Field School 2023: Inductions

Induction Days: Ellie Brown

On arriving in Glencoe we went straight to the excavation site, where deturfing was already underway on the interior of the structure. After our introduction to the site, we took a walk through the wider landscape, which looked very moody and atmospheric in the mist and the rain. Michael told the story of Sadhbh, who was turned into a deer by a vengeful druid. Fionn Mac Cumhaill, while out hunting, caught her but did not kill her, and she turned back to her human form. They had a son named Oisin, meaning ‘little deer’, who went on to become a great warrior poet. This story has a connection to the landscape, as Oisin was said to have been born in a cave in the mountain above the glen.

On arriving in Glencoe we went straight to the excavation site, where deturfing was already underway on the interior of the structure. After our introduction to the site, we took a walk through the wider landscape, which looked very moody and atmospheric in the mist and the rain. Michael told the story of Sadhbh, who was turned into a deer by a vengeful druid. Fionn Mac Cumhaill, while out hunting, caught her but did not kill her, and she turned back to her human form. They had a son named Oisin, meaning ‘little deer’, who went on to become a great warrior poet. This story has a connection to the landscape, as Oisin was said to have been born in a cave in the mountain above the glen.

Our first full day on site was spent trying out each of the three strands of the field school. Our group (Amy, Isaac and I) began with a walkover survey, walking across the landscape 20m apart and planting flags on interesting archaeological features that we spotted on the surface. My path ran parallel to a low wall, likely enclosing an area used for agriculture, as we also observed a clearance cairn and possible rigg and furrow topography. Following a tea break, our group moved on to excavation, deturfing the interior of the structure. Conditions were very boggy at our end, but we uncovered a section of the structure’s wall, and the group working alongside us revealed a smooth flagstone floor.

In the afternoon, we had a taster of the creative and digital strand of the field school. We began by photographing and videoing the landscape, and while searching for interesting shots, we considered the way in which we interact with the landscape and how it might be experienced
differently by people in past times. I chose to approach this by focusing not on the sweeping panoramic views (though they are stunning, so it was very tempting!) and looking instead for close-up shots, particularly of the wall I had encountered during the walkover survey. I saw, on
the wall, a type of lichen that can be used to make natural dyes. This led me to think about how people who lived in this area historically (before there was a convenient Co-op down the road) might also have focused on the micro-landscapes rather than the larger scale, for example to find wild foods to supplement their diet (such as nettles, of which there was a nearby patch). Though not archaeological features themselves, the natural landscape could be utilized by the people who lived in it.