Murray Cook – författare

White Castle: The evaluation of an upstanding prehistoric enclosure in East Lothian describes the results of a four year research programme of archaeological works between 2010 and 2013, at the later prehistoric enclosure of White Castle, East Lothian, carried out under the auspices of the Rampart Scotland project. The site is a Scheduled Monument, but, despite being subject of mapping and survey for some 200 years, it has never been examined by excavation prior to the Rampart Scotland project’s interventions. White Castle was the first of the series of comparable sites to be excavated in the Lammermuir area. The programme of archaeological evaluation and sequence of radiometric dates furnished evidence for four major phases of activity at White Castle – with the main enclosure period dating to the second half of the first millennium BC. The excavations demonstrated a clear sequence of enclosure development over time, whereby the design and visual impact often appeared to be more important than defence alone. White Castle’s location on the main route through the Lammermuirs with surrounding upland pasture is also highly suggestive to its function and it seems probable that the site’s economy was concerned primarily with controlling access to grazing. The final phase of the prehistoric enclosure appears to combine two key factors: impressing visitors and stock control. While maintenance of White Castle’s enclosure system was abandoned in the closing centuries BC, it is unlikely that the area was deserted and there is also limited evidence for two later phases of activity on site around the Medieval and Early Modern Periods.

This volume reinterprets Richard Feachem’s 1950s excavation of Castlehill Wood dun, Stirling via key‑hole excavation of in situ baulks and re-analysis of the object assemblage, placing the results in context. The works transform our understanding of the site from a simple enclosure to a roofed structure with an awareness of architectural trends across Scotland. The site is demonstrated to have been built prior to the Roman invasion and suggests a complex settlement pattern that should not be viewed solely in the light of the Roman incursions. Finally, the structure contains a series of small cells and galleries that find parallels across Scotland and might be linked to Iron Age ritual practices. The opportunity has also been taken to publish reviews of the artefacts from two other older excavations from the Stirling area: West Plean Homestead and Gallow Hill lava quern. In each case a proposed fieldwork phase never happened due to circumstances beyond the control of the author.