The Spatial Distribution of Activities Between Three Middle Iron Age Structures At
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University of Bradford eThesis This thesis is hosted in Bradford Scholars – The University of Bradford Open Access repository. Visit the repository for full metadata or to contact the repository team © University of Bradford. This work is licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence. THE ARCHITECTURE OF FOOD Consumption and society in the Iron Age of Atlantic Scotland, with special reference to the site of Old Scatness, Shetland John Richard SUMMERS Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Division of Archaeological, Geographical and Environmental Sciences University of Bradford 2011 1 The Architecture of Food: Consumption and Society in Iron Age Atlantic Scotland, with Special Reference to the Site of Old Scatness, Shetland Supervisors: Dr J M Bond and Mr S J Dockrill, Division of Archaeological, Geographical and Environmental Sciences, University of Bradford, BD7 1DP. Abstract: Food is the foundation upon which societies are built. It is a means of survival, a source of wealth and prosperity and can be used as a means of social display. In Iron Age Atlantic Scotland, a wide range of food resources were open to exploitation. Among these, barley is likely to have been an important backbone to the system. Far from being at the mercy of the elements, the Iron Age population of Atlantic Scotland was able to extract surpluses of food from the landscape which could be manipulated for social, political and economic gain. One means through which this could be achieved is feasting, a practice considered significant elsewhere in the Iron Age. With such ideas at its core, this thesis examines the main arenas for consumption events in Iron Age Atlantic Scotland (dwellings) in detail, considering also the underpinnings of the system in terms of food production and accumulation, in particular the barley crop. The distribution of food processing and preparation between a dwelling and its associated ancillary buildings at Old Scatness provides insights into the organisation of life on the settlement. Keywords: Northern Isles; Social Organisation; Archaeobotany; Archaeology; Economy; Hearths; Agriculture; Feasting I Acknowledgements: This work was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. First and foremost among my acknowledgements I would like to show my gratitude to my wife Louise for her unconditional support and infinite patience throughout the last four years. My supervisors Julie Bond and Steve Dockrill have given great support and guidance during my research and have been a source of inspiration from the very beginning of my archaeological career. Access to material and archives from Old Scatness was granted by the North Atlantic Research Unit, University of Bradford. The research unit also gave immense help and support. In particular I would like to thank Julia Cussans for supplying some of her faunal data from Old Scatness, Dan Bashford for drawing Figure 1 and Zoe Outram for many enlightening discussions. Others who have given very useful discussions on a range of topics include Lindsey Büster, Sarah-Jane Clelland and Mhairi Maxwell. Also, Robert Legg saved many frustrating hours by providing basic training in the use of GIS software. I am incredibly grateful to Jane Outram, Rick Barton and Jim Keddie for their great hospitality as well as providing their technical skills in experiments to recreate the Structure 8 oven at Old Scatness. II Table of Contents: 1: Introduction: ........................................................................................................ 1 1.1: Research aim: ......................................................................................................... 1 1.2: Research objectives: .............................................................................................. 2 1: Use of the Iron Age architectural record of North Atlantic Scotland as an identifier for changes in social interaction. .............................................................. 2 2: Reconstruction of the economic basis of the Old Scatness settlement, seen through the archaeobotanical record. ...................................................................... 3 3: Interrogation of the integrated archaeological record from Old Scatness. ......... 4 4: Interpretation and the production of a hypothesis. ............................................. 5 1.3: Food and human culture: ....................................................................................... 5 1.4: Atlantic Scotland: ................................................................................................... 9 1.4.1: Iron Age Atlantic Scotland:............................................................................ 11 1.5: Old Scatness – a brief introduction: ..................................................................... 14 1.6: Organisation of the thesis: ................................................................................... 16 2: Hearth and home in the Iron Age of Atlantic Scotland ......................................... 17 2.1: Introduction ......................................................................................................... 17 2.1.1: Fire, cooking and culture: ............................................................................. 18 2.1.2: The role of hearths in the home: .................................................................. 21 2.1.3: Hearths in relation to prehistoric cooking: ................................................... 24 2.1.4: Hearths in the home – previous studies: ...................................................... 26 2.1.5: Regional building studies: ............................................................................. 32 2.2: Methodology: ....................................................................................................... 39 2.2.1: Research area and data selection: ................................................................ 39 III 2.2.2: Data collection: ............................................................................................. 41 2.2.3: Data analysis: ................................................................................................ 42 2.3: Results: ................................................................................................................. 45 2.3.1: Sites included – important inclusions and omissions: .................................. 45 2.3.2: Significant gaps in the data: .......................................................................... 52 2.3.3: Ubiquity analysis – hearths, ovens/kilns/furnaces & tanks: ......................... 54 2.3.4: Occurrence of different features associated with hearths: .......................... 67 2.3.5: Structure and hearth size: ............................................................................. 74 2.3.6: Summary of structure and hearth size calculations: .................................... 88 2.3.7: Stone-lined tanks/sinks: ................................................................................ 89 2.4: Hearths in Iron Age houses: ................................................................................. 93 2.4.1: Hearths, houses and social organisation: ..................................................... 94 2.4.2: Early Iron Age: ............................................................................................... 95 2.4.3: Middle Iron Age:.......................................................................................... 107 2.4.4: Late Iron Age: .............................................................................................. 129 2.5: Conclusions: ....................................................................................................... 137 2.5.1: Suggestions for further work ...................................................................... 141 3: Food production: the backbone of life and society ............................................ 143 3.1: Introduction: ...................................................................................................... 143 3.1.1: Previous archaeobotanical research in Iron Age Atlantic Scotland: ........... 144 3.1.2: Other aspects of the economy in Iron Age Atlantic Scotland: .................... 146 3.1.3: Current understanding of the prehistoric economy: .................................. 148 3.1.4: Background to the Old Scatness plant remains: ......................................... 149 3.2: Methodology: ..................................................................................................... 151 IV 3.2.1: Sample Collection & Processing: ................................................................. 151 3.2.2: Sample selection: ........................................................................................ 152 3.2.3: Identification: .............................................................................................. 152 3.2.4: Quantification – cereals: ............................................................................. 153 3.2.5: Quantification – non-cereal remains: ......................................................... 153 3.2.6: Preservation and modification - cereals: .................................................... 154 3.2.8: Metrical analysis: ........................................................................................ 155 3.2.9: Numerical analysis: ..................................................................................... 155 3.3: Results & Discussion: ........................................................................................