The longest and largest earliest Neolithic timber hall, to date in Scotland, was discovered on the raised beach at Carnoustie together with another large hall and a smaller one. It seems to have been constructed close to the end of the 4th millennium BC and was the first permanent structure to be built in the landscape. The talk will attempt to trace the origins, design and to the extent we can, the architecture of this monumental building. We can also ask questions about why it was built, why there, who built it and what it was used for. A modern day parallel provides us with some stimulating insights.
This building was joined by another, with possibly a different function and later both were replaced by a small hall built within the footprint of the long hall. Was the earlier hall burnt down at the end of its use, as happened to others in Scotland, or did different beliefs and systems come into play in its resurrection as a new building? Did the small hall reflect changes in society, the landscape and woodland cover, and what happened in areas around the buildings?
These themes will be explored while also considering the environmental and cultural evidence that survived from these buildings and their surroundings.
Our speaker, Beverley Ballinsmith, is the Publications Manager for GUARD Archaeology and editor of ARO (Archaeology Reports Online). She also specialises in the analysis of prehistoric pottery and coarse stone tools. She has published widely: the Howe Broch and the Crantit Tomb both on Orkney, the Neolithic and Bronze Age aspects of Iain Crawford’s work on the Udal, North Uist (Archaeopress publication), and with Dr Barbara Crawford on the Norse site of the Biggings at Papa Stour, Shetland. Most recently she brought the Carnoustie excavation to publication with Alan Hunter Blair and Warren Bailie.
Tea, coffee and light refreshments will be available for donation.
