofhand,aperiodoverlap islikely.Indeed,weshould 11 and12. distribution inFigure4,otherthantostatethatType13clearlypostdatesTypes many ofthesecombsarefew,itisdifficulttoassignclosechronologythe relationship betweenTypes11and12.Unfortunately,assecurecontextsfor corpora providethemostparsimoniousmeansofclassification. and, atpresent,thecriteriadevelopedforNorwegianTrondheimandOslo of endplateprofiles(Fig 3). Thegroup incorporatesadiversearrayofforms sided combswithdifferentiatedteeth,decorativecopper-alloyrivetsandarange type, consideredhereforcomparativepurposesonly,andconsistsofdouble- longer andlackingincomplexornament(Fig 2). Type13isahigh-medieval lines ofmotifs(Fig 2). Type12combsalsoutiliseironrivets,butaretypically feature bevelledconnectingplates,frequentlydecoratedwithmultiplehorizontal relationship withprevious‘Scottish’types. of aseparate(Scandinavian)tradition,ratherthantheirhavinganyclose of thesecombsfrombothTypes11and12confirmstheirdevelopmentaspart or ‘late-Norse’types,inthispaperreferredtoasType13.Theseparation and decorativeendplates.Thisclusterclearlyrelatesdirectlytohigh-medieval the useofcopper-alloyrivetsaswellarangeothertraits,suchbiconvex legitimacy ofthisclassification.Ontheright,athirdgroupischaracterisedby The lackofoverlapbetweenTypes11and12isnotabledemonstratesthe This grouprelatesbroadlytoCurleTypeA,butIreferithereas11. primary amongwhichisthearrangementofornamentintohorizontalpanels. as Type12.Theclusterinthebottomleftisdefinedbyarangeoffactors, ment. ThisgroupbroadlycorrespondswithCurleTypeB,butIrefertoithere by itsuseofconnectingplatesplano-convexsectionandtheabsenceorna- are identifiableinFigure 4. Inthetopleft,weseeagroupverylargelydefined ornament ormultiplelinesofmotifs.Toputthisincontext,threeclusters rivets. Thesecondaxislargelyrelatestovariablessuchashorizontalpanelsof from theabsenceofdecorationonconnectingplatesandusecopper-alloy 12 46 45 Curle 1982;Wiberg 1987.SeeAshby2006a,179–86 fordiscussion. Flodin 1989;Wiberg1987. In short,threeissuesareofinterest:whetherType 11orType12combs Their legitimacyestablished,thenextthingthatmustbedeterminedis Type 11combshavestraightends,ironrivetsandgraduatedteeth, To summarise,thehighestcontributionstofirstaxisofvariationcome 46 Whileitisnotpossibletodismissachronological separationof steven pashby 45

Published by Maney Publishing (c) Society for Medieval Archaeology ologists traditionallydatethemto well-stratified examples. 11 and12,butanysuchsurveywouldbereliantontheexcavationofnew, of thechronologythistypewouldhelptoclarifyitsrelationshipwithTypes late-Roman contextsintheBritishIslesandnorthernEurope. complex geometricorzoomorphicornament(Fig 3). Theyoccurprimarilyin sided combswithdifferentiatedteeth,oftendenticulateendprofilesand Roman andlate-antiqueType10.10combsaredistinctive,ornatedouble- out ofsomesharedantecessor.Themostlikelycandidateforthisroleisthe is insecure. co-exist attheBroughofBirsay,forexample,thoughstratigraphythissite from onetotheother. tionship betweenTypes11and12ismorecomplexthanasimpleprogression 10th centuryinIreland(Dunlevy’sTypeD1–2),anditispossiblethattherela- and toaddressquestionspertainingtheircontemporaneitypersistence. An archaeologicalapproachisnecessaryinordertocorroboratethisassertion are circumstantial,thoughtheyconsistentwithType11predating12. paper’s Type1b). certain combsinscribedonthemas‘barredzoomorphic’forms(partofthis (4th- to5th-century)dateforthesymbolstonesbecauseofheridentification to the5th7thand8thcenturiesrespectively. Nonetheless, symbol-incisedstonesandsymbol-bearingcross-slabsbroadlydate argument onthisissuerelatetoparallelswithmetalworkandmanuscriptart. relates tocontactbetweenthechurchesofPictland andNorthumbriainthe7th travelled areequallydifficulttoestablish.Onepossibility isthattheconnection scenarios, whilethedirectionofmovementand meansbywhichthetemplate a lackofchronologicalresolution,itisdifficult tochoosebetweenthesetwo developed independentlyfromacommonantecessor. Unfortunately,given genuine developmentalsynergy;eitheroneform arosefromtheotherorthey ornament andchronologyisnonethelessclear. ‘Scottish’ regionalvariantsofType12,buttheirsimilarityintermsform, they rapidlyassimilatedintothenativemilieu. Ireland; ifintroducedthereatall,thenitwasonlyonthesmallestofscalesand wider contextofType12combs. the similaritywithAnglo-Saxonequivalents, 56 55 54 53 52 51 50 49 48 47 Ashby 2006a,181, ﬁ g8.4,tab8.7. See Ashby2006a,108;Dunlevy1988. Though seeASmith2003,114. Curle 1982,57. See Roes1963;MacGregor2000. See Ashby2006a,178–216. Curle 1982. Dunlevy 1988,358–60. A Smith2000,181. Foster 1990,162–3.SeealsoHendersonand2004. Type 12combsalsooccurinEnglandandontheContinentwherearchae- Type 11combsareknownfromcontextsdatedaslatetheendof Analysis undertakenelsewherehashelpedindistinguishing‘English’and 50 Itispossiblethatthetwoformsemergedparalleltooneanother 48 combs, contact,andchronology Boththisevidenceandtheoriginalart-historicalparallels 49 Attheveryleast,aperiodofoverlapislikely;two 54 Type12combsareapparentlyunknownin ad 400–800. 53 nobodyhasfullyconsideredthe 55 56 52 Theymustthereforesharea ThoughCurlebrieflynoted 47 Smitharguesforanearly 51 Adetailedstudy 13 Published by Maney Publishing (c) Society for Medieval Archaeology identifiable examplesfromsecurelystratifiedcontextsinAtlanticScotland. (Types 2a,2band3). to havebeenadoptedinScotlandratherthantheother‘Anglo-Saxon’forms and 8thcenturiesbut,ifthisistrue,thenitinterestingthatonlyType12seems 14 Europe and,giventhewell-attestedNorsepresence inAtlanticScotland,they some insightastotheirmeaningandsocialsignificance. special functionasgravegoodsnotsharedbyTypes 1c,11or12maygiveus in the9thcenturybut,moreinterestingly, fact thatType5combshada opportunity tostudy them—thetimeconstraints of theoriginalresearchnecessitated theirexclusion. century formsotherwisereferredtoas‘AmbrosianiA’combs. forms, theexamplesencounteredinScotlandarethose9th-andearly10th- the verylarge,ornate‘horsecombs’and8th-centuryantecedentsofViking-Age the groupincludescertaindistinctiveScandinavianandFrisianforms,suchas necting plateswithashallowplano-convexsectionandprofile(Fig 2). large size(completeexamplesaregenerallyover150 mm inlength)andcon- ‘norse’ single-sidedcompositecombs:type5 exchange throughmainlandScotland(seebelow). northern Europe.Arguably,thelatterthenreachedNorthernIslesviagift gave risetoType11inwesternBritain,while12appearedEnglandand seem tohavedevelopedindependentlyfromacommonantecessor.Type10 Islands). is asingleType12fromburialattheNewark BaycemeteryintheOrkney cant, asTypes1c,11and12werenotcommonfinds fromgraves(thoughthere number (7/18examplesacrossScotland)represent gravegoods.Thisissignifi- that cannotbetightlyprovenanced,butcertainlyrelatetotheregion. less clearlyidentifiablefragmentsfromtheWesternIsles,aswellanumber in thewestthanfiguresuggests,asthereareanumberofsmallbutnonethe- well knownintheWesternIsles.Infact,typehasagreaterrepresentation Islands, andarereasonablywellrepresentedinlowlandScotland,butless It showsthatType5combsarecommonintheOrkneyIslandsandShetland examples ofType5combsrecoveredwith50%ormoretheirlengthintact. Scotland andbeyond.Figure1billustratesthedistributionofsitesfeaturing Viking Age,anditisconstructivetoconsideritsdistributionwithinAtlantic of thefirstwave9th-centuryraidersandsettlersfromScandinavia. certainly arrivedinAtlanticScotlandfullyformed,primarilyasthepossessions of earlyViking-AgesitesacrossnorthernEuropeprovideexamplesandthetype 62 61 60 59 58 57 The NewarkBaycombsarenot includedinthepresentanalysisas—althoughIhavesincehad the Ashby 2006a,188–9. Ibid, 15–40. Ibid, 62–3,68–9. See Ambrosiani1981,15–23. Ashby forthcoming. In broaderterms,Type5combsareindicative ofcontactwithnorthern To summarise,thedouble-sidedcombsoflater1stmillennium Of thosethatarewellprovenanced,itisnotable thataconsiderable In manywaysthen,theType5combis‘typespecimen’ofearly Type 5combsaresingle-sidedcompositecombs,characterisedbytheir 62 Thisdisparityisclearlyrelatedtothearrivalof ‘pagan’burialrite 57 Furtherprogressisdependentupontherecoveryof steven pashby 59 Alargenumber 58 ad 60 61 Though

