Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (151 page)

A small group of early Bronze Age chambered tombs clustered around the Moray Firth in northeastern Scotland dating mainly to the late 3rd and early 2nd millennia
bc
. Two main types have been recognized amongst the 50 or so examples known: passage graves (Balnuaran type) with central chambers set in round mounds; and ring cairns (Gask type) with a doughnut-shaped stone bank surrounding a central open area. Both kinds are often set in the centre of a
STONE CIRCLE
.

 
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A Latin term for an outward curved extension of the rampart and ditch at one side of the gateway into a Roman fort or camp to provide additional defence for the entrance.

 
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A type of glass drinking vessel common in the 6th and 7th centuries in early Anglo-Saxon and
FRANKISH
graves in northern France, the Low Countries, and eastern England. It is basically a simple conical beaker embellished with a series of claw-like protrusions, probably made in Germany. The glass itself is sometimes tinted brown, blue, or yellow.

 
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1
Extremely fine particles, less than 0.002mm across forming constituent components of natural and anthropogenic sediments and deposits.
2
The plastic raw material from which pottery, daub, bricks, and other forms of terracotta are made comprising mainly clay-sized particles of the principal clay minerals kaolinite, illite, and montmorillonite. Potting clay is a relatively abundant and widespread resource, although the quality and characteristics of different outcrops vary greatly, the best being highly sought-after.
3
A general term describing the texture and feel of a sediment: soft, sticky, and plastic when wet, hard when dry.

 
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Roughly rectangular slab of fine clay smoothed on one surface which was then used by scribes in the early civilizations of the Near East to cut or impress symbols and hieroglyphs.

 
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See
CAIRN
.

 
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