Exploring the location and function of a Late Neolithic house at Crossiecrown, Orkney by geophysical, geochemical and soil micromorphological methods

Abstract

Magnetic prospection was instrumental in the discovery of a multi-phase Neolithic settlement at Crossiecrown on Mainland Orkney. Subsequent excavation revealed a number of structures, including a large circular walled house of Late Neolithic date with a range of well-defined architectural features in its interior. This paper presents the discovery, excavation and in particular the functional analysis of this house. Soil micromorphology established the sequence from the house’s initial floor construction to its abandonment. On the basis of multi-element and magnetic susceptibility data obtained from analysis of samples taken from the floor of the house, several element distributions were found to be distinctive in the way they correlated with some of the house’s ‘fixed furniture’ and moreover with the distributions of certain artefacts, notably the stone tools. The archaeological implications of these findings are discussed