The early historic landscape of Strathearn: the archaeology of a Pictish kingdom

Driscoll, Stephen Taffe (1987) The early historic landscape of Strathearn: the archaeology of a Pictish kingdom. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This study concerns the social and political organization of
the early medieval kingdom of Fortiu which occupied present day
Strathearn in eastern Scotland. Archaeological and historical
sources are used to examine the develoent of the administrative
structure at the root of the Medieval state of Scotland. There
are three main aspects to this study.
First, the historical evidence bearing on social
organization in early medieval Britain and Ireland is used in
conjunction with archaeological evidence for economic activity to
produce a generalized model of early medieval society suitable
for Pictland. Second, the archaeological evidence of settleent
in Strathearn, both upstanding sites and cropmark sites revealed
by aerial photography, is examined as a means of assessing the
character of Pictish settlement systems, their agricultural
practices and, ultimately, Pictish social organization. The
third line of enquiry is to compare the archaeological evidence
with the details of docinentary evidence. This is done at two
levels: the archaeology around specific ll documented sites is
discussed in relation to that evidence and then a broader
assessment is made of the evidence with respect to the pre-feudal
administrative structures.
It is argued that during the Pictish and early Scottish
periods as the polities in the east grew more state-like the
importance of kin-based social relations diminished and protofeudal
social bonds became increasingly important. However,
throughout the period land tenure and agricultural production
retained central to the maintenance and reproduction of social
and political relations . Archaeological evidence is essential
for an historically sound study of these develoents.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Subjects: C Auxiliary Sciences of History > CC Archaeology
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > Archaeology
• Supervisor's Name: Alcock, Prof. Leslie
• Date of Award: 1987
• Depositing User: Miss Fiona Riggans
• Unique ID: glathesis:1987-661
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 02 Apr 2009
• Last Modified: 12 Apr 2018 13:08
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/661