In August 2023 we will be carrying out a programme of fieldwork in Glencoe exploring aspects of the use and management of this amazing landscape in the Post-Medieval period. This will involve walkover surveys, excavations and workshops in media production for public engagement so keep your eyes pealed for updates! In this post we explain some of the background to the areas of this landscape we will be investigating and the questions we seek to answer.
Background
In 2021 and 2022 as part of a project exploring shieling practice and related upland seasonal practices walkover survey and excavations were carried out in Gleann Leac-na-Muidhe, a tributary glen to Glencoe running to the South from Achnacon. These built on earlier estate management surveys carried out by the National Trust for Scotland in the 1990s, and expanded our understanding of the management of grazing, timber and peat resources in this glen. Through the excavations three shieling huts and a platform were investigated and a possible whisky still house was uncovered. You can read more about this project here.
The settlement sites of Glencoe have recieved attention with excavations carried out at Achtriochtan and some trial trenches conducted ahead of developments at Achnacon and An Torr, however our understandings of how people lived and worked in the uplands of Glencoe remains less understood.
Survey
To better understand the uplands of Glencoe Dr Michael Given and students on our field school will be conducting walkover in the area known as the ‘Royal Forest of Buachaille’ to the East of Glencoe. This area, centred around Làirig Èilde and Làirig Gartain, is recorded as having been a royal hunting from the 14th century and passed first to the nearby Stewarts of Appin then Campbells of Argyll as control over the region shifted in the 16th – 18th centuries. Strict controls on what could and couldn’t be done within hunting forests are well recorded in legal papers from this period and so we might expect this to be reflected in the archaeological features represented.
The aims of the walkover survey are as follows:
- To investigate the management of resources in the upland ‘Royal’ hunting forest of Buachaille in the medieval and post-medieval periods.
- To explore Làirig Èilde and Làirig Gartain as routes of movement between Glencoe and Dalness.
From the features we identify from this survey we hope to be able to compare the management of the Royal Hunting Forest with the shieling grounds of Gleann Leac-na-Muidhe.
Stories about this landscape recorded by Seton Gordon in the 1930s note that the Làirigs may have been used as a place for the Campbells of Dalness and the McDonalds of Glencoe to meet and settle grievances peacefully. The idea that these passes may have been used to move between Glencoe and Glen Etive will also be explored through this fieldwork.
Excavation
Excavation will focus on exploring the settlement site at Gleann Leac-na-Muidhe, particularly the surviving remains of a byrehouse (NGR: NN 11247 54944) which traditionally has been identified as a ‘summerhouse’ of the chief of the MacDonalds at the time of the massacre in 1692. From discussions with a local farmer Seton Gordon noted in the 1930s that the site had been excavated previously, and that a silver bagpipe mouthpiece and communion cup had been recovered as well as a large quantity of pottery. This excavation will aim to assess the surviving remains of this dwelling, comparing the material culture recovered to that from a comparable structure excavated by the National Trust for Scotland at Achtriochtan.
Some of the aims of this excavation include:
- To identify changing patterns of occupation at this upland settlement site within the Glencoe landscape, and to establish a chronology for the construction, use, abandonment and re-occupation of this settlement site.
- To identify the range of activities occurring at this settlement site and to compare these to similarly studied settlement sites in the valley floor of Glencoe, and thus establish whether this structure may represent the chiefly summer dwelling recorded in the historical accounts.
Under the supervision of Edward Stewart, students will have the opportunity to explore methods of archaeological excavation and recording, as well as exploring the interpretative process as part of a research excavation.
Creative Media
As part of this field school, and wider research projects, we are interested in how the complex historical landscapes of Glencoe can be communicated to public audiences through creative media such as soundscapes, films and zines. Students will explore creative methods of communicating stories from this landscape, and the ways archaeologists can explore these, supported by Dr Gareth Beale and Lizzie Robertson.
Find out more
You can follow this seasons field school on social media #Glencoe2023 at @UofGArchaeology. To see what else is going on in Scottish Archaeology this summer check out #ScotlandDigs2023.
We will post more on this blog throughout the season and beyond so watch out to find out what we uncover and how you can get involved!
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