AOC Archaeology Group have been working in the north of Scotland, and specifically Caithness, for many years now, and the authors of this book have had decades of experience in the area in various guises. Although some smaller articles have appeared from that work (eg Heald and Jackson Reference Heald and Jackson2001), this is the first opportunity to read a more comprehensive overview of the prehistoric remains they have been researching and understand where the thinking on this, until recently, neglected area of Scotland has taken them.
And that is very much the thinking provided here: the detailed excavation reports and desk-based assessments are left to another series (presumably!) of publications or referred to where required and available. What we are tantalised with are the ideas and the context – the who, when and where, with a sprinkling of what and how. It is clear that this is a homage to those who both came before and who worked with the authors, especially the local people, who play a prominent part in the discussion of a roughly chronological romp through the Caithness landscape. There is an opening statement on the book itself from the authors that states categorically that ‘the narratives are skewed and predisposed’, more akin to ‘conversations’ than an academic book on the archaeological research undertaken (p 11). For me, this was actually very welcome. I enjoyed reading this volume because it was unhindered by the detail of context numbers and detailed descriptions of individual sites. There is the odd hiccup with such an approach – for example, archaeological jargon still creeps into the odd page here and there with no explanation, or certain chronological periods or themes, like the Mesolithic or Wags, are given less attention than others – but this is a minor point; the aim is clear and the style is engaging, and that cannot be a bad thing!
What of those ideas? Well, the conversational style masks a serious engagement with the materiality of the Caithness past: for example, highlighting the complexity of broch sites, underlining their longevity and examining their reworking over time, where the architecture and the finds both tell intertwining stories; or the diversity of Iron Age burial and the emphasis on the importance of burial rites, and the continued presence of the burial itself within societies in conveying social messages among the living, highlighting the potential of family plots.
However, the key areas repeatedly explored across the various aspects of Caithness archaeology are people and presentation. Both form large parts of the discussion of various monument types, helping to explain what has been understood to date, what is visible on the ground and, indeed, what might be invisible below the ground still to discover, and the authors have a very big axe to grind regarding the display and promotion of the Caithness past. It is clear that they are frustrated with what is currently presented to the public, in both its detail of how the monuments are, or are not, conserved and interpreted, to broader marketing deficiencies and inaccessibility. The recent rise and rise of the Caithness Broch Project (www.thebrochproject.co.uk) may help to alleviate some of this, but even this is only a foot in the door of the incredible wealth of research possibilities and promotional opportunities. The preface states that Caithness is ‘one of the richest cultural landscapes in Europe’, and having worked briefly in the area I would have to agree, and yet archaeological research is generally limited to those undertaking community-led research or the pre-development investigations in advance of wind-farms on the uplands. Both are crucial to the vibrancy of the mainly prehistoric story told here, but the abiding thought from this book is that even this has barely scratched the surface of what awaits to be understood about the Caithness past, and what that can tell us about Scotland’s past.
