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Lecture Summaries 1997-8 Finlaggan, Islay: an Archaeological Overview Davi Caldweldh L

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Lecture Summaries 1997-8 Finlaggan, Islay: an Archaeological Overview Davi Caldweldh L Proc Antiqc So Scot, (1998)8 12 , 1121-1133 Lecture Summaries 1997-8 Finlaggan, Islay: an archaeological overview Davi CaldweldH l The National Museums of Scotland have been undertaking an archaeological research project at Finlaggan since 1989. The main focus of attention is on the two islands — Eilean Mor and Eilean Comhairlea n Locn i , h Finlagga identifien— centrmedievae e th th s f da eo l Lordshi Islese th f .po In addition, however, the project has uncovered and researched evidence of human occupation around Finlaggan throughout post-glacial times. Evidenc r Mesolithifo e c activit s providei y y substantiab d l quantitie f lithicso n si l al , secondary contexts. Later prehistoric occupation is also represented by artefacts, including a Neolithic stone axehea flind dan t implements, Bronz pottere barbed-and-tangea eAg d yan d flint arrowhead Tena L a e fibulad an , . Excavation int earliese oth islando t deposittw vers e sywa th allowe s limiten ha so d dan only tantalizing glimpse prehistorif so c remains, including possible round-house Eilean o s n Mor. Other prehistoric structures have been excavate moune th n t Cnodo da c Seannd heae f th do t a the loch, including what appears smala e b lo souterraint . Eilea Comhairla nn entirels ei y artificial in origin, much of its bulk consisting of the ruins of a dun overlying crannog structures of stakes brushwoodd an . There is a small embanked enclosure on the lochside adjacent to Eilean Mor, identified as Earln a y Christian burial ground. Another graveyar dmedievae nexth o t l chape Eilean o r l nMo may also have originated in Early Historic times. A lintel grave was discovered within it. 13te th h n centurI y Eilea Comhairla nn e forme stonbasa e r dth efo e castle, possibl ykeepa . It had been totally dismantled by the 14th century, being replaced by three smaller buildings, including a hall and the probable council house of the Lordship of the Isles. Eilean Mor was surrounded by a timber palisade in the 13th century, protecting several buildings inside. By the end of the 15th century there were up to 20 buildings connected by cobbled paths, including a chapel, two halls and kitchens. Around 1500, on the basis of coin evidence, several of the buildings were dismantled or destroyed e replace b e dryston th o t ,y b d e house d barna farminan sf o s g township, itself abandone 17te th hn d i century wideA . r aree studth af yo aroun d Loch Finlagga identifies nha d evidenc r earlfo e y lead mining, going t leasa bac o t k medieval times d tracean ,f earl o s y agriculture. Settlement 18te th 20t o ht f so h centurie alse sar o being researched. 112 | 2SOCIET ANTIQUARIEF YO SCOTLANDF SO , 1998 Tracking down Scottish export pottery in South-East Asia Graem CruickshanR eD k sometimes i t I s forgotte besne centuriesthath o tr partw tfo f to 175 y sa ,1930o 0 t , Scotlana d dha thriving and innovative pottery industry. It has been known for a long time that this industry supported a vigorous export trade, though there is a depressing paucity of material which can reveal detail thisf so . firme Mosth f s o tinvolve d failed durin Depressione gth ; sadly their records have not survived and the occasional fragments of information which appear in other sources can provid moro en e tha ntantalizina g glimpsthiw s ho trad f eo e operated. Whe nfirsI t became involve Scottisn di h pottery studies whil curatoea t Huntla r y House Museum Edinburgh'n o , s Royal Mile greI , w rather perplexe Scottist e wherda th l eal h export pottery had gone. Clearly the volume produced exceeded what could have been assimilated by the domestic market. The might of Staffordshire accounted for most of England's needs, and the nations of Europe had been developing their own pottery industries. The countries of the British Empire seeme mose dth t likely recipients thid san , accorded wit scane hth t surviving recordsI o S . looke Canadan d i Australia n i d an althougd an , h antique Scottish founpottere b theso n t di s yi e countries, it was evident that this was only a partial answer. The essential conundrum remained: throughout the 19th century dozens of Scottish factories employed thousand workerf so produceo swh d million itemf so s every year. Whers ewa t e solutioni allTh ? , whe t i eventualln y came, combined three quite different avenuef o s