n.a., (1974). Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 106. Edinburgh: Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.

The first two authors report on the excavation of a series of cairns in the Aline Valley, Morvern: Acharn (NM 702504, NM 697507), Claggan (NM 697493) and Kinlochaline (NM 692474). The latter two sites belong to the kerb-cairn class of monument, and a discussion of kerb-cairns in Argyll, Perthshire, Aberdeenshire and N Wales is provided by Lynch and Ritchie. Charcoal associated with central cremation burials at Claggan gave radiocarbon dates centred on c 1000 bc. D N Marshall reports on the excavation of an allied monument at Portavadie, Cowal (NR 933691). An appendix records mesolithic sites with microburins and microliths at Acharn, Morvern (NM 697504). AR

Continues an earlier study of pit placenames: their distribution in E Scotland is seen to correlate with the best agricultural land, and their suffixes with agricultural associations indicate that the Picts practised a mixed farming economy. The unit of land denoted by the pit element appears to have been variable but small. Dating evidence can be interpreted in two ways, one indicating the 9th and 10th centuries AD and the other pointing to an earlier pre-Norse origin and to a wider primary distribution of pit names.

NH 824998. A decorated gilt-bronze pin was found in 1974 at Golspie; one side of the flat head is decorated in cast 'chip-carved' technique with a male face, characterized by 'frown-lines' on the brow and prominent ears. The pin is unique in Scotland, but its decoration and technique link it to Pictish stone-carving and metalwork of the 8th and 9th centuries AD, and its findspot lies in an area of known Pictish activity. AR

NF 9891. Part of a gilt-bronze equal-armed brooch found at Northton, Harris, is identified as the first British find of Petersen's 'Troms type', a specifically Norwegian form datable to 9th century. The reverse of the brooch shows a clear positive impression of a fine regular textile with an unusual herringbone twill pattern. AR