This report presents the results of a historic building survey and archaeological watching brief undertaken between 1998 and 2001 during restoration work (undertaken as part of the Scottish Dance Base development) on the Flodden Wall running between Edinburgh's Grassmarket and Johnston Terrace. The Flodden Wall is the name given to the 16th-century extension of the capital's town defences, traditionally seen as having been constructed in the months following the defeat at Flodden in 1513. Prior to this project the extent and condition of this particular stretch of the Flodden Wall (the north-western boundary of the Grassmarket and a Scheduled Ancient Monument) was not fully understood. This project has shown that here the Flodden Wall and surrounding area had undergone three major phases of construction and redevelopment, from its origins in the early 16th century to the formation of a drying green (Granny's Green) to the west of the Wall in the late 19th century. In par...

The Hillforts of Strathdon Project explored the chronological relationships between the various hill-forts (Cook 2010). The aim was to undertake keyhole excavation, with local volunteers on a range of these sites to recover dating evidence. The project examined six hillforts over five years: Bruce’s Camp (NJ71NE 3; Cook et al forthcoming), Maiden Castle (NJ62SE2); Dunnideer (NJ62NW1; Cook et al 2008); Hill of Newleslie (NJ52NE 31), Hill of Barra (NJ82NW 4; Cook et al 2009) and Cairnmore (NJ52SW 9; Cook et al 2010). This paper presents an interim account of the work at Maiden Castle and proposes that the architecture of the fortifications represents a deliberate choice laden with meaning and significance. Two potential sources for the architecture are identified, the first, Iron Age hillforts and Complex Atlantic Roundhouses (and cognate forms) and the second, putative west coast early medieval duns and Irish raths. Finally, these potential choices will be set in the context of the dynamic religious and political situation in contemporary North-East Scotland.

Nuclear hillforts, first described by Stevenson (1949), are forts with a central, or citadel enclosure that have a series of outworks looping off the central enclosure creating a descending hierarchy of terraces, producing an organisation of space. This dissertation is the first detailed definition of these Early Medieval hillforts. It creates the first comprehensive database and distribution maps of nuclear hillforts in Scotland. The database was created using the Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland and Canmore. The data was created and placed in a Microsoft Access database. Five case study forts of Perth and Kinross and Fife are evaluated through ArcGIS, the case studies include Norman’s Law, Dunearn, Dummiefarline, Dunsinane Hill, and Barry Hill. These five forts are examined and analysed with the six known and excavated nuclear forts of; Clatchard Craig, Dundurn, Dunadd, Trusty’s Hill, Mote of Mark, and Burghead, to understand similar characteristics between them. It is also suggested that the hillfort types of courtyard forts, citadel forts, and dun with outworks fort should be subcategories of nuclear forts to create a more defined catalogue of Early Medieval hillforts. An appendix was created of all nuclear and possible nuclear forts in Perth and Kinross and Fife with a brief discussion on the morphology and possible nuclear qualities

Battlefield archaeology has provided a new way of appreciating historic battlefields. This paper provides a summary of the long history of warfare and conflict in Scotland which has given rise to a large number of battlefield sites. Recent moves to highlight the archaeological importance of these sites, in the form of Historic Scotland’s Battlefields Inventory are discussed, along with some of the problems associated with the preservation and management of these important cultural sites.

This paper introduces the theme of a special issue exploring the connections between castles (broadly defined as medieval fortified sites) and their landscapes, from archaeological and heritage perspectives. It includes a brief case study of how some of the castles in Occitanie, southern France, have been connected with their landscapes in the construction of Le Pays Cathare within the context of promoting regional tourism.

Edited by Herbert Karner, Ingrid Ciulisová and Bernardo J. García García