From Machair to Mountains
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From Machair to Mountains

Archaeological Survey And Excavation in South Uist

Michael Parker Pearson

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From Machair to Mountains

Archaeological Survey And Excavation in South Uist

Michael Parker Pearson

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About This Book

South Uist in the Outer Hebrides has some of the best preserved archaeological remains within Britain and even further afield. Three distinct ecological zones - grassland machair plain, peaty blackland and mountains - each bear the imprint of human occupation over many millennia. The machair strip, long uninhabited, is filled with hundreds of settlement mounds, occupied from the Beaker period 4, 000 years ago until a few centuries ago. The blacklands bear the traces of past farming practices as well as the remains of medieval settlements, more recent blackhouses and lochs containing duns, brochs and crannogs. In the hills lie the upstanding remains of shielings, Iron Age wheelhouses and Neolithic chambered tombs. The results of large-scale excavations of Bronze Age houses (Cladh Hallan), an Iron Age broch (Dun Vulan), Viking settlements (Bornais and Cille Pheadair) and post-medieval blackhouses (Airigh Mhuillin), combined with extensive surveys and small-scale excavations that have identified hundreds of new sites, are being brought together in a series of volumes to provide an invaluable record and assessment of South Uist's archaeology covering the last 6, 000 years. The large set-piece excavations are to be published in separate monographs. The results of the surveys and small-scale excavations are presented here.

