DOCSLIB.ORG

Primary Open Angle Glaucoma in the Scottish Population Isolate of Orkney

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: • This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. • A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. • This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. • The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. • When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. QUANTITATIVE TRAITS RELATED TO PRIMARY OPEN ANGLE GLAUCOMA IN THE SCOTTISH POPULATION ISOLATE OF ORKNEY -VIDARSHI KUMUDU KUMARI KARUNARATNE- -PHD- -THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH- -2011- DECLARATION I declare that I composed this thesis. It is my own work. Where others have played a role, their contributions have been acknowledged accordingly. This work has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification. Vidarshi Karunaratne September 2010 ii DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my husband, Denes, and my parents, Ammi and Appachchi iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ix ABSTACT xi LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES xii ABBREVIATIONS xvi Chapter 1: PRIMARY OPEN ANGLE GLAUCOMA 1 1.1 AN INTRODUCTION TO PRIMARY OPEN ANGLE GLAUCOMA 1 1.2 DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION OF GLAUCOMA 7 1.3 EPIDEMIOLOGY OF PRIMARY OPEN ANGLE GLAUCOMA 11 1.3.1 PREVALENCE OF PRIMARY OPEN ANGLE GLAUCOMA 12 1.3.2. INCIDENCE 36 1.3.3 RISK FACTORS FOR PRIMARY OPEN ANGLE GLAUCOMA 38 1.3.3.1 DEMOGRAPHIC RISK FACTORS 40 1.3.3.1.1 AGE 40 1.3.3.1.2 GENDER 43 1.3.3.1.3 ANCESTRY (POPULATION/ETHNICITY/RACE) 45 1.3.3.2 SYSTEMIC DISEASES ASSOCIATED WITH PRIMARY OPEN ANGLE GLAUCOMA 46 1.3.3.3 OCULAR RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH PRIMARY OPEN ANGLE GLAUCOMA 47 1.3.3.3.1 INTRA-OCULAR PRESSURE 47 1.3.3.3.1.1 GENERATION OF INTRA-OCULAR PRESSURE .47 1.3.3.3.1.2 DISTRIBUTION OF INTRA-OCULAR PRESSURE 49 1.3.3.3.1.3 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INTRA-OCULAR PRESSURE AND GLAUCOMA 50 1.3.3.3.1.4 MECHANISMS OF GLAUCOMATOUS OPTIC NEUROPATHY 51 1.3.3.3.1.4.1 THE MECHANICAL THEORY OF GLAUCOMATOUS OPTIC NEUROPATHY 51 1.3.3.3.1.4.2 THE VASCULAR THEORY OF GLAUCOMATOUS OPTIC NEUROPATHY .53 1.3.3.3.1.4.3 THE VASCULAR DYSREGULATION AND GLAUCOMATOUS OPTIC NEUROPATHY 53 1.3.3.3.1.4.4 OXIDATIVE DAMAGE AND IMMUNE FACTORS IN GLAUCOMATOUS OPTIC NEUROPATHY 55 1.3.3.3.1.4.5 NORMAL TENSION GLAUCOMA 56 1.3.3.3.1.4.6 OCULAR HYPERTENSION .62 1.3.3.3.1.4.7 MORE COMPREHENSIVE PARADIGMS OF GLAUCOMATOUS OPTIC NEUROPATHY 63 1.3.3.3.1.4.8 BIOMECHANICAL MODELS OF GLAUCOMATOUS OPTIC NEUROPATHY 64 1.3.3.3.2 CENTRAL CORNEAL THICKNESS 70 1.3.3.3.2.1 THE STRUCTURE OF THE CORNEA 70 1.3.3.3.2.2 CORNEAL THICKNESS AS A RISK FACTOR FOR THE PROGRESSION OF OCULAR HYPERTENSION TO GLAUCOMA 70 1.3.3.3.2.3 CORNEAL THICKNESS AS A RISK FACTOR FOR THE PRESENCE OF GLAUCOMA 71 1.3.3.3.2.4 CORNEAL THICKNESS IN OCULAR HYPERTENSION AND GLAUCOMA 72 1.3.3.3.2.4.1 CORNEAL THICKNESS IN APPLANATION TONOMETRY 73 1.3.3.3.2.4.2 CORNEAL THICKNESS AS A SUSCEPTIBILITY FACTOR .75 1.3.3.3.3 CUP TO DISC RATIO 80 1.3.3.3.4 MYOPIA 81 1.3.3.3.5 OTHER OCULAR FACTORS 82 1.3.3.4 ENVIRONMENTAL RISK FACTORS FOR PRIMARY OPEN ANGLE GLAUCOMA 83 1.3.3.5 FAMILY HISTORY / GENETICS AS A RISK FACTOR FOR PRIMARY OPEN ANGLE GLAUCOMA 83 1.4 DIAGNOSIS 89 1.5 MANAGEMENT 91 1.6 PROGNOSIS 92 1.7 THE FUTURE OF GLAUCOMA MANAGEMENT 92 1.8 SUMMARY 93 v Chapter 2: AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 95 2.1 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 95 2.2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 98 Chapter 3: ESTABILISHING THE ORCADES EYE PROJECT 103 3.1 OVERVIEW 103 3.2 DEFINING THE PHENOTYPE 103 3.3 STUDY POPULATION 109 3.3.1 CHOICE OF POPULATION 109 3.3.2 THE SCOTTISH POPULATION ISOLATE OF ORKNEY 116 3.3.2.1 A BRIEF HISTORY OF ORKNEY 118 3.3.2.1.1 PRE-HISTORIC ORKNEY 120 3.3.2.1.2 ORKNEY AND THE NORSE 126 3.3.2.1.3 ORKNEY UNDER SCOTTISH RULE 127 3.3.2.1.4 ORKNEY TODAY 129 3.4 THE ORCADES STUDY 132 3.4.1 OVERVIEW OF THE ORCADES STUDY 132 3.4.2 FUNDING 133 3.4.3 ETHICAL APPROVAL 134 3.4.4 PREMISES 134 3.4.5 EQUIPMENT 140 3.4.6 SUBJECTS 141 3.4.7 GENOYTPING 144 Chapter 4: DATA COLLECTION, MANAGEMENT AND ANALYSIS 145 4.1 DATA COLLECTION 145 vi 4.1.1 MEASUREMENT OF VISUAL ACUITY (VA) 148 4.1.2 MEASUREMENT OF REFRACTIVE ERROR 151 4.1.3 MEASUREMENT OF AXIAL LENGTH, ANTERIOR CHAMBER DEPTH, CORNEAL CURVATURE AND