Tayside Fife Archaeol J 12

A large double-chambered souterrain was discovered during trial excavations beside the A92 at Ardownie, Monifieth, and was subsequently excavated in 2001. It was stone-lined with large orthostats, and a corbelled roof covered at least one of the chambers. The most unusual feature of the souterrain was a stone-lined channel which probably held a draw-bar to bolt the door shut. It is suggested that the structure was used as a store for household provisions on the basis of the remains collected from the material lying within the cracks of the paved floor. Scientific analyses of the sediments and palaeoenvironmental remains indicated that the chambers started to silt up naturally, suggesting a period of abandonment before final backfilling with occupation soil. A date-range from the first century BC to the third century AD is provided by finds and radiocarbon dating, but the dates of construction and final use could not be determined with any accuracy. Later site use was evidenced by the presence of Early Historic hearth to the west of the souterrain. Includes separately authored contributions on

The paper outlines some preliminary results of the Perthshire Crannog Survey of the area's freshwater loch settlements. It is argued that much past research has emphasised the origins of Scotland's artificial and modified islands, or crannogs, and tends to see them in isolation from their natural counterparts, with the result that they are often considered in a largely prehistoric context rather than as a phenomenon which continued to be significant into the late medieval and early modern periods. The survey uses historical and archaeological data to explore the possibilities for developing fuller biographies of crannogs and other occupied islets. The results tend to support this approach as they indicate a wide range of dates for when islands were in use and indicate more about their roles in later periods.

Fieldwork carried out between 1997 and 2000 on the Scottish medieval hospital is discussed and its results are considered. A full list of all the various types of hospital is given and suggestions are made for the protection and possible excavation of this monument type. Includes

Introduction to accompanying CD containing data on finds of French pottery in Scotland in the late medieval and early modern periods.