Papers by Kirsty Millican
Journal of Field Archaeology, 2024
This paper explores some challenges of archaeological interpretation and classification through a... more This paper explores some challenges of archaeological interpretation and classification through an enclosure at Inchnadamph in Sutherland, northwestern Scotland, a site that has proven difficult to interpret. Despite a small number of archaeological interventions, including topographic and geophysical survey and excavation, the site remains enigmatic. We discuss the different interpretations suggested for the site in turn, concluding that the enclosure does not fit readily into existing classification schemes. This raises issues surrounding the use of classification systems, prior assumptions, and the need for critical thinking in interpretation. These are universal issues, applicable beyond the Scottish example chosen, and this paper highlights concerns and difficulties encountered by all who deal with the classification of sites and monuments. Ultimately, this challenges some of our preconceptions and sheds light on the limits of our knowledge, as well as the limits of our classification systems.
Archaeology is something of a magpie discipline, with a track record of appropriating approaches,... more Archaeology is something of a magpie discipline, with a track record of appropriating approaches, theory, and techniques from other fields that has helped, for example, to drive the 'digital revolution' in archaeological practice. Digital documentation, 3D datasets and complex analyses are now routine practice rather than revolutionary, but it is one thing that such methods are widespread, and quite another for their implications to be fully explored. Archaeologists at Historic Environment Scotland (HES) are exploring these implications for their workflows, recognising that sometimes assimilation of new technology or practice can happen organically, but also that sometimes a more fundamental reassessment is required of how we do what we do.
The Neolithic of Mainland Scotland, 2016
This paper presents an overview of evidence for timber monument in Scotland’s Neolithic, most of ... more This paper presents an overview of evidence for timber monument in Scotland’s Neolithic, most of which have been found as cropmarks in the lowlands. The reviews looks at the impact of aerial survey (1976 onwards) and developer-funded excavations since the 1980s on this dataset, which has greatly expanded. Site categories discussed include timber cursus monuments, timber halls, mortuary structures, timber circles, palisaded enclosures and assorted miscellaneous sites. The author combines cropmark evidence, excavation results, radiocarbon dates and site visits to offering a fresh interpretation of this large group of monuments. They are also set within their broader social context.
Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology, 2020
The characteristics and form of heritage data are fundamental to its utility in a range of applic... more The characteristics and form of heritage data are fundamental to its utility in a range of applications, particularly so for heritage agencies who have a remit in management, policy, and the creation and curation of national databases of monuments, sites, and landscapes. Written from the perspective of an archaeological survey function in a national heritage agency, this paper draws on preliminary outcomes from a research and development project that aims to proof protocols for creating systematic data across large areas drawing heavily on remotely sensed data. This recognises that a systemic consideration of the implications of changing technology and data is sometimes desirable, rather than gradual assimilation of developments into existing practice. In particular, the issues being addressed relate to the challenges and opportunities of proliferating remote sensed data and digital workflows. These include the strategic assessment of threat, consideration of fitness for purpose of different datasets relative to landscape characteristics, the documentation of processes and sources of information, the suitability of data structures, and the mechanisms for automating site detection and data creation.
Landscapes, 2017
This paper discusses the recent completion of Scotland's Historic Landuse Assessment (HLA) projec... more This paper discusses the recent completion of Scotland's Historic Landuse Assessment (HLA) project, a long-term partnership between Historic Scotland and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) (now merged as Historic Environment Scotland) to map time-depth within the present-day landscape was completed in 2015. This paper places HLA within the wider context of historic landscape characterisation (HLC) in Europe and outlines some of the new insights and perspectives that this resource provides for Scotland's landscapes. In particular, the historical complexity and time-depth inherent within the Scottish landscape is emphasised, along with the importance of HLA's landscape-scale data and nationwide coverage. The paper finishes with a discussion of some of the possibilities and challenges for the future of HLA and HLC projects in general, concluding that HLA/HLC data have a significant part to play in understanding and communicating the role of the past in the formation of current landscapes and, in partnership with multidisciplinary data, helping to shape future landscapes.
Archaeological Journal, 2015
This paper offers the first comprehensive overview of Scotland’s early Neolithic timber cursus mo... more This paper offers the first comprehensive overview of Scotland’s early Neolithic timber cursus monuments. This small group of sites has, in recent years, been viewed as a significant element of the early Neolithic repertoire in northern Britain, and forerunner to the later earthwork cursus monuments found across the British Isles; but as yet their treatment has been at a largely superficial level. The article draws together the evidence from excavations, cropmarks and the authors’ own fieldwork. As well as describing the monuments, the study also offers a new interpretation of the construction, role and destruction of these monuments within the context of the woodland world of lowland Scotland in the first half of the fourth millennium BC.