Britain Published by Maney Publishing (c) Society for Medieval Archaeology combs ofthesetypes. outlines themaintrendsandAppendix1details thekeysitesthathaveyielded communication ofidentityindifferingsocialand politicalcontexts.Table 1 Scotland maybeinformativeastolocalpreferences, externalcontactsandthe However, variationsinthefrequencyofcomb types innorthernandwestern too muchonthesignificanceoffewexamples knownfromthisregion. central, southernandeasternScotland,it would beunwisetospeculate fries andGalloway,theinnerouterHebrides). Combsarescarceacross ‘western Scotland’(includingtheWcoastofHighland, ArgyllandBute,Dum- of Caithness,SutherlandandtheNorthernIsles ofOrkneyandShetland) ences betweenwhatwemightcall‘northernScotland’ (theformercounties regional andlocalvariation.Inparticular,itisinterestingtoconsiderthediffer- milieu. socially andeconomicallyintegratedintoawiderBritishEuropeancultural furthering ourunderstandingofthedegreetowhichAtlanticScotlandwas need fullconsideration. Previous studieshavenotedsomeofthesedifferences,buttheirimplicationsstill Types 11and1careabsent,1b,2a,2b3existintheirstead. of Britain’sfarnorthandnorth-west;thoughType12iscommoninEngland, Saxon EnglandandContinentalEuropearefundamentallydifferentfromthose land Scotlandispoorlyrepresentedintermsofcombs,butthecombsAnglo- combs includeTypes1cand11,butType12isconspicuouslyabsent. important marketcentressuchasBirka(Sweden). 5. Thereareexceptionstothisrule,buttheyrareandinallcasesrelate the 10thcentury,wheremostcommon1st-millenniumformsfitintoType practically unique.Double-sidedcombsareunknowninScandinaviapriorto a distinctivecharacter.Indeed,theco-occurrenceofforms11,12and1cis their originselsewhereintheBritishIsles.Asagroup,however,theydoshare of AtlanticScotland—appeartobetheresultlonglinesdevelopmentwith complex anddifficulttograsp.Together,thesecombs—sooftenseenastypical simple ingeneralterms,thedevelopmentalhistoriesofTypes1c,11and12are regional variation Type 5combsarerelativelyrarefindsfromnorthernEngland. relate tocontactwithScandinaviansinNorthumbria,thoughitisnotablethat presence ofexamplesfromDunbarandNorthBerwick,EastLothianmaywell century ScandinavianpresenceinbothnorthernandwesternScotland.The number, thepresenceofType5combsissuggestivea9th-orearliest10th- probably representanearlymanifestationofthis.Thoughtheyarefewin 67 66 65 64 63 Though thereare examplesfromEastAyrshire, Lothian,andFife;seeAppendix 1. MacGregor 1985,86–95;ASmith 2003. Ashby forthcoming See Dunlevy1988. Ashby 2006a,125,ﬁ g6.21. It ispossibletomovebeyondsuchbroadcomparisonsandfocusinon If themechanismsbywhichType5combsreachedAtlanticScotlandseem . combs, contact,andchronology 66 Inthepresentcase,combdistributionsarekeyto 63 InIreland,contemporary 64 Main- 15 67 65

Published by Maney Publishing (c) Society for Medieval Archaeology productions (eg mon inthenorth(Fig 1d), thoughitisnotablethatthemosthighlyaccomplished Sea dimension,whileType12clearlydidnot.1cisalsomuchmorecom- more thanjustchronology.TheoriginsofType11maywellhavehadanIrish to thesemorphotypes,butitisclearthattheirpopularitywasconstrainedby between thetworegions.Itwouldbesimplistictoattemptpinethniclabels equivalent ofType12,suchthattheirpresenceinthenorthindicatescontact dominates inthenorth(Fig 1c). Wemight viewtype11combsasanIrishSea throughout AtlanticScotland,Type12israreintheIrish-Seaarea,thoughit consider thespatialdistributionsofTypes11and12.WhileTypeoccurs 16 12 and5.However,meaningfulvariationdidexist inthearrangement and copper-alloyrivetsabsentironubiquitous inallcombsofTypes1c,11, the materialsusedtorivetcombstogetherwere ratherinvariable,withbone of marksproducedbytoothcutting,orotherevidence oftoolworking.Similarly, tion. or Scandinavia,excavatedwastedepositsarerare. may learnaboutcombmanufactureinAtlanticScotlandas,unlikeEngland In thepresentcase,studyofsuchfinedetailiskeymeansbywhichwe tive astotheexistenceoflocaltraditionsorregionalschoolsmanufacture. traditions. Inparticular,differencesinmethodsofmanufacturecanbeinforma- the formofindividualtraitscharacteristicparticularartisticorindustrial socio-cultural issues. of securecontextsseverelyconfoundstheirapplicationtothestudysuch discussion ofthesequestionswillnecessarilybelargelyspeculativeasthelack ment. Didtheyservedifferentmarketsorfunctions?Unfortunately,any significance ofthesethreeforms,beingsodifferentinmorphologyandorna- contemporary withdouble-sidedTypes11and12.Wemightwonderatthe persistence betweenthe5thand9thcenturies,itseemslikelythatwas consider single-anddouble-sidedcombsseparately.GivenType1c’sprobable between typesthatprovesmostinformative.Indeed,itwouldbeamistaketo distribution ofanyonetypeasinmanycasesitistherecognitionrelationships tentative. itself. Assertionsastotheregionalimportanceofthistypemustthereforeremain classes. Thepresenceof the lattertechniqueinfourType5combsfromOrkney methods, thoughmostfit intothe‘alternatingedge’or‘every(Fig 5b) does notseemtorelategeography.Type5combs exploitarangeofriveting The techniquesusedinType11combsvaryconsiderably, butthispatterning nating edge’style(Fig 5a; Table commonly usedinScotland’searly-historicand Viking-Age combsisthe‘alter- 3), whichisdominant inTypes1cand12. rivets andthisprovedmostilluminating.Ingeneral, therivetingmethodmost 69 68 Ashby 2006a,203–7. Michelli 1993;Paterson2001. 69 Given theirpossiblecontemporaneity(seeabove),itisgermanetobriefly Few ofthediscretetraitsanalysedshowedconsistent ormeaningfulvaria- It isoftenpossibletoidentifyregionalvariationbelowthe‘type’level,in However, itiscounterproductivetofocustoocloselyontheoriginsand Forinstance,noclearpatterningwasapparentin thepresenceorabsence

