Underwater Excavation at Ederline Crannog, Loch Awe, Argyll, Scotland

A trial excavation was carried out on the near-submerged crannog at Ederline Boathouse, Loch Awe, in July 2004. A trench measuring 3 × 5 m was opened on the northern side, in c .3 m of water. Around 1 m of organic deposits was encountered, along with structural timbers and animal bones. Despite a previous 4th century BC radiocarbon determination from a structural timber, a sherd of E ware from a sealed context gives an Early Historic date for the deposits excavated in 2004. The results from this first intrusive investigation of a Loch Awe crannog demonstrate that these sites are complex and long-lived.
© 2005 The Nautical Archaeology Society     

The Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne

This article traces the evolution of the address in reply to the speech from the throne, from its origins in the early 18th century, showing how it developed from a device for bringing about a community of interest between government and parliament while at the same time providing a focal point for rallying the opposition. It describes how the address became an echo of the speech, often drafted at the same time as the speech itself. Its management involved a good deal of organisation. The terms of the address had to be drafted, the movers and seconders selected and the terms communicated to government supporters. The meetings arranged for this purpose gradually became less exclusive to the point where they were superseded by dinners given by the leaders of the two Houses. In the course of time they were mirrored by dinners given by the leaders of the opposition who eventually managed to secure copies of the speech, thus assisting them to formulate amendments to the address. In the 19th century the procedure for considering the address was reformed with a view to curtailing debate but without success. While the address may have lost something of its symbolic significance, the debates to which it gives rise remain significant features in the timetables of both Houses.