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 2012
This report outlines the unexpected discovery of a group of Late Neolithic structures at Greenbog... more This report outlines the unexpected discovery of a group of Late Neolithic structures at Greenbogs, Monymusk in Aberdeenshire, along with a series of later prehistoric features in the mid-1990s. Recent radiocarbon dating shows that two four-post timber structures found here date to the period 2890–2490 calbc. These were found in association with a range of other features including an oval structure and diffuse areas of burning. The closest parallels for the four-post structures can be found in a slowly growing body of Late Neolithic timber structures, some being interpreted as roofed dwellings and others as roofed or unroofed monuments. This article places the Greenbogs structures in their wider context, identifies a number of unexcavated parallels in the aerial record and addresses the nature of the four-post structures found across Late Neolithic Britain and Ireland and suggests that four-post structures were a more common element of Late Neolithic architecture than previously ide...
Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 2012
This paper considers the impact of landscape and environment upon monuments built during the Neol... more This paper considers the impact of landscape and environment upon monuments built during the Neolithic period. Taking a group of timber monuments of Neolithic date in the Nith Valley region, Dumfries and Galloway, it examines their relationship to the topography and environment and seeks to explain their uniquely linear nature, a feature of timber monuments built in this region. It discusses the importance of incorporating plough-levelled sites into landscape approaches to monuments, the potential impact of vegetation upon visibility patterns and the value of considering the immediate locations of monuments, arguing that monuments built upon a heightened awareness of landscape topography, arising out of a long-term relationship with place.
Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 2012
This paper seeks to make a contribution to current debates concerning the dislocation in landscap... more This paper seeks to make a contribution to current debates concerning the dislocation in landscape research between experiential approaches and quantitative techniques of landscape analysis. It focuses upon a group of archaeological sites that are caught in the centre of this divide: plough-levelled sites recorded as cropmarks on aerial photographs. The application of experiential landscape analysis to plough levelled sites is explored, along with the value of incorporating information derived from the study of the aerial photograph. It is contended that richer, more rounded, interpretations of landscape are possible when combining aspects of quantitative and qualitative landscape research.
Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 2012
the possibilities and potentials of combining quantitative spatial studies with more human-centre... more the possibilities and potentials of combining quantitative spatial studies with more human-centred and theoretically explicit approaches to past landscapes. This short introduction outlines the main themes and goals of the conference and the resultant papers, published here as a special issue.
The Antiquaries Journal, 2017
This paper presents the results of a survey project investigating a complex of prehistoric archae... more This paper presents the results of a survey project investigating a complex of prehistoric archaeological sites at Lochbrow, in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. An Early Neolithic timber cursus, Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age timber circles and Bronze Age round barrows were first recorded as cropmarks on aerial photographs in the 1980s and 1990s. The Lochbrow Landscape Project set out to investigate and understand this lesser-known complex of prehistoric sites and their layout in the landscape using non-destructive survey techniques, including geophysical survey, experiential survey and re-assessment of aerial photographs. A pilot survey was undertaken in 2010 followed by a series of short field seasons from 2011 to 2015. Interpretation of the results from geophysical survey has proved challenging because of strong geological and geomorphological signals, but has been successful in detecting both the features known from aerial photographs and additional archaeological features. ...
Across Space and Time. Papers from the 41st Conference on Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology, 2013
For over a decade the Historic Land-Use Assessment Project, a partnership between Historic Scotla... more For over a decade the Historic Land-Use Assessment Project, a partnership between Historic Scotland and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, has undertaken the challenge of mapping the character of Scotland’s historic landscape. By 2015 the Project will have delivered 100% coverage and, for the first time, Scotland will have a map providing time-depth within the landscape; a map showing both current and relict landscape use. The final stages of this project provide a valuable opportunity for review and reflection. This paper will review where we have reached and will consider some possibilities for the future.
Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 2012
This paper considers the impact of landscape and environment upon monuments built during the Neol... more This paper considers the impact of landscape and environment upon monuments built during the Neolithic period. Taking a group of timber monuments of Neolithic date in the Nith Valley region, Dumfries and Galloway, it examines their relationship to the topography and environment and seeks to explain their uniquely linear nature, a feature of timber monuments built in this region. It discusses the importance of incorporating plough-levelled sites into landscape approaches to monuments, the potential impact of vegetation upon visibility patterns and the value of considering the immediate locations of monuments, arguing that monuments built upon a heightened awareness of landscape topography, arising out of a long-term relationship with place.
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 2007
The large and growing number of timber circles recorded in Scotland as cropmarks on aerial photog... more The large and growing number of timber circles recorded in Scotland as cropmarks on aerial photographs testifies to the important part they must have played in the later Neolithic monumental repertoire. However, this record of plough-levelled sites remains poorly understood, partly due to the
problems involved in the interpretation of timber circles from cropmarks and the limited research that has taken place. In addition, it is rarely integrated with evidence from excavations. This paper, based upon research undertaken in 2003 for a Masters dissertation (Millican 2003) and recently updated, is an attempt to remedy this imbalance and outlines the current evidence for timber circles in Scotland and the new insight this provides into these enigmatic sites.