WHITE-ON-WHITE 157 4.1.4 GENERAL OCULAR EXAMINATION, MEASUREMENT OF INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE 167 4.1.5 EVALUATION OF THE OPTIC NERVE HEAD 168 4.1.5.1 IMAGE ACQUISITION 171 4.1.5.2 ANALYSIS OF THE OPTIC NERVE HEAD STRUCTURE USING THE HEIDELBERG RETINAL TOMOGRAPH III 175 4.1.6 MEASUREMENT OF CENTRAL CORNEAL THICKNESS 183 4.1.7 VOLUNTEER FEEDBACK 184 4.1.8 DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS 185 4.2 DATA STORAGE 186 4.3 DATA ANALYSIS 192 4.3.1 INTER-OBSERVER VARIATION 192 4.3.3 MULTIVARIABLE ANALYSIS 193 4.4 SUMMARY 197 Chapter 5: RESULTS - OVERALL CHARACTERISTICS OF STUDY SAMPLE 198 5.1 OVERVIEW 198 5.2 INTER-OBSERVER VARIABILITY 209 5.3 DISCUSSION 210 Chapter 6: RESULTS - CENTRAL CORNEAL THICKNESS AND CORNEAL DIAMETER IN THE SCOTTISH POPULATION ISOLATE OF ORKNEY 216 6.1 RESULTS 216 vii 6.2 DISCUSSION 220 Chapter 7: RESULTS - INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE IN THE SCOTTISH POPULATION ISOLATE OF ORKNEY 238 7.1 RESULTS 238 7.2 DISCUSSION 241 Chapter 8: RESULTS - OPTIC NERVE PARAMETERS IN THE SCOTTISH POPULATION ISOLATE OF ORKNEY 253 8.1 RESULTS 253 8.2 DISCUSSION 259 Chapter 9: DISCUSSION 270 Chapter 10: FURTHER WORK 281 APPENDIXES 284 REFERENCES 297 viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the University of Edinburgh, the Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit, Edinburgh, the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Executive, the National Health Service (Scotland), the International Glaucoma Association and the people and institutions of Orkney for supporting and sponsoring this project. Without the support of these organizations and people, the Orcades Eye Project and this PhD thesis would not have been possible. I would also like to thank my supervisors Alan Wright, Brian Fleck and Harry Campbell. Also Nick Hastie, Jim Wilson, Veronique Vitart, Chris Franklin, Ruth McQuillan, Gordon Murray, Niall Anderson, the staff of the Orcades Project, the University of Edinburgh and of the MRC Human Genetics Project, and Tunde Peto and Edward White of Moorfields Eye Hospital. Alan initially allowed me to start this project and introduced me to the world of quantitative genetics and without his support and faith in an unknown but enthusiastic senior house officer, the Orcades Eye Project would have never come to fruition. A thank you to Harry for allowing me to work at Public Health Sciences, and register my PhD there, and to Nick Hastie for allowing me to work at the MRC. Thank you to Brian, for agreeing to be my clinical supervisor. Jim Wilson, the head of the Orcades Study – thank you to Jim and his team for allowing this project to proceed and join the rest of the Orcades Study. Veronique Vitart, a guru in quantitative and population genetics, has been a source of information and guidance in quantitative and population genetics. Veronique was one of the few people ix allowed access to genetic information from the Orcades Study and kindly performed a number of analyses as detailed in Chapter 4. Thank you Tunde and Ed for your friendship, support and for training me so well. Thanks Chris and Ruth for also being a great sources of information and support. Niall Anderson, despite having little to do with the project, kindly answered my numerous questions on regression analysis, principle components analysis and other questions of a statistical nature. Thanks Niall. I was really impressed by your generosity of time and spirit. Thank you to Gordon Murray for his enthusiasm and encouragement with the PhD. Also thanks to Narinder, Safraz, Petros, Dave, Colin, Naz, Valerie and others of the third floor, both members and non-members of the erstwhile Third Floor Philosopher’s Club for your friendship and support. Last, but those who really come first, my family and friends. Thank you for your patience, love, and support whilst I disappeared from your lives for the last 3 years to pursue this project. Thank you for still being there when I emerged. Ammi and Appachchi, I owe you everything. Sam, Jon, Meranda, Veena, Sharon, Sushila and the wonderful LFC, thank you. And finally Denes. Thank you for everything. Words can not express how grateful I am for everything you have done and the support you have shown. I look forward to spending the rest of my life with you.
Recommended publications
  • Orcadians (And Some Shetlanders) Who Worked West of the Rockies in the Fur Trade up to 1858 (Unedited Biographies in Progress)