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Information

Publisher
Oxbow Books
Year
2012
ISBN
9781842178850
Introduction

1 Introduction
Mike Parker Pearson and Helen Smith
The SEARCH project (Sheffield Environmental and Archaeological Research Campaign in the Hebrides) commenced in 1987 and covered the southern islands of Scotland’s Western Isles, also known as the Outer Hebrides. One team, led by Keith Branigan, Pat Foster and Colin Merrony, concentrated their research on Barra and the small isles at the southernmost end of the island chain (Branigan 2005; Branigan and Foster 1995; 2000; 2002) and the other was based on South Uist (Parker Pearson et al. 2004). A third team carried out an integrated series of environmental projects investigating palynology, vegetation, palaeoentomology, dune geomorphology, climate change, phytoliths, animal husbandry, crop processing and related fields across South Uist and Barra (Gilbertson et al. 1996).
The 1980s was an ideal moment to commence a major archaeological research project on South Uist and Barra. The southern islands had been largely ignored by archaeologists since the 1950s; besides the work of Iain Crawford at the Udal in North Uist, Ian Shepherd at Rosinish, Denis Harding and Ian Armit’s Edinburgh University projects in Lewis and North Uist, only John Barber’s Scottish Office Central Unit prehistoric farmstead project had extended as far as this southernmost island group.
While working for Historic Scotland and then as a lecturer at Cardiff University, Niall Sharples joined the research team on South Uist to excavate the broch of Dun Vulan (Parker Pearson and Sharples 1999), later developing a number of Cardiff-led research investigations in the late 1990s and early 2000s. His excavations on the Iron Age and Norse-period settlement at Bornais accompanied those of the Sheffield-led team at Cladh Hallan (Bronze Age and Iron Age) and Cille Pheadair (Norse period). These large-scale excavations are not included in this volume, being published separately.
South Uist – the environmental background
Before discussing the research background, a short description of South Uist will be useful for readers not wholly acquainted with the island and its position within the Western Isles. The Outer Hebrides are situated 60–80km off the northwest coast of Scotland, separated from the mainland by The Minch in the north and the Sea of the Hebrides in the south. Forming a breakwater against the Atlantic from Cape Wrath in the north to Ardnamurchan in the south, the Outer Hebrides provide some shelter to the mainland and Inner Hebrides, situated to the east. The archipelago stretches 213km from The Butt of Lewis to Barra Head, and consists of 119 named islands of which only 16 are now permanently inhabited (Boyd 1979). The island chain, once known as ‘The Long Island’ (Carmichael 1884), divides geographically into two main groups, the Sound of Harris separating Lewis and Harris (total area c.214,000 ha) from the southern islands (total area c.76,000 ha), namely North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist and Barra.
South Uist (Uibhist a Deas) is an island 30km north– south and 12km east–west (Figure 1.1). To the north of it lies Benbecula and, beyond, North Uist. To the south, beyond the island of Eriskay (Eirisgeigh) and other small uninhabited islands, are Barra and the southern isles.
The land is mountainous in Harris, gently undulating in Lewis and generally low-lying in North Uist, South Uist and Benbecula, with the exception of Eaval (347m) on the southeast of North Uist and a ridge of mountains along the east side of South Uist, the highest of which, Beinn Mhòr, rises to 620m. The majority of the land is, however, below 100m Ordnance Datum. Numerous lochs occur in the low-lying land of North Uist, Benbecula and South Uist.
Geology
The Outer Hebrides were formed over 3,000 million years ago from an eroded platform of Precambrian Lewisian gneiss whose primary components are quartz and mica. Subsequent episodes of significance to present-day Hebridean geology were the major emplacements of granite in Harris and south Lewis – the Scourian (older than 2,200 million years old) and the Laxfordian (less than 2,200 million years old). The only sedimentary rock is Triassic sandstone, occurring around the shores of Broad Bay, Lewis. The whole of the Uists are made of Lewisian gneiss, with a thrust plane running northeast–southwest, associated with the mountainous band on the eastern seaboard. On the west coast the sea bed is shallow, owing to a submerged platform forming an extensive area of continental shelf. Differential erosion of the gneiss, coupled with a complex fault patterning, has contributed to the irregular surface of the hard rock (Boyd and Boyd 1990; Gribble 1991).
Figure 1.1. Map of South Uist showing the major sites investigated 1991–2003
The present-day landscape results from glacial activity in the Quaternary era, during which the hard, acid Lewisian gneiss was eroded, leaving a gently undulating platform, trenched and hollowed along ancient fault lines. Glacial drifts of gravels and sands were deposited onto the ice-sculpted platform. Between 9,000 and 5,000 years ago the Lewisian platform subsided, owing to differential rates of sea level rise and isostatic uplift, which resulted in the formation of numerous salt-water lochs following marine inundations. In the Uists, the glacial deposits are now eroded in places or overlain by peat, particularly in the upland regions in the east, and divided by oligotrophic freshwater lochs. On the western seaboard, the glacial deposits and peat are overlain by highly calcareous windblown sand, forming dune systems and sandy plains with eutrophic lochs (Boyd and Boyd 1990).
Soil
The southern Outer Hebrides can be divided into three broad zones of soil types. On South Uist (Figure 1.2), the eastern third is the hilly and mountainous area that comes down to the sea in a series of three fjord-like sea lochs separated by a rugged coastline of low cliffs. The middle zone is an area of shallow peat soils, known as ‘blackland’, interspersed with myriad small freshwater lochs. To the west, the sea covers a shallow shelf that stretches out for about 20km from the coastline. This was formerly dry land in the Mesolithic and Early Neolithic but has since become inundated. The most distinct landform of South Uist and the Western Isles is the zone of calcareous sand that covers the island’s west coast and is known as machair. With the associated dune systems, the machair covers approximately 120 square kilometres along the west coast of North Uist, Benbecula and South Uist. The machair forms an almost continuous fertile strip along this exposed Atlantic coast. It supports grass vegetation and extends inland for about a kilometre along the west coast (Figure 1.3); small pockets of it can also be found on the north and south coasts of the Uist islands.
