Abstract Roundhouses are ubiquitous features of Iron Age landscapes across North West Europe, yet... more Abstract Roundhouses are ubiquitous features of Iron Age landscapes across North West Europe, yet the way they were used internally is not well understood. We demonstrate how spatial analyses of steroid lipid biomarkers advances our understanding of household activities, living conditions and animal management associated with a well-preserved 5th century BCE roundhouse from Scotland's first Iron Age wetland village, Black Loch of Myrton, especially when combined with more traditional archaeological approaches. Faecal steroids (5β-stanols and bile acids) are well preserved within the wetland roundhouse floor deposits. Diffuse faecal inputs are identified within these deposits, limiting the resolution of faecal source discrimination compared with studies of concentrated faecal remains. However, analysis of both 5β-stanols and bile acids enables discrimination between ruminant (sheep, goat and cattle), pig and horse/human faecal remains. By integrating faunal data and entomological dung indicators we are able to characterise the on-site presence of animals associated with these archaeological structures. Steroids indicate short-lived and/or temporary pulses of dung deposition within the Iron Age roundhouse case study structure, which can be very difficult to determine using other archaeological proxies. Furthermore, our multiproxy results demonstrate the molecular preservation of steroids within deposits that have been subjected to regular floor cleaning, which is associated with the removal macrofossil proxies. Comparisons of multiproxy faecal signatures of the inner and outer sections of the structure show temporal and spatial heterogeneity in usage and living conditions. The faecal signature points to temporary sheltering of animals within the inner section of the structure. The multi-use and division of different activities within the roundhouse, determined by steroids, marks an important contribution to broader archaeological debates surrounding structures, their functions and re-use.
Environmental Archaeology The Journal of Human Palaeoecology, 2019
The ongoing excavations at Black Loch of Myrton in south-west Scotland have revealed the existenc... more The ongoing excavations at Black Loch of Myrton in south-west Scotland have revealed the existence of an Iron Age wetland village, preserved through both waterlogging and charring. Of particular interest is a single roundhouse (Structure 2) from which a large macroplant assemblage has been recovered. Dendrochronology and radiocarbon dating have revealed that this roundhouse was in use from 435 BC for approximately 30–40 years. However, very few artefacts were found within the structure and its function remains unclear. By employing a range of sampling techniques and analytical methods to study the macroplant assemblage, it has been possible to more fully understand the role of plant material in the construction and development of this building. Analyses undertaken at both the macro and micro scales, coupled with excavation of stratigraphically distinct floor layers observed within monolith samples, have allowed for identification and arrangement of the plant materials used for const...
Excavations at Black Loch of Myrton, Dumfries & Galloway are
revealing the very well-preserved re... more Excavations at Black Loch of Myrton, Dumfries & Galloway are revealing the very well-preserved remains of an Iron Age settlement, the wetland context ensuring that the timber structures have remained intact and that the detritus of daily occupation survives for us to pick apart and understand. One of the structures in this settlement is an exceptionally well-preserved roundhouse, the material remains of which have been subjected to a barrage of analyses encompassing the insect, macroplant, bone and wood assemblages, soil micromorphology, faecal steroids, radiocarbon-dating and dendrochronology. These will enable us to address some of the key issues regarding the life cycles of Iron Age roundhouses, from conception and construction, use of internal space, nature of occupation and likely function, through to abandonment. Critically, we are now able to view that life cycle through the lens of a tightly-defined chronology bringing us close to the ‘ …short-term timescales of lived reality’ [Foxhall, L. 2000. “The Running Sands of Time: Archaeology and the Short-Term.” World Archaeology 31 (3): 484–498].
Abstract Roundhouses are ubiquitous features of Iron Age landscapes across North West Europe, yet... more Abstract Roundhouses are ubiquitous features of Iron Age landscapes across North West Europe, yet the way they were used internally is not well understood. We demonstrate how spatial analyses of steroid lipid biomarkers advances our understanding of household activities, living conditions and animal management associated with a well-preserved 5th century BCE roundhouse from Scotland's first Iron Age wetland village, Black Loch of Myrton, especially when combined with more traditional archaeological approaches. Faecal steroids (5β-stanols and bile acids) are well preserved within the wetland roundhouse floor deposits. Diffuse faecal inputs are identified within these deposits, limiting the resolution of faecal source discrimination compared with studies of concentrated faecal remains. However, analysis of both 5β-stanols and bile acids enables discrimination between ruminant (sheep, goat and cattle), pig and horse/human faecal remains. By integrating faunal data and entomological dung indicators we are able to characterise the on-site presence of animals associated with these archaeological structures. Steroids indicate short-lived and/or temporary pulses of dung deposition within the Iron Age roundhouse case study structure, which can be very difficult to determine using other archaeological proxies. Furthermore, our multiproxy results demonstrate the molecular preservation of steroids within deposits that have been subjected to regular floor cleaning, which is associated with the removal macrofossil proxies. Comparisons of multiproxy faecal signatures of the inner and outer sections of the structure show temporal and spatial heterogeneity in usage and living conditions. The faecal signature points to temporary sheltering of animals within the inner section of the structure. The multi-use and division of different activities within the roundhouse, determined by steroids, marks an important contribution to broader archaeological debates surrounding structures, their functions and re-use.