Books by Kirsty Millican
Timber monuments form an important part of the Neolithic monumental repertoire, yet tend to play ... more Timber monuments form an important part of the Neolithic monumental repertoire, yet tend to play a relatively minor role in discussions of this period. This volume is an attempt to remedy this imbalance and, through an examination of the cropmark and excavation records, considers the variety of timber monuments built during the Neolithic period in Scotland. Recorded as cropmarks on aerial photographs or as chance discoveries during excavations, most are found in eastern lowland Scotland, though there are hints of a wider distribution. Dating suggests two episodes of timber monument building, with a division occurring around 3300 cal. BC, reflected in the construction of new forms of timber monument as well as the way in which they were treated. The differences between earlier and later Neolithic timber monuments likely refl ect different ways of conceptualising and using timber monuments as well as changing values, meanings and ideals, reflecting wider social changes obvious within the archaeological record. Timber monuments, though, were much more than ground plans. They were important spaces and places used by Neolithic communities for many different purposes, closely tied to their location and context and reflecting changing relationships with the landscape and the environment. Therefore consideration of their materiality, landscape and context serves to enrich and expand interpretations of timber monuments and to break down the classifications they tend to be placed within, revealing greater complexity and variety. Ultimately timber monuments were one part of a wider Neolithic monumental repertoire, and the number and variety now recognised means they can no longer be considered secondary or derivative of monuments built of other materials. Instead, they must be considered on an equal footing with other monuments, their form, materiality and treatment informing us about some of the concerns, values and relationships of Neolithic communities.
Reports by Kirsty Millican
This project aims to investigate the locations of an early Neolithic-Bronze Age monument complex ... more This project aims to investigate the locations of an early Neolithic-Bronze Age monument complex and Iron Age settlement enclosures, all recorded as cropmarks at Lochbrow, near Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway, within their wider context and topographic location. The Project's sixth season of investigation took place in September 2015. Over a period of seven days, electrical resistance survey (using Geoscan RM15 and RM85 meters) was carried out over an area of approximately 1.5 hectares, creating a total surveyed area in this field of c.3.3ha. The data was collected in grids of 20x20m at a resolution of 1m x 0.5m (800 readings per grid).
Interim Report, 2013
Building on the results of three previous seasons, gradiometer, resistance surveys and a pilot gr... more Building on the results of three previous seasons, gradiometer, resistance surveys and a pilot ground penetrating radar survey were undertaken in September 2013 across the locations of an early Neolithic-Bronze Age monument complex, and Iron Age settlement enclosures recorded as cropmarks at Lochbrow, near Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway. Utilizing a range of techniques (including geophysical survey, the aerial photographic record, predictive modelling, and sediment coring), and by engaging with local community volunteers, this project aims to investigate the nature and extent of these sites and monuments within their wider context and topographic location. Results have been promising, showing a number of interesting anomalies, as well as enabling the reinterpretation of the pre-existing aerial photographic survey.
Interim Report, 2012
Building on the result of two previous seasons, gradiometer and resistance surveys were undertake... more Building on the result of two previous seasons, gradiometer and resistance surveys were undertaken in September 2012 across the locations of an early Neolithic-Bronze Age monument complex, comprising a timber cursus, timber circles and round barrows (Figure 1), and Iron Age settlement enclosures recorded as cropmarks at Lochbrow, near Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway. Utilizing geophysical survey techniques, the aerial photographic record, predictive modelling, fieldwalking, and by engaging with local community volunteers, this project aims to investigate the nature and extent of these sites and monuments within their wider context and topographic location. The surveys have so far identified several anomalies of interest, including some possible post-pits of a cursus and a round barrow complex, and have enhanced the aerial photographic record.
Geophysical and topographic surveys were undertaken in short seasons in November 2010 and Septemb... more Geophysical and topographic surveys were undertaken in short seasons in November 2010 and September 2011 across the location of an early Neolithic-Bronze Age monument complex recorded as cropmarks at Lochbrow, near Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway. The aims of these surveys were to investigate the nature and extent of the sites and monuments recorded here, as well as their wider context and topographic location. The gradiometer survey identified several anomalies of interest, including some possible post-pits of a cursus, a previously unidentified round barrow, and a rectilinear magnetic anomaly of unknown origin.
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Papers by Kirsty Millican
problems involved in the interpretation of timber circles from cropmarks and the limited research that has taken place. In addition, it is rarely integrated with evidence from excavations. This paper, based upon research undertaken in 2003 for a Masters dissertation (Millican 2003) and recently updated, is an attempt to remedy this imbalance and outlines the current evidence for timber circles in Scotland and the new insight this provides into these enigmatic sites.
Books by Kirsty Millican
Reports by Kirsty Millican
problems involved in the interpretation of timber circles from cropmarks and the limited research that has taken place. In addition, it is rarely integrated with evidence from excavations. This paper, based upon research undertaken in 2003 for a Masters dissertation (Millican 2003) and recently updated, is an attempt to remedy this imbalance and outlines the current evidence for timber circles in Scotland and the new insight this provides into these enigmatic sites.