    Orcadians (And Some Shetlanders) Who Worked West of the Rockies in the Fur Trade up to 1858 (Unedited Biographies in Progress)

    Orcadians (and some Shetlanders) who worked west of the Rockies in the fur trade up to 1858 (unedited biographies in progress) As compiled by: Bruce M. Watson 208-1948 Beach Avenue Vancouver, B. C. Canada, V6G 1Z2 As of: March, 1998 Information to be shared with Family History Society of Orkney. Corrections, additions, etc., to be returned to Bruce M. Watson. A complete set of biographies to remain in Orkney with Society. George Aitken [variation: Aiken ] (c.1815-?) [sett-Willamette] HBC employee, British: Orcadian Scot, b. c. August 20, 1815 in "Greenay", Birsay, Orkney, North Britain [U.K.] to Alexander (?-?) and Margaret [Johnston] Aiken (?-?), d. (date and place not traced), associated with: Fort Vancouver general charges (l84l-42) blacksmith Fort Stikine (l842-43) blacksmith steamer Beaver (l843-44) blacksmith Fort Vancouver (l844-45) blacksmith Fort Vancouver Depot (l845-49) blacksmith Columbia (l849-50) Columbia (l850-52) freeman Twenty one year old Orcadian blacksmith, George Aiken, signed on with the Hudson's Bay Company February 27, l836 and sailed to York Factory where he spent outfits 1837-40; he then moved to and worked at Norway House in 1840-41 before being assigned to the Columbia District in 1841. Aiken worked quietly and competently in the Columbia district mainly at coastal forts and on the steamer Beaver as a blacksmith until March 1, 1849 at which point he went to California, most certainly to participate in the Gold Rush. He appears to have returned to settle in the Willamette Valley and had an association with the HBC until 1852. Aiken's family life or subsequent activities have not been traced.
  • This Thesis Has Been Submitted in Fulfilment of the Requirements for a Postgraduate Degree (E.G

