ABSTRACT

Iona is renowned for its early monastery, founded following the arrival of Columba in AD 563. This paper uses palaeoecological data to provide insight into the social and environmental transformations that influenced the landscape of Iona during the later prehistoric and historic periods. The identification of cereal pollen suggests that arable farming occurred during the Bronze Age and possibly continued through the Iron Age. Pastoral farming was also practiced. It remains unclear as to whether there were people living on the island at the time of the monastic community’s arrival. Between AD 630 and 1100, woodland clearance and farming occurred. There were also two phases of woodland regeneration and agricultural decline. The first phase coincides with the period of Viking raids and may have witnessed a decline in population. The second phase occurred in conjunction with increased Scandinavian influence and political restructuring across the wider region; however, small-scale farming continued. After c. AD 1000 there was renewed intensification of landscape management prior to the arrival of Benedictine monks and Augustinian nuns (c. AD 1200). This may be linked to climatic amelioration during the Medieval Warm Period and economic growth in the Hebrides.

摘要

Iona 以其早期的修道院而闻名，该修道院是在公元 563 年 Columba 抵达后建立的。本文使用古生态数据来深入了解在后来的史前和历史时期影响 Iona 地貌的社会和环境变化。谷物花粉的鉴定表明耕作发生在青铜时代，并可能持续到铁器时代。还进行了田园农业。目前尚不清楚修道院社区到达时岛上是否有人居住。公元 630 年至 1100 年间，进行了林地清理和耕作。也有林地更新和农业衰退两个阶段。第一阶段恰逢维京人袭击时期，可能见证了人口的下降。第二阶段与斯堪的纳维亚影响力的增强和更广泛地区的政治重组同时发生；然而，小规模农业仍在继续。在c之后。公元 1000 年，在本笃会僧侣和奥古斯丁修女到来之前，景观管理得到了重新加强（约公元 1200 年）。这可能与中世纪温暖时期的气候改善和赫布里底群岛的经济增长有关。