27 March 2013

Evanton Wartime Remains

27 March 2013

Life in the Beauly Glens  

Talk by Ian MacKay, author of The Dark Mile.

Dingwall Community Centre

Organised by WEA. Minimum donation £1. No need to book.

A conversation with Ian about his life and times, living and working in a remote part of the Highlands, before and after the flooding of the straths for hydro power.

27 March 2013

 As part of the Burn of Whilk, Caithness windfarm development RWE npower renewables (RWE NRL) commissioned a LiDAR survey of the area in and around their development. This includes Warehouse, Watenan and Yarrows. The survey revealed that that there may be many new sites of archaeological significance hidden beneath the ground that have not been previously identified through previous surveys.

RWE NRL has commissioned AOC Archaeology to undertake a walkover survey of some of the area to find out what the lumps and bumps are.

To this end, Andy Heald and John Barber (AOC Archaeology) will be undertaking a survey project on and around the Burn of Whilk Wind Farm site between 20th and 31st March 2013. John and Andy are keen to involve as many people as possible. Volunteers can come for any length of time and require no previous experience. As well as taking part in hopefully discovering new sites all volunteers will also be trained in all aspects of surveying and will have the opportunity to attend tours of other local archaeological sites. During March focus will be on looking at some of the possible new sites discovered during the LiDAR survey, particularly around the actual development area. AOC hope to visit all of the sites over the coming year. The results of the survey will be used to aid interpretation of the area over the next year.

If you would like to take part please contact Andy Heald at andy.heald@aocarchaeology.com or phone 07824562186

27 March 2013

RCAHMS staff Eve Boyle and Piers Dixon have kindly agreed to accompany North of Scotland Archaeological Society members and ARCH supportors on two walks on Tuesday and Wednesday 26th & 27th March.

Weds 27th March is a walk to look at shielings in Strathconon, an area where NOSAS has done comprehensive fieldwork in the past. Meet at the car park, GR NH 226 519 at 10.30am from where we will combine cars, (or for those wishing to share cars for the long drive up the glen (45mins) meet at the Community Hall car park at Marybank at 9.30am (not Maryburgh!! – several have been confused in the past!)). The walk is about 8 to 9kms in length, partly on a track but much of it over rough ground, so a decent level of fitness is required, and the weather can be pretty rugged. Two possible still sites are also included. Wear suitable gear and bring a picnic

Many thanks to Meryl Marshall of NOSAS for organising these two days. If you intend to come along on the walks, it would be appreciated it if you would notify the ARCH office, so we have some idea of numbers.
 

27 March 2013

 “A somewhat too cruel vengeance was taken for the blood of the slain”: Royal punishment of rebels, traitors and political enemies in medieval Scotland, c.1100-c.1250

Talk by Iain Macinnes (UHI)

UHI, Ross House, Dornoch. The lecture can also be attended from Inverness College via a video link.
Please send an email to Dr Kathrin Zickermann (Kathrin.zickermann@uhi.ac.uk) if you would like to attend.
All are very welcome!

Description:

The medieval Scottish monarchy faced a series of challenges to its authority during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The rebellious MacHeth and MacWilliam families, as well as insurrections in the Highlands and Islands and in Galloway, threatened the authority of the Canmore dynasty. The reaction of successive kings to this subversion of royal authority was invariably violent. The most grisly example of royal punishment came with the killing around 1230 of the infant daughter of the last MacWilliam pretender to the Scottish throne, who had her brains dashed out against Forfar market cross. This paper will examine the reasons behind specific forms of punishment, and contextualise such behaviour regarding the wider use of violence against traitorous subjects in medieval Britain.