Figure 1.2. Landscape zones on South Uist, after Ritchie 1979
Figure 1.3. South Uist’s machair plain on the west side of the island at Bornais
The machair comprises grassland formed on gently sloping shell sand deposits. The nature and evolution of machair formation is discussed in detail by Ritchie and colleagues (1976; 1979; Ritchie and Whittington 1994; Edwards et al. 2005). Large quantities of shell sand were swept landwards, aided by rising sea levels, to form an extensive pre-machair dune system. High-energy waves and strong Atlantic winds caused the deflation of beach dunes and swept sand inland. Where the sand stabilized, calcophile grassland established to form long stretches of sandy machair plain. Radiocarbon dates for offshore peats pre-dating the machair suggest that machair formation commenced before 5700 BP (Ritchie 1979).
The calcareous soils have high pH values, 6.5 to 7.5 in top soils and 7.5 to 8.0 in subsoils. The dune-machair soils range from calcareous regosols and brown calcareous soils to poorly drained calcareous gleys and peaty calcareous gleys, depending on the drainage conditions and level of the water table (Glentworth 1979; Hudson 1991). Water percolating from the freely draining sands has contributed to the formation of lochs and fens in the slack behind the machair. Areas of machair are prone to seasonal flooding.
The soil system of the inland zone is based on shallow acidic glacial deposits and predominantly acid rock, which frequently lies near the surface or protrudes as rocky outcrops (Hudson 1991). Blackland is formed where the peat and shell sand combine with glacial drift, to provide some areas of good agricultural land. Drainage is good on areas of coarse-textured drift, and brown forest soils or cultivated humus-iron podzols may occur. In areas where drainage and permeability are slow, soils include noncalcareous, humic and peaty gleys (ibid.). Peaty gleys and podzols occur on areas adjacent to the cultivated blackland where the peat has been removed for fuel. The acid reaction of these soils has been lessened and, therefore, the cultivation potential improved, by the addition of shell sand. Such variations in the soil development on blackland areas have resulted in the recognition of three ‘district types’ of land, which have been classified as: crofting land, peat-cutting areas and blanket peat (ibid.)
Further east lie large open tracts of gently sloping blanket peat rising and giving way to hills or mountains. The character of the moorland is determined by the extent of waterlogging which, in turn, is dependent on the rainfall, temperature and topography. The extreme eastern coast is steep and rocky, in places plunging 50m or more into the Minch.
Climate
The western seaboard of Ireland and Scotland lies on the climatic frontier between two weather systems: the moist oceanic air to the west and the dry continental air to the east. The result of the interaction between these opposing air masses is a storm-belt, particularly energetic over the Hebridean shelf (Boyd and Boyd 1990). The climate of the Outer Hebrides is characteristically cool, cloudy, windy and wet although oceanic air and North Atlantic drift result in relatively mild winters. The annual and diurnal temperature ranges are extremely small (the annual range of only 8.8°C is one of the smallest in Britain), with cool summers and generally frost-free winters. The warmest months are July and August (12.9°C), although the sunnier months are May and June, and the coldest months are January and February (4.1°C). It is rare for maximum daily temperatures to fall below 0°C (Angus 1991).
The northwest of Scotland experiences some of the highest wind speeds in the world, if not the highest (Gloyne 1968). The average wind speed at Stornoway is 14.4 knots (7.4 m/s) and 50 days of gale force winds are recorded each year (Manley 1979). The mean annual rainfall on low ground is 1020–1270mm (ibid.), which compares favourably with agriculturally productive areas elsewhere in Britain. Over 200 raindays commonly occur each year but the distribution of rainfall throughout the year is unusual. The driest months are May and June, which together account for only 10% of the annual rainfall. It is this factor, combined with low summer temperatures and high relative humidity, that produces such a wet climate compared to areas with comparable rainfall on the mainland. Owing to Atlantic Ocean sea spray being carried inland by prevailing winds, the rain on the Outer Hebrides has a chemical composition similar to dilute sea water (Waterson et al. 1979).
The Gulf Stream not only ensures mild winter temperatures but also brings what was for many millennia the only source of timber. After most of South Uist’s woodland had gone by about 2500 BC (Brayshay and Edwards 1996), the major source of large timber was driftwood that had grown in Canada and floated across the Atlantic on the Labrador current and then the Gulf Stream. Temperatures are too low for successful cultivation of wheat although it was formerly cultivated around 2000 BC. Barley is the island’s principal crop, followed by oats and rye.
Vegetation
The vegetation of the Outer Hebrides as a whole reflects strongly the island status, with definite marine influences (Boyd and Boyd 1990). The restricted flora on the islands compared to the Scottish mainland, and even to the Inner Hebrides, results from the limited habitat availability, the climate, high levels of acidity (owing to the bed rock and peaty soils) and a history of human interference. The more fertile zone of machair on the western coast is species-rich (Currie 1979; Dickinson and Randall 1979). Marram (Ammophila arenaria) dominates the sand dune systems (Robertson 1984), and eyebright/red fescue (Euphrasia spp/Festuca rubra) dune pasture occurs on more stable areas (Hudson 1991). On the blackland, heath-grass (Danthonia decumbens) occurs in areas of maritime grassland and acid grassland (Pankhurst and Mullin 1991). At the fringe of the Lewis peat plain, on unfenced areas of uncultivated blackland, heath-grass in association with mat-grass (Nardus stricta) is commonly the dominant species (Hudson 1991). Areas of land nearer to the west coast, affected by salt spray, often carry a maritime pasture. The peatland areas are dominated by ombrogenous bog, acidic heath and grassland (Goode and Lindsay 1979).
Previous research on South Uist
South Uist forms a neatly defined research area with clearly bounded edges. However, it has never been inhabited as an isolated island: its past has been intimately boun...

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