Barber, J. W. (1997). The excavation of a stalled cairn at the Point of Cott, Westray, Orkney.

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Title: The excavation of a stalled cairn at the Point of Cott, Westray, Orkney
Series: STAR Monograph
Volume: 1
Number of Pages: 98
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Publication Type: Monograph (in Series)
Abstract: Prevailing models of cairns as mounds of stone and chambers as ossuary dumps proved unreliable; patterns were detected in architecture and deposition. The impact of the cairn in the relatively undomesticated landscape is stressed: the skill and organisation required for its building argues against an egalitarian society. Direct -- if limited -- contact between Orkney and the rest of the Atlantic seaboard is inferred. Cairns could be quickly erected and as quickly removed, so their survival may not represent the original distribution on better land. There are specialist contributions on: `The pottery' by A MacSween (27--9); `The lithic assemblage' (30--4) and `Coarse stone and pumice' (35) by N Finlay; `Whale ivory beads' by A MacSween & N Finlay (35--6); `The human bone' by F Lee (37--44); `Animal bone' by E Halpin (45--50); `Bird bone' by M Harman (50--1); `Fish and amphibians' by J Coy & S Hamilton-Dyer (51--3); and `The microfossil content of excavated samples' by S Butler (54--7). Appendix I catalogues human bone (79--90).
Author: John W Barber
Year of Publication: 1997
ISBN: 0951934430
Locations:
Location - Auto Detected: Orkney
Note: Date Of Issue From: 1997
Source:
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BIAB (The British & Irish Archaeological Bibliography (BIAB))
Created Date: 21 Jan 2002