MEASURED SURVEY AND BUILDING RECORDING
The roofing materials were generally supported on a timber framework (Illus 84), although other materials such as whale bones and ironwork are also found. The nature of the materials used and the style vary considerable from region to region, depending on availability and status. In areas where good timber does not grow or was too expensive to transport, scrub and driftwood were employed. Elsewhere, cruck framed structures or elaborate timber frames might be constructed. The basic framework should be recorded by the building recorders. In addition, notes should be made of such features as the type of joints used, whether the timber was sawn or hewn and the presence or absence of carved construction and other marks. The identification of species can be made and dendrochronological dating undertaken (Ch 6.3).
described. The locations of the materials will be annotated onto the plans, sections and elevations of the building.
In this way, a picture is built up of how the building was constructed and indeed altered. The significance of the different materials used will play a part in the overall analysis of the structure. In addition, the building recorder's record and conclusions should feed back to the conservation process, to ensure for example that repair techniques and materials match carefully to original forms. Of necessity, the above is only a brief review of the field. Because of the importance, indeed fundamental nature of the subject, a number of references are given below.
REFERENCES 6.1.4 Flooring
As with the other elements, flooring materials vary from region to region and with status. Clay and beaten earth floors are common in many traditional buildings. In some places very little in the way of floor preparation seems to have been undertaken. Flagstones and cobbled surfaces were used, where available, with tiles and brick being restricted to higher status buildings (Illus 85).
There are a number of texts which provide details on materials used in Scottish construction. In the first instance, there are several books that can point the reader in the general direction, such as Fenton & Walker (1981), Maxwell (1996) and Naismith (1989). Riches & Stell (1992) contains a range of articles on many of the topics discussed. The Historic Scotland 'Guide for Practitioners' on rural buildings of the Lothians (Whitfield 2000) contains much useful information. For more detailed research, the bibliographies (and other publications) of the Scottish Vernacular Buildings Working Group (see Useful Addresses) are excellent sources of information, for example Dunbar & Hay (1984) and Fraser (1987).
6.2 ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS 6.2.1 The significance of detail
Illus (53 fixposed local flags, revealed durtng an excavation of a croft house, Brotchie's steading, Dunnet, Caithness. (Photo: Headland Archaeology Ltd)
In any recording exercise, an understanding and appreciation of the architectural forms and details encountered is of great importance. The starting point therefore is to appreciate that a building, no less than a paper or manuscript, is a primary historical document which holds the capacity to inform.
Dampness was a common problem in many Scottish buildings and both internal and external drains were required to combat this. In most later buildings, suspended wooden floors became the norm so providing an added level of comfort.
Architectural detail can constitute the key interpretative or diagnostic elements of a structure. Thus it is central to the interpretation and understanding of buildings, their place in cultural history and their demonstrating changing ideas over time.
6.1.5 Recording the materials
In this necessarily brief section, it will not be possible to describe more than the broad processes or principles for addressing the potential of details as conveyors of evidence. The reader should therefore consult the general references, and also Ch 6.5 on fixtures and fittings.
In recording and analysing the constructional material used in a building, the building recorder will systematically note the position, extent and nature etc of the materials. This will be done using the various tools such as context pro-formas, photography etc, as