Dun Cuier,Barra,WesternIsles)arefromthewestandIreland steven pashby

of the 68

Published by Maney Publishing (c) Society for Medieval Archaeology (Norway) andBirka. is potentiallysignificant,givenitsapparentpopularityinthistypeTrøndelag ambiguous butseemsto havebeenproducedwithinadifferentcontext to and sharessimilaritieswith Anglo-Saxonequivalents,whileType11is more discerned fromgrossmorphology: Type12wasprobablymanufactured locally with thesecombsarrivingasthepossessionsofScandinavian settlers. rivet arrangementsinthemselvesarenotdiagnostically alien,theyareconsistent thorough surveyofrivetingtechniquesin9th-century Scandinavia.Whilethese own methods.ThesituationregardingType5 is difficulttoassesswithouta duced byarelativelysmallgroupofartisans,each workingaccordingtotheir of techniquesusedinType11raisesthepossibility thatsuchcombswerepro- gestive ofanindustrialconservatismbasedonlocal traditions,whilethevariety than theregionalscale.Therivetingpatternsused inTypes1cand12aresug- the WesternIsles,surveywasmostinformative ontheinter-regionalrather examples) ismostcloselyparalleledatHaithabu(Germany). and southernScandinavia,itsuseinType5combs(aspresentherefive 70 Ibid, 38,204. In all,variationinrivetingpracticemesheswell withthatwhichwehave Given theheavilyfragmentednatureofmuchearlymaterialfrom combs, contact,andchronology 70 The‘alternatingedge’techniqueisknowninEngland a drawingby (c) Central.(d)Decorative. (a) Alternatingedge.(b)Every combs fromScotland. Riveting techniquesidentifiedon fig 5

S Grabow . Adapted from 17 Published by Maney Publishing (c) Society for Medieval Archaeology oa 1 2 2 2 2 3 2 Total 12 11 feasibility ofspecies-level identificationsinantlercombs. discussion onthissubject, Ihaveundertakencontrolledinvestigationsinto the surrounding thesecurityofLie’sidentifications. Withtheaimofencouraging Age. However,discussionofthisissuehasbeensomewhat confoundedbydoubts become centraltoamuchwiderdebateconcerning thechronologyofViking experienced faunalanalyst)thesubjectofrawmaterial analysisincombshas Indeed, intheformercase(inwhichanalyseswere undertakenbyRolfLie,an land; andLyubaSmirnova’sstudyofmedievalcombs fromNovgorod(Russia). explanatory powerofsuchwork:Weber’sworkon ‘Iron-Age’combsfromScot- available totheartefactspecialist.Nonetheless, several examplesillustratethe and, wheretechniquesexist,therequisiteosteological expertiseisnotroutinely for applicationtothestudyofsmall,highlyworked objectsofskeletalmaterials ological. Therearefewwell-establishedidentificationtechniquesappropriate this potentialremainslargelyuntapped. fields, suchasthestudyofbase-metalartefacts,butinworkedbone oa 5597111 1 2 1 1 7 1 3 9 1 1 Scandinavian settlers. Type 11.Finally,5arrivedonScottishshoresinthehandsoffirst 1 explain but,intermsofmanufacture,ithasmorecommonwithType12than Type 12.Themanufactureanddistributionof1cisonceagaindifficultto 5 3 5 1 5 1c 13 25 42 2 Western Scotland 5 Total 12 11 5 51 1c Northern Scotland 18 EXCLUDES FRAGMENTSREPRESENTINGLESSTHAN50%OFORIGINAL 73 72 71 See Ashby2006a, 76–99. Ballin Smith1995;Weber1992;1993; 1994;1995;1996;Smirnova2005. See Paterson2001. RIVETING TECHNIQUESINCOMBSFROMATLANTICSCOTLAND. Analyses ofrawmaterialexploitationhaveprovenvaluableinparallel lentn eta eoaieEeyeg ie te Unknown Other Mixed Every edge CentralDecorative Alternating RAW MATERIALANALYSIS steven pashby COMB LENGTH. Table 71 Thereasonforthisislargelymethod- 3 3 1 3 73

