The lost lochs of Scotland: tracking land-use change and its effects on the archaeological record

Michael J. Stratigos

doi:10.1080/14732971.2016.1248129

The lost lochs of Scotland: tracking land-use change and its effects on the archaeological record

Michael J. Stratigos

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper examines how loch drainage in eighteenth and nineteenth century Scotland has shaped the archaeological record, with particular reference to lake dwellings known as ‘crannogs’. The analysis uses the Roy Military Survey of Scotland (1747–1755) as a baseline for charting changes to lacustrine environment through time. The work is unique for its scale which examines all of mainland Scotland, and the results have revealed unrecognized patterns in the timing and intensity of land-use changes that have impacted lacustrine environments. These patterns are linked to the development of archaeological investigation in Scotland demonstrating that the current distribution of crannogs across the country is an artefact of loch drainage and antiquarian investigation and not representative of the past distribution of these critical sites. This paper presents one way in which we can begin to account for these historic changes to land-use and their impact to our understanding of the archaeological record.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	33-51
Number of pages	19
Journal	Journal of Wetland Archaeology
Volume	16
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/14732971.2016.1248129
Publication status	Published - 11 Nov 2016

Bibliographical note

Acknowledgements
I wish to thank a number of people who have supported my endeavours in Scottish archaeology. First, to my parents who have made so much of this work possible. I must thank my partner Claire who has been a constant source of encouragement. Thanks go to my PhD supervisor, Gordon Noble, for his guidance and revisions of endless drafts of this paper, and to Jeff Oliver, Kevin Edwards, Stewart Angus, and two anonymous referees who commented on earlier drafts. And finally I must also thank Fraser Sturt under whose supervision the original idea for this research was developed. Any errors or omissions remain my own.

Keywords

loch drainage
crannogs
Scotland
improvement period
Roy Map
agricultural practices
wetland environment
lake dwellings

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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abstract = "This paper examines how loch drainage in eighteenth and nineteenth century Scotland has shaped the archaeological record, with particular reference to lake dwellings known as {\textquoteleft}crannogs{\textquoteright}. The analysis uses the Roy Military Survey of Scotland (1747–1755) as a baseline for charting changes to lacustrine environment through time. The work is unique for its scale which examines all of mainland Scotland, and the results have revealed unrecognized patterns in the timing and intensity of land-use changes that have impacted lacustrine environments. These patterns are linked to the development of archaeological investigation in Scotland demonstrating that the current distribution of crannogs across the country is an artefact of loch drainage and antiquarian investigation and not representative of the past distribution of these critical sites. This paper presents one way in which we can begin to account for these historic changes to land-use and their impact to our understanding of the archaeological record.",

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The lost lochs of Scotland: tracking land-use change and its effects on the archaeological record

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

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