MA (Aberdeen), MA (UCL), PhD (Reading), FSAScot
Personal Chair
- About
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- Email Address
- g.noble@abdn.ac.uk
- Telephone Number
- +44 (0)1224 272333
- Office Address
Department of Archaeology University of Aberdeen St. Mary's, Elphinstone Road Aberdeen AB24 3UF Scotland Room No. 203
- School/Department
- School of Geosciences
Biography
Professor Gordon Noble has undertaken award-winning landscape research and field projects working on projects from the Mesolithic to Medieval periods. He has two major current projects, Northern Picts, funded by the University of Aberdeen Development Trust and Historic Environment Scotland, is focused on the post-Roman societies of northern Britain. The second, Comparative Kingship, funded by the Leverhulme Trust, is examining the early royal landscapes of Ireland and Scotland. Research for the Northern Picts and Comparitive Kingship projects won Research Project of the Year 2021 in the Current Archaeology Awards, the leading UK archaeology awards programme.
Public engagement is a big part of his research with Northern Picts having featured in numerous exhibitions and on BBC 2 'Digging for Britain', National Geographic, Radio 4 'In Our Time' and many other media venues.
Gordon was appointed as lecturer to the department at Aberdeen in July 2008. In 2012 he became Senior Lecturer, Head of Department in 2015, Reader in 2017 and Professor in 2019. He is also a Honorary Curatorial Fellow to the University Museums.
Latest book:
"the best overview of this fascinating people to date: clear, essential, and revelatory reading" -- Professor Neil Price
"the Northern Picts project, led by Gordon Noble...has been truly revolutionary" -- Archaeological Journal
“This book is a triumph. It marks a milestone in Pictish studies, and will be the starting place for all those interested in the Picts...It marks a step-change in, perhaps even a coming of age for, Pictish studies.” -- Pictish Arts Society
"Picts is an extraordinary work that covers seven centuries of Pictish history and archaeology"-- Current Archaology
"Noble and Evans have written a book to read and cherish"-- The Scotsman
https://birlinn.co.uk/product/picts/
A short interview with Prof G!
Qualifications
- History of Art First Class Honours2000 - University of Aberdeen
- Masters Archaeology2001 - University College London
- PhD Archaeology2004 - University of Reading
- Pg Cert Teaching2007 - University of Glasgow
Memberships and Affiliations
- Internal Memberships
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- Research Theme Leader
- Honorary Curatorial Fellow to University Museums
- External Memberships
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2013-16 External Examiner, Department of Archaeology, University of Reading
2017-21 External Examiner, Department of Archaeology, University of Newcastle
2018-22 External Examiner, Department of Archaeology, University of Edinburgh
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2015 External panel member for undergraduate teaching programme review, University of Edinburgh
- Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (elected fellow 2006; Council member 2009-12)
- Reviewer (Journals):
Antiquity, World Archaeology, European Journal of Archaeology, Cambridge Archaeological Journal, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Journal of Maritime Archaeology, The Scottish Archaeological Journal, Papers from the Institute of Archaeology University College London, Journal of Irish Archaeology, Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, Journal of Anthropological Archaeology
- Reviewer (Grants):
Arts and Humanities Research Council; Leverhulme Trust; Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland; National Geographic; Riksbanken Sweden; Nordic Research Council
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Televison Work
- Digging for Britain; BBC2 - digs led by Gordon have appeared on four different series' of this popular BBC2 programme
- Lost Cities with Albert Lin; Disney Channel
- Landward; BBC
- Scotland from the Sky; BBC Scotland
- Ancient Murders Unearthed; Sky History TV Channel
- Mystic Britain: Lost Tribe of Scotland; Smithsonian Channel
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Latest Publications
Life, Death and Environment at Lagore Crannog: parasites, land-use and a royal residence in later prehistoric and early medieval Ireland
Journal of Archaeological Science, vol. 172, 106105Contributions to Journals: ArticlesFlavours of Pictish Life: using starch grains and phytoliths to trace late Roman and early medieval culinary traditions
