Køkkenmødding on Risga

Risga, Loch Sunart
Find designation	Canmore ID 22508, Site Number ; NM65NW 22
	p1
	f1
location	Scotland , United Kingdom
Location	Loch Sunart
When	around the middle of the 5th millennium BC Chr.
Where	Risga , Loch Sunart / Scotland

56.66973 -5.900579Coordinates: 56 ° 40 ′ 11 " N , 5 ° 54 ′ 2.1" W.

The midden on Risga is a late Mesolithic middens on the West of Scotland island Risga the north of the United Kingdom .

location

Views of Risga and Loch Sunart from the mainland

The shell pile, a so-called Køkkenmødding or engl. shell midden , is located on the small rock island Risga in the West Scottish fjord Loch Sunart on the east side of the island. The approximately 0.3 meter thick deposit was roughly level with the beach line, which here formed the maximum post- glacial sea level.

Research history

The mussel heap was excavated by AH Bischof and LM Mann in 1920 and 1921 and only insufficiently documented. Numerous devices made of antler, bone and stone, including hoes, limpet scoops and harpoons , around 14,000 flint and quartz artifacts , around five percent of which have been retouched or show signs of use, were found.

The clam pile also contained a multitude of mollusc shells, fish bones, crustacean remains and bones from seabirds and mammals.

Cultural classification

Risga’s bone tools are comparable to the artifacts from the Oronsay mussel heaps, dating from around the middle of the 5th millennium BC. To date. The bone and antler tools from Risga and Oronsay are associated with the late Mesolithic Oban culture . In general, the Risga material can be viewed as an element that fits into the late sequence of Mesolithic activities along the west coast of Scotland.

The island, only about 12 hectares in size, was probably not used all year round, but it must have been an important storage and work place. The most recent excavations in Argyll show that the Mesolithic period was of longer duration and more complex character than previously thought. The fact that Risga flint and stone artifacts differ from other Oban culture sites serves as evidence of this.

Web links

Entry on Risga in Canmore, Historic Environment Scotland's database
Scheduled Monument - entry . In: Historic Scotland .

Individual evidence

↑ Entry on Risga in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English)
↑ John M. Coles et al: The early settlement of Scotland: excavation at Morton, Fife . In: Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 37/2. 1971, p. 298 and p. 305.
↑ John M. Coles et al: The early settlement of Scotland: excavation at Morton, Fife . In: Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 37/2. 1971, p. 305.
↑ See: “Late Mesolithic communities living in the western isles of Scotland during the 4th millennium bc (...). Settlements include shell middens and rock-shelters and suggest a marine-based economy. Among artefacts are barbed spears and stone limpet scoops. ” In: Timothy Darvill: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archeology . Oxford, Oxford University Press 2008, Lemma Obanian Culture. ISBN 0191579041 . - https://canmore.org.uk/event/674506 , however, with reference to the literature used there, states that the findings situation with regard to the “Obanian Culture” is complex and, in particular, the shape deviation of various (fire) stone artifacts from Risga is suitable is to underline this complexity, quote: “It is clear, (...) as a result of recent excavations in Argyll that the Mesolithic Period was of longer duration and of more complex character (...), and the fact that the flint and stone artifacts from Risga are of different forms from those of other 'Obanian' sites' may be seen as evidence of this. "

[1] Entry on Risga in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English)

[2] John M. Coles et al: The early settlement of Scotland: excavation at Morton, Fife . In: Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 37/2. 1971, p. 298 and p. 305.

[3] John M. Coles et al: The early settlement of Scotland: excavation at Morton, Fife . In: Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 37/2. 1971, p. 305.

[4] See: “Late Mesolithic communities living in the western isles of Scotland during the 4th millennium bc (...). Settlements include shell middens and rock-shelters and suggest a marine-based economy. Among artefacts are barbed spears and stone limpet scoops. ” In: Timothy Darvill: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archeology . Oxford, Oxford University Press 2008, Lemma Obanian Culture. ISBN 0191579041 . - https://canmore.org.uk/event/674506 , however, with reference to the literature used there, states that the findings situation with regard to the “Obanian Culture” is complex and, in particular, the shape deviation of various (fire) stone artifacts from Risga is suitable is to underline this complexity, quote: “It is clear, (...) as a result of recent excavations in Argyll that the Mesolithic Period was of longer duration and of more complex character (...), and the fact that the flint and stone artifacts from Risga are of different forms from those of other 'Obanian' sites' may be seen as evidence of this. "