    This Thesis Has Been Submitted in Fulfilment of the Requirements for a Postgraduate Degree (E.G

    This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: • This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. • A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. • This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. • The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. • When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. Homozygosity, inbreeding and health in European populations Ruth McQuillan PhD Thesis The University of Edinburgh 2009 Table of Contents Abstract v Acknowledgements vii Declaration xi Notes xii Abbreviations xiii Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1.1 Key concepts 1 1.2 Measuring inbreeding, autozygosity and homozygosity 5 1.3 Inbreeding and health in human populations 11 1.4 The genetic architecture of common complex disease 14 1.5 Thesis Aims and Objectives 17 Chapter 2: Historical and genealogical description of the population of the North Isles of Orkney 24 2.1 Introduction 24 2.2 ORCADES Pedigree Analysis: Methods 28 2.3 Results 29 2.4 Discussion 40 2.4.1 The population history of Orkney
  • Introduction

    Introduction

    Introduction On 2 July, 1266, diplomatic representatives of King Magnus vi of Norway and King Alexander iii of Scotland convened in Perth to sign a treaty aimed at bringing political order to the unstable Norse-Scottish frontier.1 Three years earlier, Alexander iii had sponsored an invasion of the Inner Hebrides, territo- ries which had long been claimed by the Norwegian crown, prompting Magnus vi’s predecessor, King Hákon iv, to launch a colossal fleet to fight back the Scottish invaders and reestablish Norway’s preeminence over the isles around the Irish Sea. Despite its ambitious scale, the Norwegian fleet was driven back, leaving those proud possessions of the Norwegian crown in the hands of a for- eign ruler.2 But it was not until 1266 that the Scottish king’s practical lordship over the Hebrides was formalized in a finalis concordia, known more commonly as the Treaty of Perth.3 In a seemingly ancillary clause, Magnus vi emphasizes his lordship over two other island provinces, Orkney and Shetland, explaining that he was to retain the lordships, homages, rents and services from them to his own ‘dominion’.4 With this simple interpolation, the Norwegian king estab- lished a political regime that would come to shape the Norse-Scottish frontier and dictate the relations between the Norwegian and Scottish crowns for an- other two centuries until, in 1468/69, those isles also fell into the hands of a Scottish king, James iii.5 During that time, Orkney and Shetland represented 1 Diplomatarium Norvegicum, 21 vols. [dn], eds. C.C.A. Lange et al., Christiania & Oslo 1849–1995, 8, no.
  • The Case of Orkney in Eighteenth-Century Scotland

    The Case of Orkney in Eighteenth-Century Scotland

    Meiji Journal of Political Science and Economics Volume 3, 2014 The Enlightenment Idea of Improvement and its Discontents: The Case of Orkney in Eighteenth-Century Scotland Hiroyuki Furuya Associate Professor of the History of Economic Thought, Tokushima Bunri University, Japan Abstract The aim of this paper is to offer a view of improvement emerged in the age of Enlightenment in Scotland. This paper examines an economic debate that took place in the context of a bitterly-fought legal battle referred to as the Pundlar Process (1733–1759). It was contested between the Earl of Morton, who was a feudal superior of Orkney and Shetland, and local lairds. This paper focuses on two contemporary documents concerning the lairds as plaintiffs and Morton as defendant respectively: James Mackenzie’s The General Grievances and Oppression of the Isles of Orkney and Shetland (1750), and Thomas Hepburn’s A Letter to a Gentleman from his Friend in Orkney, Containing the True Causes of the Poverty of that Country (1760). This paper seeks to illuminate the contrasts revealed during the age of Enlightenment in Scotland by focusing on the conflict between those who tried to promote ‘improvement’ in order to adapt the economy to increased competition brought about by trade expansion after the Acts of Union of 1707, and those in the traditional, local communities who sought out alternative ways to accommodate themselves to this change. Keywords: Scottish Enlightenment, Improvement, Orkney, Pundlar Process, Thomas Hepburn 1. Introduction The age of Enlightenment in Scotland is usually associated with promising prospects such as innovations in the fields of philosophy, literature and economic thought, improvements to agricultural methods, and the dawn of the industrial revolution (Smout, 1983).
  • Shetlanders Speak – Orcadians Sing by Klaske Van Leyden

