Orkney Southern Islands is in Orkney Islands.
Banks Chambered Cairn is also in Orkney Chambered Cairns Unspecified Type.
3000BC. Banks Chambered Cairn [Map], aka the Tomb of the Otters, was found in Sep 2010. The tomb is quarried out of solid bedrock. It has six chambers. Approximately 2000 human bones were excavated from one of the chambers including adults, children and babies. More recent excavations of the entrance and passageway in March 2012 revealed another 1000 human bones. Recent carbon dating shows the very last bones to be deposited in the passageway in 3021 BC.
Carbon Date. 908BC. Early Iron Age Carbon Dates
Report: Peat underlying structural stone at N end of Site 1 at Liddle Farm, South Ronaldsay, Orkney, Scotland. Comment (subm): OXTL-189b-i for burnt stone produced TL date given as 1000 BC to 400 BC, median date 590 BC.
ID: 775, C14 ID: SRR-525 Date BP: 2908 +/- 45, Start Date BP: 2863, End BP: 2953
OS Letter: ND, OS East: 841, OS North: 465
Archaeologist Name: J W Hedges
Reference Name: Archaeometry, 18, 1976, 5-17; Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 106, 1974-5 39-98; Renfrew, C (ed), The prehistory of Orkney (1985) (for calibration and synthesis)
Council for British Archaeology (2012) Archaeological Site Index to Radiocarbon Dates from Great Britain and Ireland [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] https://doi.org/10.5284/1017767
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Carbon Date. 826BC. Early Iron Age Carbon Dates
Report: Organic material at bottom of large stone cooking trough at Liddle Farm Site 1, South Ronaldsay, Orkney, Scotland.
ID: 776, C14 ID: SRR-701 Date BP: 2826 +/- 75, Start Date BP: 2751, End BP: 2901
OS Letter: ND, OS East: 841, OS North: 465
Archaeologist Name: J W Hedges
Reference Name: Archaeometry, 18, 1976, 5-17; Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 106, 1974-5, 39-98; Renfrew, C (ed), The prehistory of Orkney (1985) (calibration and synthesis)
Council for British Archaeology (2012) Archaeological Site Index to Radiocarbon Dates from Great Britain and Ireland [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] https://doi.org/10.5284/1017767
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Carbon Date. 220BC. Middle Iron Age Carbon Dates
Report: Animal bone, A2, from Six Cairns, Banks Head, South Ronaldsay, Orkney Islands, off Scotland. Subm A C Renfrew 1987. Comment (subm): date series indicates two phases of activity, around beginning of 1st millennium AD and around AD 1000; but there are no artefacts to relate to these dates. [Ed: see extensive comment in ref. below.]
ID: 6754, C14 ID: OxA-1288 Date BP: 2220 +/- 70, Start Date BP: 2150, End BP: 2290
OS Letter: ND, OS East: 461, OS North: 832
Archaeologist Name: A C Renfrew
Reference Name: Archaeometry, 30, 1988, 297-8
Council for British Archaeology (2012) Archaeological Site Index to Radiocarbon Dates from Great Britain and Ireland [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] https://doi.org/10.5284/1017767
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Carbon Date. 1110. Late Medieval
Report: Shell, A4, from Six Cairns, Banks Head, South Ronaldsay, Orkney Islands, off Scotland. Subm A C Renfrew 1987. Comment (subm): date series indicates two phases of activity, around beginning of 1st millennium AD and around AD 1000; but there are no artefacts to relate to these dates. Comment (lab): correction for marine reservoir effect is necessary if the two shell dates hence are to be directly compared with the dates on bone; this correction is in the order of 405 40 years giving a reservoir-adjusted age of 485 80 for this date. [Ed: see extensive comment in ref. below.]
ID: 6752, C14 ID: OxA-1287 Date BP: 890 +/- 70, Start Date BP: 820, End BP: 960
OS Letter: ND, OS East: 461, OS North: 832
Archaeologist Name: A C Renfrew
Reference Name: Archaeometry, 30, 1988, 297-8
Council for British Archaeology (2012) Archaeological Site Index to Radiocarbon Dates from Great Britain and Ireland [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] https://doi.org/10.5284/1017767
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Carbon Date. 640. Early Medieval
Report: Shell, D9, from Six Cairns, Banks Head, South Ronaldsay, Orkney Islands, off Scotland. Subm A C Renfrew 1987. Comment (subm): date series indicates two phases of activity, around beginning of 1st millennium AD and around AD 1000; but there are no artefacts to relate to these dates. Comment (lab): correction for marine reservoir effect is necessary if the two shell dates hence are to be directly compared with the dates on bone; this correction is in the order of 405 40 years giving a reservoir-adjusted age of 955 70 for this date. [Ed: see extensive comment in ref. below.]
