Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 128

Reports on work carried out between 1985 and 1986 at a large banked enclosure with an associated smaller enclosure, on the edge of an ancient bog. It is suggested that the site had both ritual and domestic associations. There are specialist contributions on: `Soils' by David Jordan (35--7); `Pollen analysis' by Susan Ramsay (37--40); `Pottery' by Olivia Lelong (40); `Worked stone' by Tony Pollard (40--1); and `Dendrochronological analysis of three wooden posts' by Anne Crone (42--3).

Records the find of a Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age artefact from a boggy glacial depression with disturbed organic deposits. Discusses the possibility that it may have votive significance but considers it unlikely based on an examination of palynological evidence.

Notes the discovery of a receptacle containing a cremation deposit in the garden of a private house and subsequent investigation at the find spot. The encrustation on the inside of the urn produced a radiocarbon date of 1626--1408 cal BC and it is suggested that the container may have been used for domestic purposes prior to burial. Post excavation analyses include: `Cordoned urn' (146--8) and `Chemical analysis' (151--3) by Andy Jones;`Cremated human remains' by Julie Roberts (148--9); `DNA analysis' by Gavin MacGregor (150); `Magnetic susceptibility' by John Syme Duncan (150--1); `Pollen and macroscopic plant remains' by Susan Ramsay (153--5); and `Quartz' by Mike Donnelly (155--6).

Reports on work carried out in advance of forestry development which revealed Bronze Age hut circles, cairns and burnt mounds.

Examines accounts of work carried out in 1911 and discusses investigations of 1995 which suggest that the primary structure was an Atlantic roundhouse. The author collaborates with Richard Strachan on `The islet' (261--62) and Alan Braby on `Excavation' (262--8).

Reports on work that revealed evidence of occupation of what was essentially a fortified farmhouse by a native elite group practising a mixed-farming economy. There are a number of specialist sections on: `Wooden posts' by John Barber (301--2); `Palaeobotanical remains' by W E Boyd (310--16); `Animal bone' by Catherine Smith & Archie Young (316--20); `Iron Age and Roman pottery' (321--31), `Objects of fired clay' (332--5) and `Industrial fired clay objects' (371--6) by Steven Willis; `Medieval and post medieval pottery' by David Caldwell (331--2); `Roman glass' by Dominic Ingemark (335--7); `Other glass finds' (337--8), `Copper alloy' (338--46), `Lead' (352--6) and `Iron' (356--67), `Analysis of the cannel coal bangle fragment 409' (390), `Amber' (390--1), `Worked bone and antler' (392--3) and `Discussion of the artefact assemblage' (393--401) by Fraser Hunter; `Roman coins' by Anne S Robertson (346--7); `EDXRF analysis of copper-alloy artefacts' (347--52) and `EDXRF analysis of crucible and mould fragments' (376--7) by David Dungworth; `Preliminary metallurgical analysis of some iron objects' by Gerry McDonnell (367--9); `Ironworking debris' by Michael Spearman & Fraser Hunter (370); `Metalworking debris within the brooch' by Liz Slater (370--1); `Stone' by Ann Clarke (377--86); and an `Analysis of the deposits on sandstone mortars 302 & 473' by Peter Davidson (390).

Gathers together data from Ptolemy's Geographia and other historical and archaeological information in drawing up a military map of the period. Tables 3--6 appear in the appendices as: `Table 3: Identification of places (in Geographia order) for Ptolemy's Britain and Ireland' (436); `Table 4: Additional, significant, named pre-Flavian sites/locations in England & Wales' (437--8); `Table 5: Roman named sites in Britain excluded from Flavian map' (438); and `Table 6: Un-named, probable Flavian sites in Roman Scotland' (439).

Discusses work carried out in 1992 which defined the ditch and rampart of the frontier and produced a pollen diagram outlining environmental and economic activities in the area for 500--600 years after its construction in a possibly established open landscape.

Notes the body of evidence from Whithorn, Dumfries and Galloway and Buiston, Ayrshire which has produced a master chronology known as SCOTEH (Scottish and Early Historic) covering the period AD250--752. Also discusses the lack of correlation in attempts to date smaller assemblages from Iona, Dundurn, Loch Glashan and Castle Loch.

A presentation of Pictish and other northern British illustrations from stones, documents and metalwork of the seventh to ninth centuries AD.

Discusses the 1896 and 1997 archaeological investigations of the monastery and associated structures and reviews the literature and documentation related to the foundation dating back to the sixth century. Comparisons are drawn with Whithorn, Galloway, in terms of the layout of the monastic complex . A D S Macdonald writes on `Early Kingarth' (553--5).