    Shetlanders Speak – Orcadians Sing by Klaske Van Leyden

    4 Shetlanders speak – Orcadians sing by Klaske van Leyden finally abandoned in favour of Lowland Scots in the course of the 18th century. Even though Norn is now an extinct language, it still lives on in the many Norn words and idioms which are one of the most well- known features of the local dialects. Most islanders are conscious of these Norn remnants in dialect vocabulary, which have also been documented in the dictionaries of Jakob Jakobsen, Hugh Marwick and, more recently, John Graham. Orcadians and Shetlanders are also well aware of the pronunciation features which make these accents not only unique in the English speaking world, but also quite different from each other. Yet, up till now, there has been very meagre mention of the crucial dissimilarities between the two dialects in the scholarly literature. Over the past five years, I have been investigating the differences between Orkney and Shetland pronunciation, for my PhD thesis at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. In this article, I shall discuss some of my most important findings so far. Vowel and consonant duration When the famous phonetician Professor J.C. Klaske van Leyden was born in Gouda in the Netherlands in Catford visited the Northern Isles, in the 1950s, in 1959, and now lives in Vlaardingen. She has studied at the order to collect speech material for the Linguistic universities of Leyden and Edinburgh and the Delft University Atlas of Scotland, he observed that Shetland dialect of Technology. Her PhD thesis, on ‘Prosodic characterisation has a so-called Scandinavian syllable structure.
  • Dalrev Vol35 Iss2 Pp158 165.Pdf (1.373Mb)

    Dalrev Vol35 Iss2 Pp158 165.Pdf (1.373Mb)

    J_ CROSSROADS OF THE NORTH By ALEX. S. MOWAT O one who knows and loves the Orkney and Shetland Islands it is surprising to find how little other people know of them and annoying to discover how often they T are confused with the Hebrides. All three, of course, are groups of islands lying off the coast of Scotland, the He­ brides to the west, the Orkneys and Shetlands to the north. 'rhey therefore have some geographic and climatic character­ istics in common. But, despite half a century and more of com­ pulsory schooling in English applied to all, the inhabitants of ..-; the northern and western isles remain very different in culture and tradition. The Hebrides once spoke only Gaelic and many still speak it as a first language. It is unknown, and always has been, in the Orkneys and Shetlands. The Hebridean is a Celt, a representative of a dying culture, looking back into the gloom and mystery of the Celtic twilight. N osta.lgia for the storied past breathes from his beaches and his shielings. He has loved and lost. The Orkney-man and the Shetlander have neither the inclination nor the time to spend on such nonsense. A shrewd and hardy vigour, descending (they declare) from their Norse an­ cestors, saves them from any trace of that melancholic lethargy sometimes attributed to the Hebridean Celt. While they are passionately attached to their islands and well versed in their history and tra<litions, they are equally interested in the latest methods of egg-production and tho price of fish at the Aber­ deen fish market.
  • Fishing for Meaning: Lived Space and Early Neolithic of Orkney Introduction

    Fishing for Meaning: Lived Space and Early Neolithic of Orkney Introduction

    Fishing for Meaning: Lived Space and early Neolithic of Orkney Introduction “Being at the junction of the North Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean … the sea is a constant, unforgettable presence in the islands.” David Fraser (1983, 224) The ‘unforgettable presence’ of the sea is notable by its absence in many accounts of the Neolithic of coastal and island areas within the British Isles. The story as most frequently told is one of terrestrial action; of monumental construction, polished stone technology, pottery and domesticates. When the sea does emerge it is often of a homogenous nature, a resource to be exploited with little significance. This treatment is diametrically opposed to the time spent in deriving meaning from action within the terrestrial landscapes of the Neolithic, within which all manner of subtle nuances and potential references are considered. Yet to people living in coastal areas and small island groups, perceptions of the sea are often anything but homogenous. As such, a myriad of skills, relationships and experiences associated with maritime practice have been marginalised in our reconstructions. This poses a problem when we come to contextualise any action within the Neolithic, maritime or terrestrial, such as monument construction because we have little idea of how these different practices articulate. This paper considers how an integration of maritime and terrestrial data within a ‘lived-space’ perspective can change our understandings. An approach that challenges stereotypes and explores relationships through the temporal and spatial nature of action is advocated. Attention will first be given to identifying archaeological stereotypes, before outlining what a lived-space perspective entails, and following its application to early Neolithic material from the Knap of Howar on Papa Westray in Orkney.
  • Orkney in the Medieval Realm of Norway

