An early medieval workshop built over the ruins of an earlier Pictish-style building reveals a snapshot of life in the early Scots kingdom of Dál Riata.
Recently published analysis of the archaeological evidence recovered by GUARD Archaeology Ltd from Coultorsay on Islay has revealed an iron smelting workshop located within the remains of an earlier figure-of-eight building. This hive of activity was dated to between the sixth and ninth centuries AD when Islay was part of Dál Riata, the early medieval kingdom of the Scots centred on the royal fortress of Dunadd and which covered modern-day Argyll and Bute.
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Recovered from several of the features associated with the buildings were metalworking waste, the upper part of a rotary quern, a bone needle, and shale bracelet fragments. Shale bracelets are rare in the Inner Hebrides; these are the only examples known from Islay. The shale probably came from central Scotland.
“Several phases of activity were recognised,” said Maureen Kilpatrick who led the excavation. “The most significant was the change in function of the building from one of domestic use to that with an industrial focus. This occurred after the domestic building fell into disrepair.”
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In contrast to many known metalworking workshops from early medieval Scotland, which were often enclosed within royal or lordly strongholds, the Coultorsay workshop was a relatively modest structure. It was used for smelting bog ore to extract iron bloom, which was likely transported elsewhere for crafting tools and weapons.
Very few sites dating to the early medieval period have been excavated on Islay, with most of the known sites having ecclesiastical origins, such as chapels and burial grounds, several with fragments of early cross slabs. This makes the figure-of-eight building particularly important, providing new insights about those living on Islay outwith ecclesiastical sites. The similarity of the earlier figure-of-eight house to cellular Pictish buildings suggests that this form of architecture was more widespread across Scotland than previously envisaged.
“The Coultorsay workshop was repurposed from the dilapidated shell of a figure-of-eight building,” added Kilpatrick. “However, it conforms to a hierarchy of settlement found during this period, with slight buildings such as this characterising the lower echelons of society. Indeed, it is easy to imagine the early medieval landscape of Islay characterised more by slight buildings such as this, where the majority of the population resided, than the more substantial fortified settlements that dominate discussion of the archaeology of this period.”
The GUARD excavation revealed remains of prehistoric structures and activity spanning from the Mesolithic to the Iron Age across the hillside terrace where the workshop lay. The evidence seemed to suggest relatively transient activity during the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods before more settled occupation began in the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age, followed by a gap of about 500 years before occupation reappeared during the early medieval period.
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The full results of this research, which was undertaken in advance of new warehouses for the Bruichladdich Distillery, ARO58: Prehistoric Activity and an early medieval smelting workshop at Coultorsay, Islay by Maureen Kilpatrick has recently been published and is now freely available to download from Archaeology Reports Online.
An early medieval workshop built over the ruins of an earlier Pictish-style building reveals a snapshot of life in the early Scots kingdom of Dál Riata.
Recently published analysis of the archaeological evidence recovered by GUARD Archaeology Ltd from Coultorsay on Islay has revealed an iron smelting workshop located within the remains of an earlier figure-of-eight building. This hive of activity was dated to between the sixth and ninth centuries AD when Islay was part of Dál Riata, the early medieval kingdom of the Scots centred on the royal fortress of Dunadd and which covered modern-day Argyll and Bute.
Recovered from several of the features associated with the buildings were metalworking waste, the upper part of a rotary quern, a bone needle, and shale bracelet fragments. Shale bracelets are rare in the Inner Hebrides; these are the only examples known from Islay. The shale probably came from central Scotland.
“Several phases of activity were recognised,” said Maureen Kilpatrick who led the excavation. “The most significant was the change in function of the building from one of domestic use to that with an industrial focus. This occurred after the domestic building fell into disrepair.”
In contrast to many known metalworking workshops from early medieval Scotland, which were often enclosed within royal or lordly strongholds, the Coultorsay workshop was a relatively modest structure. It was used for smelting bog ore to extract iron bloom, which was likely transported elsewhere for crafting tools and weapons.
Very few sites dating to the early medieval period have been excavated on Islay, with most of the known sites having ecclesiastical origins, such as chapels and burial grounds, several with fragments of early cross slabs. This makes the figure-of-eight building particularly important, providing new insights about those living on Islay outwith ecclesiastical sites. The similarity of the earlier figure-of-eight house to cellular Pictish buildings suggests that this form of architecture was more widespread across Scotland than previously envisaged.
“The Coultorsay workshop was repurposed from the dilapidated shell of a figure-of-eight building,” added Kilpatrick. “However, it conforms to a hierarchy of settlement found during this period, with slight buildings such as this characterising the lower echelons of society. Indeed, it is easy to imagine the early medieval landscape of Islay characterised more by slight buildings such as this, where the majority of the population resided, than the more substantial fortified settlements that dominate discussion of the archaeology of this period.”
The GUARD excavation revealed remains of prehistoric structures and activity spanning from the Mesolithic to the Iron Age across the hillside terrace where the workshop lay. The evidence seemed to suggest relatively transient activity during the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods before more settled occupation began in the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age, followed by a gap of about 500 years before occupation reappeared during the early medieval period.
The full results of this research, which was undertaken in advance of new warehouses for the Bruichladdich Distillery, ARO58: Prehistoric Activity and an early medieval smelting workshop at Coultorsay, Islay by Maureen Kilpatrick has recently been published and is now freely available to download from Archaeology Reports Online.
Top Image: Reconstruction of the early medieval workshop © GUARD Archaeology.
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