Abstract
The first millennium AD was a transformative period when many of the medieval kingdoms of Europe began to take shape, but despite recent advances in palaeoecological and archaeological research there remains a shortage of interdisciplinary collaborative research targeting this period. For some regions we know relatively little about the societies who lived during this formative period. This current investigation focusses on an early medieval elite centre near to Rhynie in NE Scotland; an important power-centre during the fourth–seventh centuries AD as evidenced by a remarkable series of Class I Pictish symbol stones, fortified enclosures at Cairn more, Tap o’ Noth and the Craw-Stane, as well as high status metal-working and a range of continental imports from the Craw-Stane enclosure. However, by the end of the seventh century AD, elite focus appears to have shifted elsewhere with the Craw-Stane and Cairn More enclosures all being abandoned. By combining paleoenvironmental analysis with available historical and archaeological archives this paper provides new insights into societal change during the first Millennium AD, with focus on the economic, social and environmental impacts caused by the rise and subsequent abandonment of elite nodes of power. A calibrated age of AD 260–415, near the base of the core, coincides with the earliest dates for the Craw-Stane complex and pre-dates the construction of the nearby Cairn More enclosure. The results provide a rare snapshot of the Late Roman Iron Age to Medieval environment of Northeast Scotland. This centre appears to have been supported by a rich agricultural landscape, with evidence of pastoral and arable farming, and potential metal working. One of the most significant findings of this study has revealed that despite abandonment of these elite enclosed sites by the seventh century AD, people continued to utilise the surrounding landscape and available resources right through until modern times.
Highlights
The first millennium AD in northern Europe is still a dark age in terms of our understanding of Late Roman and post-Roman societies, with few written sources and an archaeological record that has been traditionally lacking in evidence
The results identified sample number SUERC-80414 at 131 cm as an outlier with a posterior probability of 100%. This date coincides with a peak in Potamogeton, Spirogyra and Glomus cf. fasciculatum and a dip in LOI, which suggests the cause of the outlier was likely a brief in-wash event of older carbon possibly due to a flood event
The base of the core produced a calibrated age of AD 260–415 and coincides with the earliest date ranges from the nearby enclosure at the Craw Stane
Summary
The first millennium AD in northern Europe is still a dark age in terms of our understanding of Late Roman and post-Roman societies, with few written sources and an archaeological record that has been traditionally lacking in evidence This is true of the Picts in Scotland. Rhynie is located between the Cairngorm Mountains and Cabrach Hills to the west and the Correen-Bennachie range to the east It lies between the River Bogie and the Ord Burn at 181 m OD, making it one of the most elevated settlements of north-eastern Scotland. It is set in a fertile agricultural valley with close connections to lowland areas to the east and north. It is at a crossroads of major routeways through the hills leading westwards up the Cabrach, east to Insch and the River Urie, northwards to the Moray coast, the upper reaches of the River Don to the south, and the River Dee and the Mounth beyond.
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