Environmental Archaeology The Journal of Human Palaeoecology, 2019
The ongoing excavations at Black Loch of Myrton in south-west Scotland have revealed the existenc... more The ongoing excavations at Black Loch of Myrton in south-west Scotland have revealed the existence of an Iron Age wetland village, preserved through both waterlogging and charring. Of particular interest is a single roundhouse (Structure 2) from which a large macroplant assemblage has been recovered. Dendrochronology and radiocarbon dating have revealed that this roundhouse was in use from 435 BC for approximately 30–40 years. However, very few artefacts were found within the structure and its function remains unclear. By employing a range of sampling techniques and analytical methods to study the macroplant assemblage, it has been possible to more fully understand the role of plant material in the construction and development of this building. Analyses undertaken at both the macro and micro scales, coupled with excavation of stratigraphically distinct floor layers observed within monolith samples, have allowed for identification and arrangement of the plant materials used for const...
Excavations at Black Loch of Myrton, Dumfries & Galloway are
revealing the very well-preserved re... more Excavations at Black Loch of Myrton, Dumfries & Galloway are revealing the very well-preserved remains of an Iron Age settlement, the wetland context ensuring that the timber structures have remained intact and that the detritus of daily occupation survives for us to pick apart and understand. One of the structures in this settlement is an exceptionally well-preserved roundhouse, the material remains of which have been subjected to a barrage of analyses encompassing the insect, macroplant, bone and wood assemblages, soil micromorphology, faecal steroids, radiocarbon-dating and dendrochronology. These will enable us to address some of the key issues regarding the life cycles of Iron Age roundhouses, from conception and construction, use of internal space, nature of occupation and likely function, through to abandonment. Critically, we are now able to view that life cycle through the lens of a tightly-defined chronology bringing us close to the ‘ …short-term timescales of lived reality’ [Foxhall, L. 2000. “The Running Sands of Time: Archaeology and the Short-Term.” World Archaeology 31 (3): 484–498].
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Papers by Lynne Roy
revealing the very well-preserved remains of an Iron Age
settlement, the wetland context ensuring that the timber
structures have remained intact and that the detritus of daily
occupation survives for us to pick apart and understand. One of
the structures in this settlement is an exceptionally well-preserved
roundhouse, the material remains of which have been subjected
to a barrage of analyses encompassing the insect, macroplant,
bone and wood assemblages, soil micromorphology, faecal
steroids, radiocarbon-dating and dendrochronology. These will
enable us to address some of the key issues regarding the life
cycles of Iron Age roundhouses, from conception and
construction, use of internal space, nature of occupation and likely
function, through to abandonment. Critically, we are now able to
view that life cycle through the lens of a tightly-defined
chronology bringing us close to the ‘ …short-term timescales of
lived reality’ [Foxhall, L. 2000. “The Running Sands of Time:
Archaeology and the Short-Term.” World Archaeology 31 (3):
484–498].
revealing the very well-preserved remains of an Iron Age
settlement, the wetland context ensuring that the timber
structures have remained intact and that the detritus of daily
occupation survives for us to pick apart and understand. One of
the structures in this settlement is an exceptionally well-preserved
roundhouse, the material remains of which have been subjected
to a barrage of analyses encompassing the insect, macroplant,
bone and wood assemblages, soil micromorphology, faecal
steroids, radiocarbon-dating and dendrochronology. These will
enable us to address some of the key issues regarding the life
cycles of Iron Age roundhouses, from conception and
construction, use of internal space, nature of occupation and likely
function, through to abandonment. Critically, we are now able to
view that life cycle through the lens of a tightly-defined
chronology bringing us close to the ‘ …short-term timescales of
lived reality’ [Foxhall, L. 2000. “The Running Sands of Time:
Archaeology and the Short-Term.” World Archaeology 31 (3):
484–498].