1 72

Published by Maney Publishing (c) Society for Medieval Archaeology core’. Ifoundthattheantlerofreindeer( nature ofthemarginbetweenantler’souter‘compacta’anditsinner‘porous between speciesirrespectiveoftheothervariables.Keyamongthesewas tion andseasonalchanges.Theseinvestigationsfoundconsistentdifferences which sourcedmaterialallowedcontrolovervariationrelatedtoage,sex,nutri- antler materialdonatedbyparksfromEngland,ScotlandandScandinaviain investigations material, whilereddeer( a widetransitionzoneinwhichporouscoregradesdiffuselyintocompactouter indebted toherforsubsequentdiscussion. the two(Fig 6). 74 Smirnova 2005. The workbeganwithlike-for-likecomparisonsofalargebodymodern Smirnova wasthefirsttoreferthistraitinpublicationandIam combs, contact,andchronology Cervus elaphus ) antlerfeaturesadiscretemarginbetween 74 Rangifer tarandus However,furtherinvestigationwas 2006b. Photographs bySAshby,afterAshby (b) Reindeer( (a) RedDeer( (<10x) magnification. under reflectedlightatlow reindeer antlerasobserved characteristics ofreddeerand material, illustratingthekey Micrographs ofantlerreference fig ) wascharacterisedby 6 R. tarandus C. elaphus ). ). 19 Published by Maney Publishing (c) Society for Medieval Archaeology ments andpieces ofrelatedwastefrom England,Scotlandand Scandinaviaand, analysis formedpartof a larger,multi-periodstudyofover2,300combs, frag- material analysisareinteresting (seeTable 5 foraregionalbreakdown).The identifiable. Theresults oftheapplicationthesenoveltechniques of raw according toformandornament, andthatthematerialstheyincorporate are archaeological application questions ofearlyViking-Agechronologyandsocial dynamics. and typology,thesemethodsmayproveproductive inaddressingtheimportant highly informative.Indeed,whencoupledwithcritical assessmentofstratigraphy identification ofindividualfragments,overalltrends arereliableandpotentially qualified withtheprefix‘probably’.Notwithstanding suchcautionregardingthe diagnostic featuresinagivenspecimen,identifications ofsmallfragmentsare and, giventhatpoorpreservationcouldpotentially confoundrecognitionofthe they arevisible.Weshouldlimitidentification to specieslevelthesecases to usthroughdecay,fragmentationorahighdegreeoffinishing,insomecases in somearchaeologicalmaterialtherequisitediagnosticfeatureshavebeenlost in whichcore-compactabordersortransitionzonesareclearlyvisible.Though scoring 23/30(76%)ormore. encouraging (Table 4), withanaveragescoreof28/30(92%) andallvolunteers identified asampleof‘combcomponent’specimens.Resultswereextremely cability oftheseidentifications,agroupvolunteersvaryingexperience core-compacta marginswereclearlyvisible(82%).Inordertoestablishtherepli- manufacturing waste.Identificationprovedtobeextremelysuccessfulwhere range offragments,allwhichapproximatedtotheformcombelementsor the techniqueinsmallpiecesofworkedantler,Iundertookblindtrialsona morphology. margin relatesmorecloselytospeciesthanage,sex,environmentorantler From theseempiricaltests,itisclearthatthenatureofcore-compacta the natureofcore-compactatransitionwasconsistentwithinspecies. thicknesses ofcoreandcompactavariedaccordingtomorphologicalposition, the lengthofantlerbeamsandtinesdemonstratedthatalthoughrelative necessary inordertoascertainitsvalidity.Repeatedsectioningatintervalsalong Averagescore Sample group 20 l outes(=0 76 7 9% 24(8%) 276(92%) 27.64 All volunteers(n=10) analysis (n=5) Inexperienced infaunal analysis (n=5) Experienced infaunal I haveestablishedthat we mayclassifythecombsofAtlanticScotland Regardless, Irecommendthatanalystsattemptidentificationonlyincases Nonetheless, inordertomorethoroughlytesttheutilityandreliabilityof SUMMARY OFRESULTSFROMBLIND-TESTREPLICATIONS. (N=30) 76 3 9.3)1 72% 1 (0.66%) 11(7.21%) 138(92.13%) 13(8.67%) 137(91.33%) 27.64 27.40 steven pashby Table identiﬁ Correctly 4 ed Incorrectly identiﬁ ed Indeterminate Published by Maney Publishing (c) Society for Medieval Archaeology yeProbably Type Northern Scotland Table 5)couldnotbeidentified tospecieslevel. examples frommainland Scotland,andwithoutprovenance,sonotincluded in in Scotlandareprobablereindeerantler,while theremaining31(including the VikingAge.OfType5combs,11/42 examples recoveredfromsites 14 Type12combsareprobablyreindeer,but nonedatereliablytobefore identified asprobablyreindeerbut,ofthelatter, none arewelldated.Similarly, while thereweretwocombsofprobablereddeer antlerandeightcombswere significance. OfType1c,19examplescouldnot beidentifiedtospecieslevel, of reindeerantlerinType11,itwouldbeunwise toreadtoomuchintoits be tentative. In thecaseofsuchsmallfragments,assignation toType11or12canonly implications ofthisobservationrequireconsideration. Atlantic Scotland’searly-historicandViking-Agesites. scholars havelongrecognisedtheinsecurityofstratigraphyatmany clearly datablestratigraphicallytobeforethe9thcentury.Thisisbeexpected; probable reindeer(seedetailinAppendix2).However,noneofthesecombsis even presence/absencedataissignificant. tence orotherwiseofreindeerantlerinthepre-Viking-Agecorpuscombs), small. However,forthepurposesofcurrentdebate(establishingexis- against this,thesamplesizeforwesternScotlandinparticularmayseemrather () 1 4 () (6) 8(19) (1) 6(11) 2(4) 2(2) 20(6) 0 17(15) 1 2(1) 2(1) 2(3) 12(14) 58(44) 9 (9) 1(8) 6(6) 1 (3) (4) 2 (3) 0 3(0) 1 6(4) 1 2 10(7) 2(6) 26(21) 2(5) (1) 6 (2) 12(2) 4(8) Total 5(5) 20(13) 12 11 5 (1) 3(5) 1c 1 3(4) 1 (3) Western Scotland 1(1) Total 12 11 5 1c 76 75 Cf See Curle1982,15;Ritchie1977, 175. FRAGMENTS REPRESENTING50%ORMOREOFORIGINALCOMB LENGTH AREGIVENINOPENTEXT.SMALLERFRAGMENTS

A Smith2007,466. Only asinglefragmentaryexampleofType11is probablereindeerantler. The outcomeisthat23/96Type11,12and1ccombsareidentifiableas RAW MATERIALUSEINCOMBSFROMATLANTICSCOTLAND. red deer 76 Giventhatthisfragmentisthesoleexampleof the probableuse combs, contact,andchronology Probably reindeer LISTED INPARENTHESES(). Indeterminate () 1 (2) 1 (1) (1) 1 antler Table 5 oeOhrUkonTotal Unknown Other Bone 75 Nonetheless,the 21 Published by Maney Publishing (c) Society for Medieval Archaeology incorporate Weber’sfindingsassupportingevidence. sure, andtheymaydemandrevisionofmodelsScandinaviansettlementthat are significantinthattheybothconfirmandrefuteWeber’sworkequalmea- collections ofallperiodsfromAnglo-Saxontohighmedieval. England, inwhichcombsofboneandprobablereddeerantlerdominatethe Western IslesandIreland.Italsocontrastsmarkedlywiththesituationin a peculiarityoftheNorthernIsles;reddeerandboneareubiquitousin theless, theprobableuseofreindeerantlerrequirescomment,asitseemstobe demanded bythedepletionoflocalreddeerpopulationsthispoint. On thecontrary,itseemsmorelikelythatoccurredduring9thcentury, phenomenon, butnotonethatcanbedatedtothe8thcenturyandearlier. of reindeerantlerincombsTypes12and1cdoesseemtobeagenuine from theanalysesofTypes11,12and1caresignificance.Inshort,use 22 ments remainedoccupieduntilthispoint. Scandinavian settlementpriortothemid-10thcenturyandthatnativesettle- Scotland. Parker-PearsonandothershavearguedthattheWesternIsleslacked stitute evidenceforanotherwiseunder-representedearlyVikingAgeinwestern Type 5combsintheWesternIslesareparticularlyimportantastheymaycon- — probablysettlementinallareasshortlyafterwards.Asmallnumberof navia, probablyfromsometimeinthe9thcentury,andaScandinavianpresence what. ThewidedistributionofsuchcombsisindicativecontactwithScandi- the presenceofType5combsacrossregionclarifiesourchronologysome- Scotland relatestothebeginningofVikingAge(howeverdefined).Indeed, can atleastremainconfidentthattheappearanceofType5combsinAtlantic restricted towhathastraditionallybeenreferredasthe‘Pictishperiod’,we type 5combsandthechronologyofscandinaviansettlement vian presenceineitherNorthumbriaorStrathclyde andisevidenceofcontact mony inthenorth.Instead,itisprobablybetter associatedwiththeScandina- early Scandinavianpresencethatprobablyrelates littletotheNorwegianhege- Scotland. Type5combsintheScottish/English SEborderareaindicatean with thenumberoffurnishedburials(whichdate to tend tobemuchthickerandmoresubstantialthan earlyViking-Agelevels. and high-medievalsites,giventhatthefarmmound depositsofthelatterperiod settlement patternissimplyrelatedtothegreater visibilityoflateViking-Age entirely consistentwithsuchaposition.Indeed,it isperhapsmorelikelythatthe 81 80 79 78 77 See forexample Bertelsen andLamb1993. Parker Pearsonetal Myhre 1993. Ashby 2006b;forthcoming. See CSmith1994,149. The useofreindeerantlerinType5combsisunsurprising,buttheresults Although thedatingofcombTypes1c,11and12nolongerseems We shouldnotethatthesituationisdifferent insouthernmainland

