Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (641 page)

A tribal grouping living in the northwestern part of the British Isles whose early history and movements remain obscure. It is widely believed that from at least the mid 4th century
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the Scots were mainly living in what is now northeastern Ireland, although some scholars argue for an early presence in western parts of modern-day Scotland even by this time. Certainly the Scots are mentioned by Roman writers as being one of the tribes who joined together in attacking the northern frontiers of the Roman province of Britannia. By the 5th century there were certainly Scots in the kingdom of
DÁLRIADA
centred on Argyll, and they appear to have united with Pictland in
c.
ad 849. The king-lists give the names of the kings of the Picts and Scots together down to Malcolm III (d. 1095); the common ancestor they give is Fergus mac Erc who is reported elsewhere as leading the colonization of Dalriada from Ireland. By the 11th century Scots Gaelic was used throughout Scotland, except for the Hebrides and the Northern Isles which remained under Norse control.

 
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An iron weapon comprising a sharp blade with a single cutting edge and an angled back typical of the 7th through to the 10th centuries
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. Over time they become increasingly elaborate with fine inlays in a variety of metals and some very distinctive pommels.

 
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A distinctive kind of flint or stone tool comprising a roughly round or horseshoe-shaped flake which has been shaped deliberately with an extreme oblique angle to provide a working edge around some or all of the circumference. Where the working is confined to the distal end of the flake the resultant tool is often referred to as an
end scraper
; when working is confined to the sides of the flake it is referred to as a
side scraper
.
USE-WARE ANALYSIS
suggests that scrapers had a range of functions in woodworking, boneworking, and in removing unwanted fat from the insides of animal skins without damaging the hide.

 
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In medieval architecture in Europe, a partition separating the hall from the service space; sometimes applied to the space so cut off. Also applied to low dividing partitions in a church.

 
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American term for sieving where soil or archaeological deposits are passed through a mesh screen in order to recover small objects and ecofacts in a systematic and quantifiable way. See also
WET SIEVING
.

 
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A flagon or bottle with a continuous spiral groove around the top so that a stopper or seal can be attached.

 
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