Data Structure Report of Small-Scale Sampling of a Mesolithic Shell Midden at Tràigh na Beirigh, Cnip, Lewis, 2011

Blake, E.; Church, M.J.; Nesbitt, C.

Abstract

The wider research project investigating the Mesolithic of the Western Isles of Scotland (the ‘Outer Hebrides’) undertaken by Durham University has identified the second Mesolithic site in this region: a shell midden at Tràigh na Beirigh, Cnip, Lewis. Due to the international research significance of this site and its imminent destruction by coastal erosion, a full coastal erosion assessment of the site was undertaken in September 2011 by a team from Durham University led by Dr. Mike Church. No archaeological structural features were identified, but initial sample processing has produced a large assemblage of environmental and nonenvironmental remains. It is proposed that the Mesolithic shell midden at Tràigh na Beirigh comprises primarily the food waste and fuel remnants leftover from a few short-term, perhaps seasonal, visits of hunter-gatherers to this locale, and rests upon an in situ old ground surface that overlies sterile wind-blown sand. Future work will involve full excavation of the site and a detailed radiocarbon dating programme.

Citation

Blake, E., Church, M., & Nesbitt, C. (2011). Data Structure Report of Small-Scale Sampling of a Mesolithic Shell Midden at Tràigh na Beirigh, Cnip, Lewis, 2011. [No known commissioning body]

• Report Type: Project Report
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2011
• Deposit Date: Oct 21, 2014
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 27, 2014
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1632196
• Additional Information: Publisher: Department of Archaeology, Durham University; Type: monograph; Subtype: project_report