2004, 129. steven pashby DISCUSSION 80 However,thesecombfinds,toge 79 ad

850–950),maynotbe 78 Thesefindings 77 None- ther 81 Published by Maney Publishing (c) Society for Medieval Archaeology Type 11swereactuallymade likely toreflectdifferingworkingtraditions.Accordingly,itispossiblethatmost reason tosuggestthatthisdifferencehasachronologicalbasisanditseemsmore be madeofeitherreddeerorreindeerantler.Therenolongerseemstoany antler inthemanufactureofType11combs.12combs,contrast,may dynamics ofculturecontact.Thereisclearlyatendencyfortheusereddeer understanding oftheearlyVikingAge,bothintermschronologyand traditionally consideredtypicalofthe‘Pictishperiod’areinpracticekeytoour the persistenceoftypes1c,11and12 England andsouthernScotland. and interactionbetweenthepeoplesofvariouskingdomsnorthern they workedprincipallyonindividualcommissionsforpowerfulmagnates. number ofcombmakersworkingwithnofixedtradition;perhapsatthispoint The varietyofrivetingtechniquesusedintheirmanufactureissuggestivea antler wasimportedfromthewest.Thefirstoptionseemsintuitivelymostlikely. tured bytravellingartisansbringingtheirownrawmaterials,orthatreddeer case, combsmayhaveplayed animportantroleinthecreationofidentity. or ChristianandPagan),eachusingtheirowndistinctive formsofcomb.Inthis separate communities(conceivably,thoughnotnecessarily, nativeandincomer, possible situations. have beensubjecttoadegreeofsocialnegotiation. Indetail,wemightposittwo for atime,theypresumablyhadverydifferentassociations andtheirusemust phase istheperiodofgreatestinterest.Ifthese two formswerecontemporary There isclearlyachronologicalcomponenttothe distinction,buttheinterface Type 5combsseemtohavebeenabsentat contemporaryBuckquoy). Evidence forthisoverlapperiodexistsintheinterface phaseatPool(although two formswerecontemporaryatanytime,itwas onlyduringthe9thcentury. but therearetencombfragmentsrelatingtoType5.Thissuggeststhatifthe (but seeabove),itisinterestingthatType12combsareabsentfromthissite, Taking thedateforstartofNorsesettlementatJarlshofas10thcentury between thesetwoscenarios,wearereliantuponasmallnumberofkeysites. development, ordoesitrepresentaculturalsocialdistinction?Todistinguish and 5.Wasthepopularchangefromformertolatterachronological needed tonegotiateforforeignmaterialsinordermakethem. desirable tomaintaintheproductionanduseoftheirtraditionalcombs,but tlers requiredcombsinthelocalstyle,orperhaps‘natives’feltitnecessary Scandinavian materialsdemandsexplanation.Conceivably,set- evidence forpre-Viking-Agecontact,themanufactureofa‘native’formin 84 83 82 See Ashby2006a, 237–53;Jones1997.CfClarkeand Heald2002. See Barrettetal2000. A Smith2007,467;cfRitchie1977, 194–6. One ofthekeyfindingsthisresearchisfactthatmanycombs As wecannolongertakethoseType12combsexploiting The firstmightbetermed‘factionalism’. At root,thisquestionconcernstherelationshipbetweenTypes11/12 combs, contact,andchronology

in Irelandorthewest,thattheyweremanufac- 83 Thecombsmayreflecttwo R. tarandus 84 as 23 If 82

Published by Maney Publishing (c) Society for Medieval Archaeology mediated throughcombsofthesetypes. southern Pictland,orbetweenthe‘southern’ and ‘northernPicts’,wasnot assume thatcontactbetweenthepeoplesofAnglo-Saxon Northumbriaand striking. Type 2bandthehandled3comb,seeFig 3) fromthe Scottishcorpusis certain ‘English’forms(specificallytheflat-sided Type2a,the‘hogbacked’ (such asvariationsinornament)tobepresent. opposite endsofacontinuumcontactandwe might expectcertaindisparities combs fromnorthernEnglandand Scotland thereforerepresent given thewidedistributionofsculpturefeaturing depictionsofcombs. across muchofmainlandScotlandisprobably a largelytaphonomicpattern, between Anglo-SaxonNorthumbriaandsouthern‘Pictland’.Therarityofcombs Sea-Irish Seanetwork.Forinstance,wemustassumethattherewascontact peoples ofearly-medievalScotlandwereclearlypartamoregeneralisedNorth region, itwouldbesimplistictofocustootightlyonScandinaviancontactasthe antler inTypes1cand12dostandastestamenttoaNorsepresencethe europe combs andtheplaceofatlanticscotlandinearly-medieval factionalism initsbroadestsense. question mustremainopen.Thesimplestsolution,however,isprobablyoneof significance testingofthefindspotsTypes5and12.Consequently, graves ofAtlanticScotland,butunfortunatelythesmallsamplesizesconfound With thepossibleexceptionofNewarkBay,Type12combsareabsentfrom evidence ofwear,suggestingthattheyalsoperformedamore‘everyday’utility. are anumberofexamplesfromsettlementdepositsandthesefrequentlyshow this roleinmortuaryritualwasnottheonlyuseforType5combs.There Type 5combsfromScottishgravecontextshadlittletonowear). some merit,particularlygiventheapparentlackofwearongravecombs(5/7 us tothepossibilityoftheircurationfordisposalasgravegoods.Thistheoryhas In particular,thefrequencyofType5combsinScotland’spagangravesdraws accessory’, whileType5combswerereservedformoreformalisedpurposes. For instance,Type12combsmayhavefulfilledtheroleof‘everydaygrooming people mayhaveusedbothTypes5and12,conceivablyfordifferentpurposes. is tosaythattheywereconsumedindifferent associations withethnicorsocialgroups,butashavingdifferentroles;that chronological resolutionispoor. This isperhapsnotsurprising,giventhatcombsareportableitemsandour such factionalismwasmanifestedgeographically,anypatterningisnowlost. 24 88 87 86 85 Cf See Ashbyforthcoming Foster 1990,ﬁ g9.7. Ashby 2005.

Ashby forthcoming Though thepresenceofType5combsandprobableusereindeer An alternativemodelcouldseethetwoformsofcombsnotashavingdirect 88 Thoughitisdifficulttoarguefromnegativeevidence, wecanonly . . steven pashby

