Antiquity 65 (249)

A report on a statistical approach that would allow for prior or additional archaeological knowledge to be taken into consideration with regard to radiocarbon dating results.

Improvements for the future are recommended in the following areas: internal consistency/collegiality within the discipline; general perceptions about the fundamental reasons for pursuing archaeology at all; consistency and dedication on the part of professional organisations; approaches to the international trade in portable antiquities; approaches to inter-disciplinary work and, in association with this, making the best use of interaction with areas such as the natural and behavioural sciences when it occurs; finally, failure to react appropriately, be it positively or negatively, to special interest or minority pressure groups.

The discovery of a ceramic production centre at La Londe locates much previously unprovenanced material from centres including Hamwic, Ipswich, London and Quentovic and confirms another element in the north European trading pattern.

A settlement mound at Pool on the island of Sanday in Orkney brings together the two Orcadian Neolithic ceramic traditions on one site. Incised and applied types had previously been viewed as functional aspects of the `Grooved Ware' assemblage. However, clear chronological difference coupled with the striking contrast in pottery technology indicate that they are in fact different traditions.