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Gazin-Schwartz helps Uncover Medieval Scottish Settlements October, 2005 - Analyzing dirt and garbage would probably not be an ideal area of study for most people. However, for Associate Professor of Anthropology Amy Gazin-Schwartz, basic dirt and garbage are vital components of her ongoing research in Durness, Scotland. Gazin-Schwartz recently completed the second year of the Strathnaver Province Archaeology Project, which examines medieval rural settlements in northern Scotland from 500-1500 A.D. She co-directs the five-year project with Dr. Olivia Lelong of Glasgow University. As part of the project, the two have established the Strathnaver Viking/Medieval Settlement Archaeological Field School, which gives students basic training in archaeological field methods. The field school carries three credits through the Assumption College Continuing Education Program and has been made up of students from Assumption, Glasgow and other American universities during the first two years of the project. The school is held for a four-week period during the summer with sessions conducted five days a week. Projects include excavating portions of buildings and remains of settlements.
This past summer the focus of the project involved finishing the excavation of a building that is likely to be Norse (Viking). The group also collected approximately 200 bags of dirt from the site, which they hope to analyze in order to learn more about the type of environment that existed in northern Scotland during medieval times. Portions of the building had walls made of stone and turf, including one that contained a fragment of a 16th century Dutch cooking pot. This finding allowed the group to formulate two conclusions: the structure was built in or after the 16th century and that inhabitants of northern Scotland had contact with the outside world, including trade with the Dutch. The group also found evidence of industrial activity such as fireplaces, iron fragments, deer antler, and a possible pottery kiln. An considerable quantity of garbage was also discovered, which consisted of animal bones, broken pottery and numerous other items. Close examinations of garbage can reveal various aspects of everyday life, or as Gazin-Schwartz puts it, “Garbage is our (archaeologists) lifeblood.” Today, Durness is a small community of approximately 200 people. According to Gazin-Schwartz, this community has a very strong interest in its local history. A quarter of the funding for this project has come from Scotland in hopes to both better manage its archaeological heritage and bolster its tourism industry. When the project concludes, a final report of the findings will be issued, which the local community has eagerly anticipated. For more information on the Strathnaver Province Archaeology Project, please visit www.northsutherlandarchaeology.org.uk.
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The overall goal of the project is to study the general elements of medieval society such as types of houses, food, and methods of contact with the outside world that were utilized by the common, everyday inhabitants of Durness, a small village in northern Scotland. According to Gazin-Schwartz, very few historical records of life in northern Scotland exist prior to the 15th century. Urban historical records and records of lords and castles were kept, but there is basically no history of the common inhabitants and their everyday life in rural areas of the country.