arenas 87 Nonetheless,theabsenceof . In thismodel,thesame 85 However, 86 The Published by Maney Publishing (c) Society for Medieval Archaeology mainland Scotland. and Pictishsculpture,evenifthecombsthemselvesareunder-representedin contact existsinthesimilaritiesbetweenNorthumbrianmanuscriptornament the churchesofNorthumbriaandPictland.Circumstantialevidenceforsuch took placemaywellhavebeenmissionarycontactandtherelationshipbetween native populationreinterpretedit. century; theformprobablytravellednorthfromtheretoScotlandwhere a commontemplate.Type12combsoccurinEnglandfromasearlythe6th arrived inAtlanticScotlandasexportsfromEngland,ratherthattheyshared divergent localfashions.Inall,itseemsunlikelythatmanyofthesecombs template, butsubtledifferencesintermsofornamentmaybeindicative rivets setatalternatingbilletedges)areunsurprisingifthecombshadacommon manufacture. Thesharedmanufacturingtraditions(inparticular,theuseofiron sufficient distinctiontoassumethatdifferentartisanswereresponsiblefortheir in ScotlandandEnglandisindicativeofsomelevelcontact,thoughthere striking. AsSmithhassuggested,thecloserelationshipbetweenType12combs were Types1c,11and12(Fig 2). TheconcentrationofType12inthenorthis North SeaandIrishregions;theselinks were tobecomeincreasingly the existenceofcomplexandmutablewebscontact aroundtheNorthAtlantic, which todiscussthecombsoflaterVikingAge andhighMiddleAges. nexus ofthesedifferentinfluencesandprovides acomplexbackdropagainst Sea region.Takenasagroup,thecorpusisunique collection,representingthe between thepeoplesofnorthernScotland,Anglo-Saxon EnglandandtheIrish of otherevidenceforsuchapresence. presence ofan‘Irish’population,butthisisapossibility, particularlyinthelight between the5thand7thcenturies.Inisolation,these combsdonotindicatethe the dateatwhichthistookplaceisunclear;itmayhaveoccurredanytime from theIrishSearegion,butScottishchronologyisweak.Consequently, may havebeenresponsibleforthetype’sintroductionintonorthernScotland already hadanimportantroletoplayingiftexchange.Thesamemechanism that representedconsiderableinvestmentinskillsandtime;perhapscombs and theWesternIsles,therewasamarketforhighlyornatedouble-sidedcombs late-antique precursor,Type10,seemstohavebeenregion-specific.InIreland types. associations ofparticularcombforms,orthesocialgroupsthatusedsuch chronologically significant,andismorelikelytobeindicativeofthesymbolic Saxon’ contemporaries,Types2a,2band3.Thisdisparitydoesnotseemtobe Scotland isintriguing,particularlygiventheregion’sfailuretoadoptits‘Anglo- rather thanpassiveorindirect. 11–12, whoarguethattheroleof thePictswithindevelopmentofInsularartwasactiveandinnovative, 90 89 91 See Clarke2007;Foster1990,162–5; ASmith2000,181. See MacGregor1985,92–4;West 1985,14–15. Eg Forsyth1995. Instead, thedominantcombsofAtlanticScotlandduring8thcentury In all,thecombsfromearlyViking-Age‘interface period’demonstrate Turning westward,thedevelopmentofType11fromitsRomanand combs, contact,andchronology 90 Whateverthemechanism,Type12’spopularityinAtlantic 89 Themediumbywhichtheinitialtransferral 91 Thecombsaresuggestiveofcontact

Though seeHendersonand 2004, 25 Published by Maney Publishing (c) Society for Medieval Archaeology to characterisethe10thand11thcenturies. nium of AtlanticScotlandtoNorsetradeandtravelaroundtheend1stmillen- complements otherarchaeologicalanddocumentaryevidenceforthecentrality complex astheVikingAgeandhighMiddleAgesprogressed. 26 comb forms. represent theclearestevidencetodateforcoexistenceof‘native’and‘Norse’ was anydifferentinthisregardAtlanticScotland,andtheexcavationsatPool smaller, ruralsettlements. ‘Anglian’-style combscontinuedlongafterNorsesettlement,particularlyin upon thearrivalofScandinaviansettlers.InEngland,itappearsthatuse suggest thattheproductionofcombsin‘pre-Norse’styleceasedimmediately were manufacturedandusedintheVikingAge.Indeed,thereisnoevidenceto reindeer antlertopre-9th-centurycontextsismosteasilyexplainedifthesecombs Occam’s Razor,thefactthatwecannotsatisfactorilyassigncombsofprobable produced artefacts,noneofthesecombshaveasecureearlydate.Following but thoughtheirformandmethodsofmanufactureconfirmthemaslocally A numberofType12and1ccombsareprobablymadereindeerantler, foreign rawmaterialshasinterestingimplicationsfornative-Norserelations. Scandinavia. Moreparticularly,thenexusoflocaltechnologiesandstyles references andtraditionswithoriginsinAnglo-SaxonEngland,Ireland to betheresultofsomethingameltingpot,comingtogetherstylistic traditions ofAtlanticScotland.Rather,theregion’sstylisticrepertoireseems that Scandinavianfashionsdidnotimmediatelysupplantthelocalcombmaking is difficulttoassessgiventhelackofdirectevidenceforproduction,butitclear sometime inthe9thcentury. require furtherconsi grity, andtheeconomic,cultural,ethnicimplications ofthisobservation Weber’s analysesdidnotexplicitlyconsiderthe problemofstratigraphicinte- of discussionwithinthearchaeologicalcommunity ofAtlanticScotland,but pins fromtheBroughofBirsay. particular focusofattentioninthediscussion poorlystratifiedcombsand concept, havingitsoriginsinAnnaRitchie’s early workandbecominga ing Scandinaviansettlement.Thisinterpretation doesnotconstituteanew comb evidenceissuggestiveofcontinueduse‘native’ materialculturefollow- 97 96 95 94 93 92 See BallinSmith 1995;Weber1992;1993;1994; 1996. Curle 1982;Ritchie1974,192. A Smith2007,461–72. Ashby forthcoming Eg Ashby 2006a,228–37.

Barrett 1997;Forster2005. The organisationofcombmakinganddistributioninViking-AgeScotland So, ratherthanindicatingScandinaviancontactpriorto ad , offeringaforetasteofthesocialandeconomicdevelopmentsthatwere 95 Inall,itismostlikelythatthesecombsweremanufactured . deration. 94 Thereisnoreasontobelievethatthesituation 97 steven pashby CONCLUSION 96 Today,theidearemainsanimportanttopic 93

92 ad Thisstudy 793,the Published by Maney Publishing (c) Society for Medieval Archaeology All errorsremainmyown. Specialists forgrantingpermission toreproducedrawingsfromtheirpublications. to JulianRichardsatthe University ofYorkandCecilySpallatFieldArchaeology McClain, HayleySaulandPatWalshforassistancewith illustrations,andIamgrateful and ShetlandMuseum(TommyWatt).Finally,I must thankSvenGrabow,Aleks (Anne Brundle),theUniversityofShefﬁeld (MikeParkerPearsonandCarolinePaterson) the MuseumofScotland(DavidClarke,AndyHeald and JimWilson),OrkneyMuseum access toartefacts:CardiffUniversity(andNiallSharples), CFA(andTimNeighbour), John HunterandAndreaSmith.Imustalsothankthe variousinstitutionsthatallowed discussion withColleenBatey,JulieBond,AnneBrundle, DavidClarke,AndyHeald, Terry O’Connor,JulianRichardsandLyubaSmirnova. Ihavealsobeneﬁ his supervisionduringmydoctoralresearch,andfor the adviceofArthurMacGregor, for theircommentsonanearlierdraftofthispaper. ThanksalsotoJamesBarrettfor thesis attheUniversityofYork.ThanksareduetoColleen BateyandAmandaForster acknowledgements allowing ustoaddresssuchquestionsmorefully. synthetic treatmentsofthearchaeologyearlyViking-AgeAtlanticScotland, alternative formsofmaterialculturemayfostertheproductioninformed social fabric.Iraisetheseonlyaspossibilitieshere,butfutureresearchusing in theearlyperiodtousematerialcultureintegratethemselvesintonative particular socio-economicsettings,amicable,orthattheNorsefeltitnecessary perhaps suggeststhatPictish-Norserelationswere,atleastonoccasionandin it (orperhapscommissioningitsmanufacture)intheirownmaterials.This that uponarrivaltheNorsebegantoadoptPictishmaterialculture,‘remaking’ of ‘settler’and‘native’intermscombstyle.Rather,itraisesthepossibility of ‘native’stylecombsinScandinavianmaterialsarguesagainstthesegregation indicates theexistenceofsomelevelfactionalism.However,manufacture for functionaldifferences,incontrasttothe‘continuity’school, enced contemporaneoususeindifferentcontexts.Giventheabsenceofevidence early VikingAgeandraisesthepossibilitythatTypes1c,11,125experi- that therewasaScandinavianpresencethroughoutmuchoftheregionin contact in9th-centuryAtlanticScotland.ThepresenceofType5combssuggests combs, themodelmayrequirerevision. this evidenceisdisputableand,withouttheofpre-9th-centuryreindeer burials andtheperceivedearlypresenceofpagangravesinScotland.Much the NorthAtlantic,useofearlyInsularartefactsinNorwegianinhumation deer combs’,butalsoincorporatesevidenceforearlysettlementelsewherein than aninitiationofcontact.HisargumentutilisesWeber’sworkwiththe‘rein- a transformationofrelationsbetweenScandinaviaandtheBritishIsles,rather stretching backintothe8thcentury,suchthatVikingraidsconstitute Myhre proposedanextendedperiodofNorseactivityintheNorthSeaarea, hypothesis forthechronologyandcharacterisationofearlyVikingAge. 99 98 Bäcklund 2001;Ritchie 1977. Myhre 1993. This paperarisesfromresearchundertakenaspart ofanAHRC-fundedPhD The analysisalsohasimplicationsforthestudyofnatureculture Indeed, theresultshaveparticularlysignificantknock-oneffectsforMyhre’s combs, contact,andchronology 99 thisarguably td from ted 27 98