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, vol. 58, 104695Contributions to Journals: ArticlesLes "âges obscurs" des Pictes sous un nouvel éclairage: Shedding new light on the Picts of ‘Dark Age’ Scotland
L’Archéologue, vol. 170, pp. 46-53Contributions to Journals: ArticlesThe role of geoarchaeology in the interpretation of fragmented buildings and occupation surfaces: The case of coastal settlements in northeast Scotland
Geoarchaeology-An International Journal, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 238-267Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.21990
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/23231/1/Reid_etal_GAI_The_Role_Of_VoR.pdf
Defining the Sanctissimus: The Early Medieval Church Enclosures of Pictland
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. 153Contributions to Journals: Articles
Prizes and Awards
Research Project of the Year 2021 Current Archaeology Awards
Leverhulme Leadership Award (2016–22)
Outstanding Research Award Individuals Further Stage of Career – Non Stem, University of Aberdeen 2021
Principal’s Prize for Public Engagement Senior Award 2016
Arts and Humanities Research Council Early Career Fellow. Ritual and remembrance at the third millennium BC prehistoric monument complex at Forteviot, central Scotland. AHRC Award AH/I02657X/1 2012
British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow 2005–8
- Research
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Research Overview
Prehistoric and early medieval Europe with particular interests in: Scotland, Ireland, Sweden & Denmark
Research Areas
Accepting PhDs
I am currently accepting PhDs in Archaeology.
Please get in touch if you would like to discuss your research ideas further.
Research Specialisms
- Archaeology
- Environmental Geoscience
Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is HESA open data, published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
Current Research
Comparative Kingship 2017-
The nature of the societies and social, ideological and political frameworks that filled the chasm left by the demise of the Roman Empire in the 5th century AD – both within and beyond the Empire’s boundaries – is one of the most contentious debates about late- and post- Roman Europe. This project adopts an innovative interdisciplinary focus that tackles the formation of the socio-political landscapes of Northern Britain and Ireland, utilizing archaeological, historical, toponymic and palaeoenvironmental methodologies along with Bayesian-modelled chronologies, to create a new synthesis of the dramatic changes that ultimately led to the formation of the state societies that existed beyond the edges of the Roman Empire.
Funding: Leverhulme Trust Leadership Award
Northern Picts 2012-
Northern Picts is a project that aims to uncover the archaeological traces of Pictish society in northern Scotland. The project to date has had some spectacular successes. We have begun to uncover a major and undocumented Pictish royal centre at Rhynie and discovered a significant portion of a major Pictish silver hoard at Gaulcross. We have scaled sea cliffs to discover forgotten Pictish forts and centres of power. Find out more here.
Funding: University of Aberdeen Development Trust (private donation) and Historic Envrionment Scotland (PI)
Project partners: Tarbat Discovery Centre, National Museums of Scotland, University of Chester, University of Glasgow, Inverness Museum & Art Gallery, Rhynie Woman, CMS Archaeology, Forestry Commission Scotland, Aberdeenshire Council, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Mainz
Bennachie Landscapes Project 2012-
North-east Scotland contains landscapes of world-leading importance for history, archaeology and community heritage. This project focuses on building heritage-based partnerships and involves an interdisciplinary community-centred research project concentrating on the past, present and future significance of one of north-east Scotland's most celebrated cultural and physical landmarks: the hill of Bennachie and its environs.
Funding: AHRC Development Grant (PI)
Project partners: Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Bailies of Bennachie, Aberdeenshire Council, Forestry Commission
Woodland in the Neolithic of Northern Europe: The Forest as Ancestor.
A book length study of the social role of trees and woodlands in prehistory with case studies from Britain and Ireland and South Scandinavia. Incorporating environmental, anthropological and archaeological approaches, this study aims to formulate new approaches to the study of past landscapes. The final book is published by Cambridge University Press.
Funding: British Academy (PI)
Supervision
My current supervision areas are: Archaeology.