    Orkney in the Medieval Realm of Norway

    Island Studies Journal , Vol. 8, No. 2, 2013, pp. 255-268. From Asset in War to Asset in Diplomacy: Orkney in the Medieval Realm of Norway Ian Peter Grohse Norwegian University of Science and Technology Norway [email protected] Abstract : The island province of Orkney played a crucial role in Norway’s overseas expansion during the Early- and High-Middle Ages. Located just offshore from mainland Scotland, it provided a resort for westward-sailing fleets as well as a convenient springboard for military forays into Britain and down the Irish Sea. The establishment of a Norwegian-Scottish peace and the demarcation of fixed political boundaries in 1266 led to a revision of Orkney’s role in the Norwegian realm. From that point until the its pledging to the Scottish Crown in 1468, Norway depended on Orkney as a hub for diplomacy and foreign relations. This paper looks at how Orkney figured in Norwegian royal strategies in the west and presents key examples which show its transition from a tool of war to a forum for peace. Keywords : diplomacy, islands, medieval, Norway, Orkney, warfare © 2013 – Institute of Island Studies, University of Prince Edward Island, Canada Introduction For roughly seven centuries, from the late-eighth until the late-fifteenth centuries, the North Sea archipelago of Orkney was under varying degrees of influence and overlordship of the Kingdom of Norway. It was one of a string of North Sea and North Atlantic islands including Greenland, Iceland, the Faeroes, Shetland, and until 1266 the Hebrides and Man, known in contemporary texts as skattlondum (tributary countries) of the King of Norway.
  • The Environmental Context of the Neolithic Monuments on the Brodgar Isthmus, Mainland, 2 Orkney 3 Bates, C.R.1, Bates, M

    The Environmental Context of the Neolithic Monuments on the Brodgar Isthmus, Mainland, 2 Orkney 3 Bates, C.R.1, Bates, M

    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by St Andrews Research Repository 1 The environmental context of the Neolithic monuments on the Brodgar Isthmus, Mainland, 2 Orkney 3 Bates, C.R.1, Bates, M. R.2, Dawson, S.3, Huws, D.4, Whittaker, J.E.5, and Wickham-Jones, C.R.6 4 5 1 Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of St Andrews, 6 St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. KY16 9AL 7 2 School of Archaeology, History and Anthropology, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, 8 Lampeter, Ceredigion, Wales. SA48 7ED 9 3 Geography, School of Social Sciences, University of Dundee, Perth Rd, Dundee, Scotland. 10 DD1 4HN 11 4 School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Menai Bridge, Anglesey, Wales. LL59 5AB 12 5 Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London. SW7 5BD 13 6 Archaeology Department, University of Aberdeen, St Mary’s Building, Elphinstone Road, 14 Aberdeen, Scotland. AB24 3UF 15 16 Key words 17 18 Loch of Stenness, sea level change, bathymetry, seismic profiling, microfossils, Neolithic 19 World Heritage site, palaeolandscapes 20 21 22 Abstract 23 24 The World Heritage Sites of Orkney, Scotland contain iconic examples of Neolithic 25 monumentality that have provided significant information about this period of British 26 prehistory. However, currently, a complete understanding of the sites remains to be 27 achieved. This is, in part, because the monuments lack an adequate context within the 28 broader palaeolandscape. Recent investigations (seismic geophysical survey, microfossil 29 analysis and 14C dating) in and around the Brodgar Isthmus, both onshore and offshore, are 30 used to reconstruct the landscapes at a time when sea-level, climate and vegetation were 31 different to that experienced today.
  • 'Borgs', Boats and the Beginnings of Islay's Medieval Parish Network?

    'Borgs', Boats and the Beginnings of Islay's Medieval Parish Network?