Published by Maney Publishing (c) Society for Medieval Archaeology uh hitahWsenIls WesternIsles Rudha Chaisteach ohIc-rni ufisadGloa DumfriesandGalloway Loch Inch-Crindil elCv Agl n ue ArgyllandBute Keil Cave ar ohrc etr se WesternIsles Garry Iochdrach ohgryWsenIls Western Isles Foshigarry uadAgl n ue ArgyllandBute Dunadd u ue Western Isles Dun Cuier ieCuclae c51 12 11 5 1c EastAyrshire Fife Councilarea not possibleatpresent. EastLothian certainly eitherType11or12. Ihavenotanalysedthesecombsmyselfsoconﬁdent assignationtotypeis 100 EastLothian St Ford’sLinks North Berwick Castle Park,Dunbar Buiston Site political boundariesofScotlandandnotaccountedfor above) Mainland Scotland OrkneyIslands 12 OrkneyIslands ShetlandIslands 11 5 OrkneyIslands Highland OrkneyIslands OrkneyIslands 1c Highland Pool, Sanday Munkerhouse, PapaWestray OrkneyIslands Lyking Jarlshof OrkneyIslands Howe, Stromness Councilarea OrkneyIslands OrkneyIslands OrkneyIslands Hillhead Broch OrkneyIslands Galilee, Sanday Freswick Links OrkneyIslands Buckquoy, Birsay Highland Brough Road,Birsay Brough ofLambaness Brough ofDeerness Brough ofBirsay Broch ofBurrian Broch ofBorwick Balnakeil, Durness Site Highland previouslyknownasCaithnessandSutherland) Northern Scotland 28 oosyAgl n ue ArgyllandBute Colonsay ieCuclae c51 12 11 5 1c WesternIsles/Nah-Eileanan Siar Councilarea ShetlandIslands OrkneyIslands OrkneyIslands OrkneyIslands Bornish Site ShetlandIslands of Highland,ArgyllandBute,DumfriesGalloway) Western Scotland OrkneyIslands Westness, Rousay Skaill, Deerness Scar, Sanday Scalloway Sandwick, Unst Saevar Howe,Birsay APPENDIX 1:GAZETTEEROFSITESWITHCOMBSTYPES1C, Excavations atPool(seeASmith 2007)haverecovereddouble-sidedcombsofindeterminateform but (incorporatingtheinnerandouterHebrides,westerncoastalareas (incorporating theOrkneyIslands,ShetlandIslandsandareasof (allareasofmainlandnorthernBritainfallingwithin thepresent steven pashby 5, 11OR12 √ √√√ √√ √ √√ √√ √√√√ √√ √ √√ √√ √ √√√√ √ √ √

√ √ √ √ √ √√√ ? √ √ 100 √ √ √ √ √ √ √

√√ √ √√ √ √ √ √ √

? Published by Maney Publishing (c) Society for Medieval Archaeology kil eres1 1%14 MSK1008 IL739 SK1019 OM NMS SK138 SK1004 OM SK1012 SK1014 OM 1044 OM 1391 SK1013 OM 1984.433 SK1007 1007 OM SK1016 1013 1006 OM 1984.435 50–80% OM OM <10% 996 OM 998 80–100% OM GA44 80–100% 999 5 HSA 156 1c HSA 10–50% IL213b 1039 154 1000 12 1004 NMS IL213a 80–100% HSA 155 12 NMS 1001 HSA 50–80% 192 NMS NMS 1c 731 80–100% NMS 12 NMS 80–100% NMS 1361 1976.112 12 10–50% <10% 1216 Westness, Rousay 1263 OM 1380 12 554 1976.108 50–80% Skaill, Deerness 1c 1379 1976.104 1320 OM Skaill, Deerness 1291 12 1c OM Skaill, Deerness OM 10–50% 12 80–100% 994 Skaill, Deerness OM 10–50% 10–50% 1057 Skaill, Deerness 1982.102 80–100% 10–50% 5 5 Skaill, Deerness 1982.100 50–80% 1089 1034 1982.103 5 Skaill, Deerness 5 1058 OM 5 Skaill, Deerness 5 1982.101 220 <10% OM 5 Skaill, Deerness 50–80% OM Saevar Howe 225 80–100% 10–50% NMS OM Saevar Howe 1024 212 80–100% 1c 12 Orkney unknown 1029 NMS 202 993 1c Munkerhouse, PapaWestray 11 NMS GB71 12 1206 Lyking, Orkney 1073 80–100% NMS Lyking, Orkney 1235 NMS Jarlshof 80–100% 1243 Jarlshof 10–50% 5 80–100% Jarlshof 1245 12 <10% Jarlshof 1258 12 10–50% Galilee, Sanday 1c Buckquoy 50–80% 1c Buckquoy 80–100% 5 Buckquoy 80–100% 12 Brough ofBirsay 12 Brough ofBirsay 12 Brough ofBirsay Brough ofBirsay Brough ofBirsay Brough ofBirsay Brough ofBirsay Brough ofBirsay Broch ofBurrian ieTp opeinDatabase Completion Type Site oni 08%10 U2003/5398 CU 1706 101 50–80% Ambrosiani, K1981, 5 Bornais Western Scotland (pending allocationundertheTreasureTrovesystem). Abbreviations: Northern Scotland Archaeology from BirkaandRibe Making andCombMakersinthe LightofFinds Database numbers relatetodatabaseinAshby2006a. APPENDIX 2:COMBSIDENTIFIEDASPROBABLY NMS 2 . : MuseumofScotland; , StockholmStudiesin combs, contact,andchronology Viking AgeCombs,Comb REINDEER ANTLER BIBLIOGRAPHY OM Ashby, SP2005,‘Boneand AntlerCombs: : OrkneyMuseum; ‘Breaking andShapingBeastly Bodies’ Scotland’, unpublpaperpresented atthe Burial andIdentityin Viking-Age no 101 CU Current location : CardiffUniversity Archive no 29 Published by Maney Publishing (c) Society for Medieval Archaeology Ashby, SPforthcoming,‘Astudyinregion- Barrett, JH1997,‘FishtradeinNorse Ballin Smith,B1995,‘Reindeerantler Bertelsen, RandLamb,G 1993,‘Settle- Bäcklund, J2001,‘Warorpeace?Therela- Ashmore, P1993, Ashby, SPinprep,‘Combsfrommedieval Barrett, JH,Beukens,RP,Simpson,I, Barrett, JH2003,‘Culturecontactin Ashby, SP2007,‘Boneandantlercombs’, Ashby, SP2006b,‘TradeinVikingAge Ashby, SP2006a,Time,tradeandidentity: 30 Bede, Turner (eds), the northernDanelaw’,inDPettsandS ality: haircombsandbone/antlercraftin essed 10April2009]. [acc- distributed publication.Detailsat cal approach’, Orkney andCaithness:azooarchaeologi- 11. tets OldsaksamlingÅrbok Iron AgeOrkneyandNorway’, combs atHowe:contactbetweenlate The VikingAge inCaithness,Orkneyandthe C EBatey,JJeschandD Morris (eds), ment moundsintheNorth Atlantic’,in ed LSherley-Price,London: Penguin. Orkney’, tions betweenthePictsandNorsein the Past northern Europe’. Turnhout: Brepols. Rev when didithappen?’, 2000, ‘WhatwastheVikingAgeand Ashmore, P,Poaps,SandHuntley,J Brepols, 74–111. Colonization oftheNorthAtlantic Contact, Continuity,andCollapse:TheNorse Viking AgeScotland’,inJHBarrett(ed), Finds ResearchGroupDatasheet ogy andHistory National Museum,StudiesinArchaeol- 10th–14th, 2004 North AtlanticArchaeology,Copenhagen,May the SILA/NABOConferenceonArcticand Dynamics ofNorthernSocieties.Proceedings in JArneborgandBGrønnow(eds), distribution ofboneandantlercombs’, Britain: identityandtheproduction University ofYork). ain c. bone andantlercombsinnorthernBrit- Cambridge, 16thFebruary2005. Archaeological Research,Universityof Conference, MacDonaldInstitutefor