Accepting PhDs, particularly on the following subjects:
- Early Medieval Archaeology
- Prehistoric Archaeology
- Field Excavation and Survey
Funding and Grants
In the course of my career Professor Noble has led on successful research grants totalling over £2.5 million, £2.25 of which has been raised while at Aberdeen (2008-21).
Recent major grants:
- 2021-2024 Principal-Investigator, 'The Citadel Project: Rescue- and Research-led Excavations at an Early Medieval Power Centre'; Historic Environment Scotland (£257,431)
- 2017-2022 Principal-Investigator, 'Comparative Kingship: the early medieval kingdoms of Northern Britain and Ireland'; Leverhulme Trust (£971,149)
- 2012-2022 Principal-Investigator, ‘Northern Picts: ’, University of Aberdeen Development Trust; Historic Environment Scotland (£351,249)
- Teaching
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Programmes
- Undergraduate, 4 year, September start
- Undergraduate, 4 year, September start
- MSc ArchaeologyPostgraduate, 3 semester, January start
Teaching Responsibilities
Course co-ordinator of undergraduate modules:
- AY3009 Scottish Archaeology
- AY3010 Professional Archaeology I
- AY3011 Archaeological Fieldwork Portfolio
Additional teaching on a range of other modules including Archaeology of the North, Advanced Archaeological Practice, Archaeologies of Social Life and Landscape Archaeology
- Publications
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Warm air and glowing pyres: Cremating bodies in the Late Neolithic of mainland Scotland
Neolithic Bodies. Bickle, P., Sibbesson, E. (eds.). Oxbow Books, pp. 74-91, 18 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters (Peer-Reviewed)Little House in the Mountains? A small Mesolithic structure from the Cairngorm Mountains, Scotland
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, vol. 18, pp. 936-945Contributions to Journals: ArticlesThe Picts in Moray: Latest Results of the Northern Picts Project
Forgotten, Hidden & Lost: Unearthing Moray's Archaeology: Proceedings of the Elgin Museum Archaeology Conference 2017. Trythall, J., Herbert, C. (eds.). The Moray Society, pp. 38-48, 11 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters (Peer-Reviewed)Rhynie: new perspectives on settlement in Pictland in the 5th and 6th centuries AD and the context of Pictish symbol stones
Life on the Edge: Social, Political and Religious Frontiers in Early Medieval Europe. Semple, S., Orsini, C., Mui, S., Landesmuseum, B. (eds.). KrebsChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters (Peer-Reviewed)Early Medieval Shellfish Exploitation in Northwest Europe: Investigations at the Sands of Forvie Shell Middens, Eastern Scotland, and the Role of Coastal Resources in the First Millennium AD
Journal of Island & Coastal Archaeology, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 582-605Contributions to Journals: ArticlesCremation Practices and the Creation of Monument Complexes: The Neolithic Cremation Cemetery at Forteviot, Strathearn, Perth & Kinross, Scotland, and its comparanda
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, vol. 83, pp. 213-245Contributions to Journals: ArticlesThe Monumental Cemeteries of Northern Pictland
Medieval Archaeology, vol. 61, no. 1, pp. 1-40Contributions to Journals: ArticlesWoodland in the Neolithic of Northern Europe: The Forest as Ancestor
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 230 pagesBooks and Reports: Books- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316672006
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Early Medieval Shellfish Gathering at the Sands of Forvie, Aberdeenshire: Feast or Famine?