ID: 6751, C14 ID: OxA-1286 Date BP: 1360 +/- 60, Start Date BP: 1300, End BP: 1420
OS Letter: ND, OS East: 461, OS North: 832
Archaeologist Name: A C Renfrew
Reference Name: Archaeometry, 30, 1988, 297-8
Council for British Archaeology (2012) Archaeological Site Index to Radiocarbon Dates from Great Britain and Ireland [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] https://doi.org/10.5284/1017767
Become a Member via our Buy Me a Coffee page to read more.
Carbon Date. 190. Late Iron Age Carbon Dates
Report: Animal bone, D11, from Six Cairns, Banks Head, South Ronaldsay, Orkney Islands, off Scotland. Subm A C Renfrew 1987. Comment (subm): date series indicates two phases of activity, around beginning of 1st millennium AD and around AD 1000; but there are no artefacts to relate to these dates. [Ed: see extensive comment in ref. below.]
ID: 6753, C14 ID: OxA-1285 Date BP: 1810 +/- 80, Start Date BP: 1730, End BP: 1890
OS Letter: ND, OS East: 461, OS North: 832
Archaeologist Name: A C Renfrew
Reference Name: Archaeometry, 30, 1988, 297-8
Council for British Archaeology (2012) Archaeological Site Index to Radiocarbon Dates from Great Britain and Ireland [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] https://doi.org/10.5284/1017767
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Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes
Récits d’un bourgeois de Valenciennes aka The Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes is a vivid 14th-century vernacular chronicle written by an anonymous urban chronicler from Valenciennes in the County of Hainaut. It survives in a manuscript that describes local and regional history from about 1253 to 1366, blending chronology, narrative episodes, and eyewitness-style accounts of political, military, and social events in medieval France, Flanders, and the Low Countries. The work begins with a chronological framework of events affecting Valenciennes and its region under rulers such as King Philip VI of France and the shifting allegiances of local nobility. It includes accounts of conflicts, sieges, diplomatic manoeuvres, and the impact of broader struggles like the Hundred Years’ War on urban life in Hainaut. Written from the perspective of a burgher (bourgeois) rather than a monastery or royal court, the chronicle offers a rare lay viewpoint on high politics and warfare, reflecting how merchants, townspeople, and civic institutions experienced the turbulence of the 13th and 14th centuries. Its narrative style combines straightforward reporting of events with moral and civic observations, making it a valuable source for readers interested in medieval urban society, regional politics, and the lived experience of war and governance in pre-modern Europe.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
Carbon Date. 1030. Late Medieval
Report: Animal bone, D13, from Six Cairns, Banks Head, South Ronaldsay, Orkney Islands, off Scotland. Subm A C Renfrew 1987. Comment (subm): date series indicates two phases of activity, around beginning of 1st millennium AD and around AD 1000; but there are no artefacts to relate to these dates. [Ed: see extensive comment in ref. below.]
ID: 6750, C14 ID: OxA-1284 Date BP: 970 +/- 60, Start Date BP: 910, End BP: 1030
OS Letter: ND, OS East: 461, OS North: 832
Archaeologist Name: A C Renfrew
Reference Name: Archaeometry, 30, 1988, 297-8
Council for British Archaeology (2012) Archaeological Site Index to Radiocarbon Dates from Great Britain and Ireland [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] https://doi.org/10.5284/1017767
Become a Member via our Buy Me a Coffee page to read more.
Carbon Date. 1000. Late Medieval
Report: Animal bone, E17, from Six Cairns, Banks Head, South Ronaldsay, Orkney Islands, off Scotland. Subm A C Renfrew 1987. Comment (subm): date series indicates two phases of activity, around beginning of 1st millennium AD and around AD 1000; but there are no artefacts to relate to these dates. [Ed: see extensive comment in ref. below.]
ID: 6749, C14 ID: OxA-1283 Date BP: 1000 +/- 60, Start Date BP: 940, End BP: 1060
OS Letter: ND, OS East: 461, OS North: 832
Archaeologist Name: A C Renfrew
Reference Name: Archaeometry, 30, 1988, 297-8
Council for British Archaeology (2012) Archaeological Site Index to Radiocarbon Dates from Great Britain and Ireland [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] https://doi.org/10.5284/1017767
Become a Member via our Buy Me a Coffee page to read more.
