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Cille Pheadair

Cille Pheadair

a Norse Farmstead and Pictish Burial Cairn in South Uist

by Mike Parker Pearson, Mark Brennand, Jacqui Mulville and Helen Smith

Series: Sheffield Environmental and Archaeological Research Campaign in the Hebrides

Imprint: Oxbow Books

656 Pages, 8.3 x 11.7 in, b/w and color illustrations

Hardcover
9781785708510
September 2018
Out of print. Available in digital formats at the links below.

$49.99

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9781785708527
February 2018

$29.99

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Description
Contents
Authors
Praise

Cille Pheadair is one of more than 20 Viking Age and Late Norse settlements discovered on the island of South Uist in the Outer Hebrides (Western Isles), off the west coast of Scotland. Its unusually well-preserved stratigraphic sequence of nine phases of occupation, including five longhouses and many smaller buildings, provides a remarkable insight into daily life on a Norse farmstead during two centuries of near-continuous occupation c. AD 1000 –1200. Although the excavation at Cille Pheadair was a rescue project undertaken before the site was destroyed by coastal erosion, it provided an opportunity to address important research questions about the domestic use of space, agricultural economy, and relationships with the wider world beyond the Outer Hebrides. Careful and ground-breaking analysis of preserved house floors provided profound insights into the changing use of space within a Norse longhouse and its surrounding outbuildings. The rich assemblage of pottery, ironwork, gold and silver reveals that the inhabitants of Cille Pheadair had long-distance connections across the Viking world. A battery of scientific studies, including faunal and floral analyses, isotopic and lipid residue analyses, and soil chemistry have revealed much about the social and economic dimensions of life on a Norse farm. Detailed survey and excavation in South Uist reveals a remarkable picture of Norse-period settlement across this island which was part of the insular Viking world between Ireland and Norway, becoming part of the Kingdom of Man and later the Kingdom of the Isles. Cille Pheadair’s status as an ordinary, if wealthy, farmstead can be contrasted with the much larger and longer-lived high-status settlement at Bornais to the north. The two sites together provide a fascinating insight into similarities and differences within the settlement hierarchy of the time that makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the Viking world.

List of figures
List of tables
Contributors
Acknowledgements

1. Cille Pheadair and the Norse period in South Uist
M. Parker Pearson

2. The Pictish burial cairn, cal AD 640–780
M. Parker Pearson, J Williams, A. Chamberlain, P. Marshall, J. Montgomery, J. Evans and C. Chenery

3. Initial construction and occupation (phase 1), starting cal AD 945–1020
M. Parker Pearson, M. Brennand, C. Ellis, J. Bond, C. Paterson, J. Mulville and C. Ingrem

4. The earliest deposits above the pits (phase 2), starting cal AD 945–1020
M. Parker Pearson, M. Brennand, C. Ellis, J. Bond, C. Paterson, J. Mulville and C. Ingrem

5. The first stone longhouse: House 700 (phase 3), constructed cal AD 1030–1095
M. Parker Pearson, M. Brennand, , H. Manley, H. Smith, P. Marshall, J. Bond, C. Paterson, J. Mulville and C. Ingrem

6. The second stone longhouse: House 500 (phase 4), constructed cal AD 1060–1110
M. Parker Pearson, M. Brennand, H. Manley, H. Smith, P. Marshall, C. Ellis, J. Bond, C. Paterson, E.J. Pieksma, J. Mulville, C. Ingrem, P. Austin and J. Williams

7. Modification of House 500 (phase 5), rebuilt cal AD 1070–1125
M. Parker Pearson, M. Brennand, H. Manley, H. Smith, P. Marshall, J. Bond, C. Paterson, J. Mulville, C. Ingrem and P. Austin

8. The sheds (phase 6), constructed cal AD 1100–1155
M. Parker Pearson and M. Brennand, H. Manley, H. Smith, P. Marshall, J. Bond, C. Paterson, J. Mulville, C. Ingrem and P. Austin

9. The east–west longhouse: House 312 (phase 7), constructed cal AD 1105–1160
M. Parker Pearson, M. Brennand,, H. Manley, H. Smith and P. Marshall, C. Ellis, J. Bond, C. Paterson, J. Mulville, C. Ingrem and P. Austin

10. The last longhouse: House 007 (phase 8), constructed cal AD 1140–1205
M. Parker Pearson, M. Brennand, H. Manley, H. Smith and P. Marshall, C. Ellis, J. Bond, C. Paterson, J. Mulville, C. Ingrem and P. Austin

11. Reuse and abandonment of the ruins of House 007 (phase 9), ending cal AD 1160–1245
M. Parker Pearson, M. Brennand,, H. Manley, H. Smith and P. Marshall, J. Bond, C. Paterson, J. Mulville, C. Ingrem and P. Austin

12. The ceramics
J. B. Bond, E.J. Pieksma, D. Dungworth and M. Parker Pearson

13. The combs, ornaments, weights and coins
C. Paterson with contributions by M. Parker Pearson and E. Besly

14. The bone and antler tools
C. Paterson

15. The iron knives, tools and weapons
M. Parker Pearson

16. The stone artefacts
M. Parker Pearson, G.D. Gaunt, C. Paterson, M. Edmonds and K. Martin

17. Industrial activity
D. Dungworth, M. Parker Pearson and H. Smith

18. The faunal remains – mammals
J. Mulville, A. Powell, J. Williams, C. Ingrem and J.R. Jones

19. The faunal remains – birds, fish and molluscs
J. Best, J. Cartledge†, C. Ingrem, E. Walters, H. Smith and M. Parker Pearson

20. The human remains
A. Chamberlain

21. The carbonized plant remains and wood charcoal
H. Smith, S. Colledge and P. Austin

22. Absorbed and visible organic residues
L. Cramp and R.P. Evershed

23. Soil micromorphology
C. Ellis

24. Radiocarbon dating
P. Marshall, M. Parker Pearson and G. Cook

25. The Cille Pheadair farmstead in its context
B.E. Crawford and M. Parker Pearson

Bibliography
Index