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. 146, pp. 121-152Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.9750/PSAS.146.1214
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/9681/1/Text_revised_Dec_2016.docx
Archaeological Excavations at Nethermills Farm, Deeside, 1978-81
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. 146Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.9750/PSAS.146.198535
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/9682/1/2PSAS1467_55.pdf
The land before symbol stones: a geophysical survey of Rhynie, Aberdeenshire and the excavation of a Middle Bronze Age structure near the Craw Stane, Barflat
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. 145, pp. 125-151Contributions to Journals: Articles(Re)discovering the Gaulcross Hoard
Antiquity, vol. 90, no. 351, pp. 726-741Contributions to Journals: ArticlesThe Bennachie Colony: A Nineteenth-Century Informal Community in Northeast Scotland
International Journal of Historical Archaeology, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 341-377Contributions to Journals: ArticlesLife is the Pits! Ritual, Refuse and Mesolithic-Neolithic settlement traditions in North-East Scotland
The Neolithic of Mainland Scotland. Brophy, K., MacGregor, G., Ralston, I. B. M. (eds.). Edinburgh University Press, pp. 171-199, 29 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters (Peer-Reviewed)- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Transforming Place and Architecture through Cremation: Cremation Traditions at the Third Millennium BC Monument Complex at Forteviot, Central Scotland
What’s New in the Neolithic?. Larsson, L. (ed.). University of LundChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters (Peer-Reviewed)Fortified Settlement and the Emergence of Kingdoms in Northern Scotland in the First Millennium AD
Fortified Settlements in Early Medieval Europe: Defended Communities of the 8th‐10th Centuries. Christie, N., Herold, H. (eds.). Oxbow BooksChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters (Peer-Reviewed)Prehistoric, Roman and Early Medieval Aberdeenshire
The Buildings of Scotland. Aberdeenshire: South and Aberdeen. Sharples, J., Walker, D., Woodworth, M. (eds.). Yale University PressChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters (Peer-Reviewed)Rediscovering the Gaulcross Hoard
British Archaeology, vol. Jul/Aug, pp. 38-43Contributions to Journals: ArticlesPrehistoric, Roman and Early Medieval Aberdeenshire
The Buildings of Scotland. Aberdeenshire: North and Moray. Walker, D. W., Woodworth, M. (eds.). Yale University Press, pp. 9-21, 13 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters (Peer-Reviewed)Construction, process, environment: altering the landscape in Neolithic lowland Scotland
Landscapes, Histories and Societies in the northern European Neolithic. Mischka, D., Furholt, M., Hinz, M., Noble, G., Olausson, D. (eds.). Kiel University, pp. 65-80, 15 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters (Peer-Reviewed)Landscapes, Histories and Societies in the northern European Neolithic
Vol. 4, Kiel University, Kiel. 312 pagesBooks and Reports: BooksThe Neolithic: Essays on the Local History and Archaeology of West Central Scotland
Commissioned by West of Scotland Council. Glasgow Museums. 13 pagesBooks and Reports: Commissioned ReportsCrannogs, castles and lordly residences: new research and dating of crannogs in north-east Scotland
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. 144, pp. 205-222Contributions to Journals: Articles'A very royal place’: Rhynie and the Picts
Current Archaeology, vol. 289, pp. 22-28Contributions to Journals: ArticlesCrannogs, Castles and Lordly Residences: New Research and Dating of Crannogs in Northeast Scotland
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. 144, pp. 205-222Contributions to Journals: ArticlesBetween prehistory and history: the archaeological detection of social change among the Picts
Antiquity, vol. 87, no. 338, pp. 1136-1150Contributions to Journals: ArticlesHistorical Archaeology and the 'Colony': Reflections on fieldwork at a 19th-century settlement in rural Scotland
Bennachie and the Garioch: Society and the Ecology in the History of North-East Scotland. Shepherd, C. (ed.). The Bailies of Bennachie, pp. 103-124, 22 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters (Peer-Reviewed)Great crowns of stone:: the recumbent stone circles of Scotland (Book Review)
Antiquity, vol. 86, no. 332, pp. 584-586Contributions to Journals: Reviews of Books, Films and ArticlesPrehistoric woodland ecology
Image, Memory and Monumentality: Archaeological Engagements with the Material World. Jones, A. M., Pollard, J., Allen, M. J., Gardiner, J. (eds.). The Prehistoric Society & Oxbow Books, pp. 80-92, 13 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters (Peer-Reviewed)Excavations at a multi-period site at Greenbogs, Aberdeenshire, Scotland and the four-post timber architecture tradition of Late Neolithic Britain and Ireland
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, vol. 78, pp. 135–171Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0079497X00027146
Europe Between the Oceans (Book Review)
Cosmos, vol. 26, pp. 127-8Contributions to Journals: Reviews of Books, Films and ArticlesHenging, mounding and blocking: the Forteviot henge group
Enclosing the Neolithic: Recent Studies in Britain and Europe. Archaeopress, pp. 21-36, 16 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters (Peer-Reviewed)Symbol Stones in Context: Excavations at Rhynie, an Undocumented Pictish Power Centre of the 6th-7th Centuries AD?
