The integration of chronological and archaeological information to date building construction: an example from Shetland,Scotland, UK

This paper presents new chronological data applied to the problem of providing a date for the construction of a prehistoric building, with a case study from the Old Scatness Broch, Shetland. The innovative methodology employed utilises the combination of radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dates with the archaeological information, which includes the stratigraphic relationships of sampled deposits, context information, and evidence relating to the formation of the deposit. This paper discusses the scientific validity of the dates produced, and the advantages that the methodology employed at this site offers for archaeological interpretation. The combined dating evidence suggests that the broch at Old Scatness is earlier than the conventionally accepted dates for broch construction. More broadly it shows the value of integration of the specialists at the planning stages of the excavation. The application of a Bayesian statistical model to the sequences of dates allowed investigation of the robustness of the dates within the stratigraphic sequences, as well as increasing the resolution of the resulting chronology. In addition, the value of utilising multiple dating techniques on the same deposit was demonstrated, as this allowed different dated events to be directly compared as well as issues relating to the formation of the sampled deposit. This in turn impacted on the chronological significance of the resulting dating evidence, and therefore the confidence that could be placed in the results.     

Dealing with Soviet Power and Influence:Eisenhower's Management of U.S. National Security

Book reviewed in this article:
Robert Bowie and Richard H. Immerman, Waging Peace: How Eisenhower Shaped an Enduring Cold War Strategy     

Review Article: Re-ordering Europe after 1945

ENNIO DI NOLFO, ed. Power in Europe?: II: Great Britain, France, Germany, and Italy and the Origins of the EEC, 1952–1957. Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1992. Pp. viii, 598. DM 238.00;

ALAN S. MILWARD. The European Rescue of the Nation-State. London and New York: Roudedge, 1992. Pp. xv, 477. £35.00;

ALAN S. MILWARD et al. The Frontier of National Sovereignty: History and Theory, 1945–1992. London and New York: Roudedge, 1993. Pp. xi, 234. £40.00;

DAVID WEIGALL and PETER STIRK, eds. The Origins and Development of the European Community. Leicester and London: Leicester University Press, 1992. Pp. ix, 211. £11.95;

PETER DUIGNAN and L. H. GANN. The Rebirth of the West: The Americanization of the Democratic World, 1945–1958. Oxford: Blackwell, 1992. Pp. xii, 733. $69.50 (US);

FRANCIS H. HELLER and JOHN R. GILLINGHAM, eds. NATO: The Founding of the Atlantic Alliance and the Integration of Europe. London: Macmillan, 1992. Pp. ix, 470. £45.00;

WALTER LAQUEUR. Europe in Our Time: A History, 1945–1992. London: Viking, 1992. Pp. xxii, 617. £17.99.     

The Potential for Dating the Old Scatness Site,Shetland, By Optically Stimulated Luminescence

A series of deposits from the agricultural infield of the multiperiod settlement mound, Old Scatness, were investigated for their potential to yield optically stimulated luminescence dates. Luminescence properties of quartz grains were found to vary through the sequence, but dates were successfully obtained from five deposits, including anthropogenic soils, windblown sands and sands within midden deposits. Single‐aliquot equivalent dose measurement was found to be the most appropriate method for dating the deposits. The OSL dates obtained accorded well with the dates provided by archaeological evidence and included the post‐medieval, Iron Age, Bronze Age and Neolithic periods of Shetland, while a substantial midden was dated to the Bronze/Iron Age transition.     

At the Transition from Late Medieval to Early Modern: the Archaeology of Three Wrecks from Turkey

During surveys in the Rhodian Straits in 2005–06, the staff of the RPM Nautical Foundation discovered three deepwater wrecks which reflect elements of the transition from late medieval to early modern seafaring. The assemblages, and their plotting on site‐plans generated from photographic evidence, point to the finding of a small oared warship equipped with wrought‐iron carriage‐ and swivel‐guns, a small coasting vessel armed with wrought‐iron swivel‐guns, and a larger merchantman equipped with cast‐iron carriage‐guns. While the features of the smaller vessels do not identify their country of origin, those of the larger merchantman have good parallels with known English wrecks. © 2009 The Authors