Uist - Island Archaeology in Focus

Come and join us as we mark Scotland’s Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology 2017 with a 3-day celebration of Uist’s unique archaeology.

This 3 day conference is a unique opportunity, not only to attend talks given by some of the leading experts in their fields but to visit some of the historic sites in person.  The conference will examine the rich archaeological heritage of Uist, and highlight its importance in a national and international context whilst trying to establish:

1. What knowledge has been gained from long-term and more recent projects that have taken place in Uist and elsewhere in the Outer Hebrides and how that knowledge can be shared as widely as possible.
2. How the archaeological sites in Uist fit into the wider context of Scottish archaeology and what can be done to help a more diverse range of people learn about the national and international importance of these sites.

This will be the first time that so many recognized experts in their fields have gathered together in Uist and it is a unique opportunity for islanders and academics to interact and learn from each other.

The conference will be held in St Peters Hall, Daliburgh, South Uist between the 3rd and 5th August 2017.

Tickets are available to purchase online here

SPEAKERS

OUTLINE PROGRAMME

THURSDAY 3 AUGUST 2017

Session 1: The Prehistoric Context

Duncan Garrow, New Neolithic sites: recent work at An Doirlinn, South Uist (2012) and at three loch sites, Lewis (2016)

Mike Parker Pearson & Helen Smith, The mummies of Cladh Hallan: science and funerary archaeology

Lisa Brown & Martin Goldberg: Bruthach a’ Tuath: the 1956 rocket range excavations of a wheelhouse complex on Balivanich airfield, Benbecula

Alison Sheridan, Calanais and the Hebridean Neolithic

Session 2: The Norse & Medieval Context

Mary MacLeod Rivett, Strangers in a strange land? Incomers in the ninth century Hebrides

Niall Sharples, Norse or Scottish: Uist in the 13^th and 14^th centuries AD

John Raven, Caught between the tides: medieval landscapes in the Uists?

David Caldwell, The Uists in the aftermath of the collapse of the Lordship of the Isles – an archaeological approach

Rachel Barrowman, Tales of the Unexpected from the Isle of Lewis

Session 3: The Islands Dynamic

Jacqui Mulville, Out of the Blue: Inhabiting Islands in Space and Time

George Geddes, St Kilda – archaeology and the ‘Galapagos effect’

? On behalf of Rebecca Rennell: Islets for isolation and causeways for connectivity: fluctuating identities in Hebridean archaeology

Philip Robertson, Historic Shipwrecks of the Hebrides

Stewart Angus, The archaeology of water management in the Uists

Mark Thacker, Pieces of medieval Argyll

17.00: Reception for Bornais exhibition at Liniclate Museum

FRIDAY 4 AUGUST 2017

Session 4: Udal in Focus

Mark Hall: Udal Prospects: Achievements and challenges in delivering the Udal Archaeology Project

Jo Buckberry, Life and Death on the Udal: The skeletal remains from RUX 6

Judith Aird, Taphonomy of a faunal collection – a sorry tale

Beverley Ballin Smith, Evaluating the Evidence: possibilities and limits of the Udal collection as a resource

Session 5: Collaboration, Enjoyment & Future Prospects

David Newman, Walking the Wild Side – a review of 5 years of field survey work on the remote east side of Uist

Simon Gilmour on behalf of Jeff Sanders, Archaeology in 2017

Sian Jones & Stuart Jeffrey, Digital visualization, community collaboration and social value

Rebecca Jones, Archaeology is for everyone! Scotland’s Archaeology Strategy

Ellie Graham and Tanya Freke, Archaeology and erosion in the Uists

Roderick McCullagh, Experiencing the archaeology of Eilean nan Siar over 30 years

David Breeze, What World Heritage Sites can do for you

14.30: RUX6 Monograph preview

20.00: Buchan Lecture by Ian Armit: First Farmers in the West: Eilean Domhnuill and the Hebridean Neolithic

SATURDAY 5 AUGUST 2017

• Comann Eachdraidh Uibhist a Tuath collaboration with St Andrews University

• Field visits – led by Niall Sharples

TICKETS

• Conference Admission FULL – 3 days, refreshments, lunch, dinner and excursions £195
• IBT Member Admission FULL - 3 days, refreshments, lunch, dinner and excursions £165
• 1 Day Admission FULL – 1 day, refreshments, lunch, dinner and excursions £70
• 1 Day Member Admission FULL - 1 day, refreshments, lunch, dinner and excursions £60
• 1 Day Admission – Daytime sessions, refreshments and lunch £35
• 1 Day Member Admission - Daytime sessions, refreshments and lunch £30
• Buchan Lecture by Prof Ian Armit FREE

Tickets are available to purchase online here

FUNDERS

• SnBM Community Fund

• Comhairle nan Eilean Siar

• The Society of Antiquaries Scotland