Medieval Archaeology, vol. 55, pp. 317-321Contributions to Journals: ArticlesRitual and remembrance at a prehistoric ceremonial complex in central Scotland: excavations at Forteviot, Perth and Kinross
Antiquity, vol. 85, no. 329, pp. 787-804Contributions to Journals: ArticlesA Dark Age Power Centre at Rhynie
British Archaeology, vol. Sept/Oct, pp. 36-41Contributions to Specialist Publications: ArticlesBig enclosures: the later Neolithic palisaded enclosures of Scotland in their northwestern European context
European Journal of Archaeology, vol. 14, no. 1-2, pp. 60-87Contributions to Journals: ArticlesTogether as one: the landscape of the symbol stones at Rhynie, Aberdeenshire
Pictish Progress: New studies on Northern Britain in the Middle Ages. Driscoll, S. T., Geddes, J., Hall, M. A. (eds.). Brill Academic Publishers, pp. 281-305, 25 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters (Peer-Reviewed)- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Within and beyond pits: deposition in lowland Neolithic Scotland
Beyond the Mundane: Regional Perspectives on Neolithic Pit Deposition. Lamdin-Whymark, H., Thomas, J. (eds.). Oxbow Books, pp. 63-76, 14 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters (Peer-Reviewed)Review of 'Defining a Regional Neolithic: the Evidence from Britain and Ireland'
Cambridge Archaeological Journal, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 453-455Contributions to Journals: Reviews of Books, Films and Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S095977431000051X
‘Islanding’ the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition: approaches to landscapes of contact and transformation in Northwest Europe
Landscapes in Transtition. Finlayson, B., Warren, G. (eds.). Council for British Research in the Levant/Oxbow, pp. 125-132, 8 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters (Peer-Reviewed)The Strathearn Environs and Royal Forteviot project (SERF)
Antiquity, vol. 84, no. 323Contributions to Journals: ArticlesForteviot: from the Neolithic to Scottish Kings
Current Archaeology, vol. 231, pp. 12-19Contributions to Specialist Publications: ArticlesAn island of fluctuating perceptions: The landscape and archaeology of Bute
Scottish Odysseys: The Archaeology of Islands. Noble, G., Poller, T., Raven, J. (eds.). Tempus, pp. 37-60, 24 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters (Peer-Reviewed)Scottish Odysseys: The Archaeology of Islands
Tempus, Stroud. 192 pagesBooks and Reports: BooksMonumental Journeys: ceremonial complexes and routeways across Neolithic Scotland
Prehistoric Journeys. Cummings, V., Johnson, R. (eds.). Oxbow Books, pp. 64-74, 11 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters (Peer-Reviewed)‘As thick as two short planks’: Neolithic barrows in eastern and southern Britain
Beyond the grave: new perspectives on barrows. Last, J. (ed.). Oxbow Books, pp. 14-21, 8 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters (Peer-Reviewed)Landscape and Environment in Dark Age Scotland (Book Review)
Scottish Archaeological Journal, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 66-68Contributions to Journals: Reviews of Books, Films and Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.3366/saj.2006.28.1.68
Harnessing the waves: monuments and ceremonial complexes in Orkney and beyond
Journal of Maritime Archaeology, vol. 1, pp. 100-117Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11457-005-9003-6
Landscape with symbols
British Archaeology, vol. 87, pp. 14-15Contributions to Specialist Publications: ArticlesNeolithic Scotland: Timber, Stone, Earth and Fire
Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh. 320 pagesBooks and Reports: Books