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Carver, MOH1990,‘Pre-Vikingtrafﬁ Biddle, M1990a,‘Toiletequipment:combs Forsyth, K1995,‘Theogham-inscribed Forster, AK2005,‘Steatite,resource Flodin, L1989, Edwards, R1997,‘Norsesettlement’,in Dunlevy, M1988,‘Aclassiﬁ Curle, CL1982, Crawford, IA1981,‘Warorpeace— Clarke, DandHeald,A2002,‘Beyond Clarke, DV2007,‘Readingthemultiple Graham-Campbell, J2002, Foster, SM1990,‘Pins,combsandthe time Celts,FrisiansandSaxons the NorthSea’,inSMcGrail(ed), Clarendon Press,678–90. (Winchester Studiesvolume7.2.2) Object andEconomyinMedievalWinchester of hornandbone’,inMBiddle(ed), University Press,544–54. North Atlantic Orkney’, for theIrishlanguageinpre-Viking spindle-whorl fromBuckquoy:evidence Orkney MuseumsandHeritage,55–74. Saga: TheBroad-ClothVikingTrip O Owen(ed), control andtheOrkneyearldom’,in 1000–1600 260 1963–1981 Prehistoric, Pictish,VikingandLaterPeriods, Orkney: ExcavationsbyPeterGellingofthe S Buteux(ed), 341–422. early Irishcombs’, Scot MonogrSer the BroughofBirsay1934–74 Odense UniversityPress,259–69. gress, Århus24–31August1977 (eds), H Bekker-Nielsen,PFooteandOOlsen Western IslesofScotlandreviewed’,in Viking colonisationintheNorthernand land’, and regionalidentityinLateNorseScot- typology: combs,economics,symbolism Archaeol lives ofPictishsymbolstones’, Archaeol ResRep University ofCambridge. ment ofAnglo-Saxon,Norse andCeltic, Status andSymbol 143–74. Edinburgh: EdinburghUniversity Press, Perspectives ontheAtlanticScottish IronAge in IArmit(ed), chronology oflaterIronAgesettlement’, , 70–95. Proceedings oftheEighthVikingCon- Norwegian ArchaeolRev

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cto de cation par St John’s, Steven 24 ges ges . Published by Maney Publishing (c) Society for Medieval Archaeology della Scozianell’antichitàenelperiodovichingo Pettini, contattiecronologia:unriesamedeipettinidelversanteatlantico Riassunto Kontakts mitIrlandunddemangelsächsischenEngland. skandinavische Präsenzzuverzeichnenwar,unterstreichenaberauchdieBedeutungdes dem frühenWikingerzeitalterindergesamtenschottischenAtlantikküstenregioneine frühestens im9.Jahrhunderthin.DieKämmealsBeweisstückebelegen,dassschonseit auf eine(friedlicheodernichtfriedliche)KoexistenzvonWikingernundEinheimischen Sicherheit ins8. Jahrhundert oderdavordatierenkann,unddasVerteilungsmusterdeutet det wurden.JedochstammtkeinerderKämmeauseinemZusammenhang,denmanmit zeigt, dasswahrscheinlichfürdieKämmeim„einheimischen“StilRentiergeweiheverwen- küstenregionen galten.DieAnwendungneuerAnalysetechnikenfürdieRohmaterialien tionell alseincharakteristischesMerkmalderfrühgeschichtlichenschottischenAtlantik- Verteilungsmuster habenneuesLichtaufdieEntwicklungderKämmegeworfen,tradi- zierung vonVariationeninderHerstellungspraxisunddieAnalyseräumlichen Siedlungen indieserRegionerhellt.DieAnwendungeinerneuenTypologie,dieIdentifi schottischen AtlantikküstehatdieChronologiederfrühmittelalterlichenskandinavischen Die AnalyseeinerbedeutendenSammlungvonKnochen-undGeweihkämmender Steven PAshby anglosassone. ma poneinoltreinevidenzal’importanzadeicontatti conl’Irlandael’Inghilterra presenza scandinavaintuttalaScoziaatlanticaapartire dagliinizidelperiodovichingo, IX secolo,manonanteriore.Latestimonianzafornitadai pettinidimostral’esistenzadiuna dei tipidipettinerivelaunacoesistenza(pacifi ca ononpacifi ca) tranorrenieindigeninel che sipossanofarrisalireconcertezzaall’VIIIsecoloo ad ancoraprima,eladistribuzione tura deipettinidistile‘indigeno’.Tuttavianessuno questi pettiniprovienedaambienti materiali grezzihamessoinevidenzailprobabileimpiegodicornarennanellamanifat- del versanteatlanticodellaScoziaantica.L’applicazionedinuovetecnicheanalisidei a chiarirel’evoluzionedeipettini,tradizionalmenteconsideratiunelementocaratteristico delle variepratichedimanifattura,el’analisidelladistribuzionegeografi regione duranteilprimoMedioevo.L’adozionediunanuovatipologia,l’identifi della Scoziahapermessodifarelucesullacronologiadellostanziamentoscandinavonella L’analisi diun’importantecollezionepettiniinossoecornodelversanteatlantico der schottischenAtlantikküsteinFrühgeschichteundzurWikingerzeit Kämme, KontakteundChronologie:EinneueStudievonHaarkämmenan Zusammenfassung et l’Angleterreanglo-saxonne. début del’âgedesVikings,ilssoulignentégalementl’importancecontactsavecl’Irlande sont lapreuved’uneprésencescandinavesurtoutefaçadeatlantiquedel’Écossedèsle coexistence (pacifi que ouautre)aveclesVikingsauIX combs, contact,andchronology e siècle,maispasavant.Silespeignes di Steven PAshby ca hanno portato hanno ca cazione 33 von -