Description
In this issue:
– DIGGING SEDGEFORD: A people’s archaeology
– UNDER THE INFLUENCE: Drinking rituals in Iron Age Scotland
– THE DRUMCLAY CRANNOG-DWELLERS: Revealing 1,000 years of lakeside living
– DEATH ON RIDGEWAY HILL: How science unlocked the secrets of a mass grave
Plus: News, Reviews, Comment, Sherds, Odd Socs, and more!
From the Editor:
What is the lost island of Drumclay, as featured on this month’s cover? Established in the 8th century, on the shore of Knockalough in Northern Ireland, it was in use for a millennium. But this is no ordinary island: it is a crannog ‚ an artificial island ‚ that was built on top of a series of wooden piles driven directly into the lakebed. How did the crannog work? What was life like on the crannog? And how did people maintain this extraordinary existence? Though crannogs are known from across Ireland and Scotland, few have been scientifically investigated. The excavations at the Drumclay crannog are thus revolutionising our understanding of this early medieval phenomenon.
From water, we then turn to alcohol, and an exploration of the role of drinking rituals in Roman-era Scotland.
But was this a case of getting drunk and disorderly, or something else? Certainly it seems that some of those in power used alcohol to create or bind the social order, as a new study of Roman glassware explores.
For an analysis using very modern techniques, turn to our next article, where we offer the latest findings from the Ridgeway Hill mass grave. Chief scientist, Louise Loe, explains how she and her team have helped to date, age, and understand more about the horrific deaths of some 50 men who were found beheaded on a Dorset hilltop.
Finally, we hear from CA’s former editor, Neil Faulkner, whose excavations at the Anglo-Saxon site of Sedgeford are nearing their 20th year. Neil synthesises his current thinking, and explains why this is a people’s archaeology. Good reading!
Cover Date: Feb-2015, Volume 25 Issue 11