exploration. Glasgow's programme of urban renewal in the 1970s involved extensive demolition. Althoug rescuf o hy littl dones wa archaeologyey wa eb , Scottish pottery enthusiasts were ablo et recover quantitie f sherdsso . Whil evidence eth e provide stratigraphy db beed yha n lost, sherds recovered in this way can still be of great interest, and among them appeared patterns of Oriental character the likes of which had not been seen before. One in particular attracted much attentio exotin a n— c jungl esidee maker'scene on th , o n BeleP o C s l& M othe e mar& th J n r( k o Ltd of the Glasgow Pottery). It was discovered by John Fisher of the Motherwell Historical Society and its importance recognized by Glasgow enthusiast Gerard Quail, who kindly sent me illustrations of both sides, which I was able to publish (Cruickshank 1978). This proved to be a crucial find. In the 1980s, I spent several summer holidays in the bowels of the Public Record Office in London searching for Scottish pottery registered designs. Expecting to find a few dozen, I was surprise fino dt d more than 400. Among them, dating fro latee mth r 19th centur earle th yo yt years of the 20th century, was a staggering array of Oriental patterns. There were 38 in all; researc fieldword han indicates kha d that they were aime t specifida c targe tscane areasth t t bu , informatio nmake O availabl allusioPR o se n th n ethisi o n t . While this researc s takinwa h g place a Scottis, h water engineer workin Javn gi d an a Sumatra, Edwin Robertson, was finding large numbers of plates which he recognized as Scottish products. The designs they bore were quite unlike anything then known (the majority would registrations)prov O exemplare b PR o et e th f so quantitA . thesf yshippeo s ewa d bac theio kt r homeland, and I was consulted as to their dispersal. I recommended that three museums should share in this find: the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland (as it then was), as this discover f nationao s ywa l importance People'e th ; s Palace Museu mGlasgown i cite th y, where LECTURE SUMMARIE | S112 3 most of the items were made; and the Huntly House Museum in Edinburgh, which had the largest public holdin f Scottisgo h pottery appraisan A . f theso l e ware publishes swa Nationae th y db l Museum's curator in charge of pottery, George Dalgleish (1984), who was able to demonstrate in a subsequent article (1986) that the main element in Bell's Pekin pattern was an actual building in China's capita Temple l Sune citth th y — f . eo combinatioe Th variouf no s strand evidencf so e pointe Ease th to d t Indieprincipa e th s sa l target for Bell's extraordinary patterns, and this set me off on a quest which was to occupy much nexe year x timth y osi tr fm esfo (1991-7) t transpireI . s that full dozeya n Scottish factories were involve supplyinn di g export potter o South-Easyt t Asia, locate Glasgon di w (the principal centre), and also in Kirkcaldy, Bo'ness, Alloa, Pollokshaws and Greenock. Moreover, they were in competition with exporters from Holland, England andlessea o t , r extent, France, Germany Belgiumd an . However virtuy excitins b it , f eo g designs f colour, o marketina bol e d dus an , g policy which geared production to the needs and wishes of people in specific target areas, Scotland may lay claim to the premier position in this remarkable trade. By din f travellino t excesn gi f 50,00so 0 abls mile ascertaio wa et sI n that Scottish export potter widels yprofuselwa d yan y distributed throughou Indonesiae th t n archipelago alsd an o, appeare neighbourinn di g Malaysia, Thailan Philippinese th d dan . Another major export market regioe i nBurmath s nwa , with Scotland dominan neae th ro t exclusio competitorsf no , though maintaining a range of goods quite different from that which was despatched to the East Indies. Having located Scottish pottery in virtually every part of South-East Asia, I determined to mose th seetn i inaccessibl t ki e area withi regione junglee nth th n i centra,f so l Borneo. Kuching in Sarawak seeme dsensibla e base decideI . folloo dt mighte wth y River Lupar thed an ,n tackle three of its tributaries. The Lemenak and the Engkori yielded nothing, but several of the longhouse Sekarane th n so g were hom cacheo et Scottisf so h plates. These treasured items generally belonged to the headman, and it took some persuasive talking befor woule h e d revea prizes hi l d possessions. They were formerly displaye rattan di n holders of the type traditionally used to display the severed heads of enemy tribesmen.
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