Past event
Rising Damp; the life and times of an Iron Age wetland settlement in Black Loch of Myrton
DR ANNE CRONE, AOC Archaeology, will be talking about how long-running excavations at Black Loch of Myrton in Dumfries and Galloway have transformed our understanding of Iron Age life. Initially thought to be a crannog, the site is actually a settlement built on a natural promontory, without artificial foundations and accessed via a natural causeway. The settlement was built with large quantities of oak, making it possible to precisely date the development of the site using dendrochronological analyses, from its primary construction in 435 BCE to its abandonment in the 2nd century BCE. The settlement consisted of a cluster of roundhouses within a palisaded enclosure, the extraordinary preservation providing detailed evidence for Iron Age settlement architecture, organisation and function. A suite of environmental proxies have helped to interpret the deposits, including macroplant, insect and faunal analyses, micromorphology and faecal steroids, as well as studies of the artefacts which include a unique wooden bowl. Anne will be presenting the wealth of evidence for building and living in the Iron Age at Black Loch and discussing how the site contributes to our knowledge of Iron Age settlement.