    ‘Borgs’, Boats and the Beginnings of Islay’s Medieval Parish Network? Alan Macniven Introduction THE Viking1 expansion of c. AD 800 to 1050 is often assigned a formative role in the cultural and political trajectories of Europe and the North Atlantic. The Viking conquest of Anglo-Saxon England, for example, is well known, with its ‘Great Heathen Armies’, metric tonnes of silver ‘Danegeld’, and plethora of settlement names in -býr/-bœr, -þorp, and -þveitr.2 One aspect of this diaspora which remains relatively obscure, however, is its impact on the groups of islands and skerries off Scotland’s west coast which together comprise the Inner Hebrides. This paper will focus on one of these, the isle of Islay, at the south-west extremity of the archipelago, and about half-way between the mainlands of Scotland and Ireland (Figure 1). In so doing, it will question the surprisingly resilient assumption that the Inner Hebridean Viking Age was characterised largely by cultural stability and continuity from the preceding period rather than population displacement, cultural disjuncture or the lasting introduction of new forms of societal organisation. For Norwegian Vikings, it seems likely to have been the lure of Irish riches that kick-started the movement west. The economic opportunities provided by Ireland’s battlefields and marketplaces, in terms of silver, slaves, or simply the chance to build a reputation as a war-leader, offered a gateway to social status of a type fast disappearing in the Scandinavian homelands.3 It is reasonable to assume that most Norse warbands arriving in the Irish Sea 1 The term ‘Viking’ is an emotive one, fraught with pejorative connotations (eg.
  • NEWSLETTER of the ORKNEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY Issue No 57 March 2011

    NEWSLETTER of the ORKNEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY Issue No 57 March 2011

    NEWSLETTER OFSIB THE ORKNEY FAMILY FOLK HISTORY SOCIETY NEWSISSUE No 57 MARCH 2011 graphics John Sinclair 2 NEWSLETTER OF THE ORKNEY FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY Issue No 57 March 2011 ORKNEY FAMILY HISTORY NEWSLETTER Issue No 57 March 2011 CONTENTS FRONT COVER Spring From has Sprung the chair PAGE 2 From the Chair As the economic recession starts to impact on people’s lives, PAGE 3 there are likely to be many changes over this next year. In Tumbledown Orkney, the Council has been consulting with the Orkney 'UPPERTOWN' community under the banner of “Tough Times – Tough Choices”. When researching one’s family history you do not PAGES 4,5 & 6 have to go back that many years when the same could have Capt. John Robert Arthurson equally described the lives of our forbearers. In reality their predicament was probably 20 times worse than what we have to face. Our committee is now back to full strength and we welcome Morag Sinclair on to our PAGE 7 Orkney Picnic. committee. Membership continues to grow with the Society now with over 2,500 members Tumbledown since its inception. Correction The 2011 programme began in February with a talk by David Eaton on “Momento Mori” – (How we commemorate the Dead). His slide show highlighted various styles of gravestones and tombs; their inscriptions, symbolism and other aspects of how past PAGE 8 The 1911 Census generations have commemorated their ancestor’s lives and deaths. Our March programme again explores the web with an emphasis of “Emigration Records” PAGE 9 and other new sites. There continues to be expansion in the range of Website resources 'Life un the targeted at the family history market.
  • Contents List

    Contents List

    THE PAPAR PROJECT Inception, Parameters and Purpose Barbara E. Crawford The ‘papar’ Project started with a Day Conference in St. Andrews, in February 2001, the Fifth St. Andrews Dark-Age Conference. The theme of the Conference (‘The papar in the North Atlantic: Environment and History’) focussed on the remote Atlantic fringes of Scotland, and on an obscure phenomenon of the Celtic ecclesiastical world-the places in the Northern and Western Isles, and Iceland, where names containing the word papar (priests or monks) occurred. As is usual with these St. Andrews Conferences speakers were drawn from different disciplines, for this is an early medieval topic where historical, archaeological and toponymic (place-name) sources have to be brought together and considered in an attempt to gain a better understanding of a subject which is poorly documented. The papers ranged over a wide area and discussed multifarious sources, covering the actual names themselves; archaeological excavations on Papa Stronsay (Orkney), Papa Stour (Shetland) and Papey in Iceland: the sculptural evidence for early Christian sites in Scotland and Iceland; scientific soil analysis at some ‘papar’ places; and finally a consideration of the early medieval spirituality of the monks and hermits who inhabited remote and isolated places in the North Atlantic. These papers were published as a book, which is still available.i This gathering of interested people, the papers delivered, and the discussion which ensued showed how the subject suffered from a lack of detailed knowledge of the sites associated with the ‘papar’, and of the circumstances of the communities of early Christian clerics who would appear to have lived in, or been associated with, these sites.