The topic of movement in archaeology has been extensively studied. Research on human movement during prehistory has become in archaeology and anthropology one of the bases for understanding the dynamics of social and economic relationships, technology, social identity and territoriality, among many other important themes. Although archaeological investigations related to movement have increased in the last decade, the majority have usually relied on “static” evidence, that is, on the analysis of the materials or objects that are found in specific sites, establishing the relationship between them and their points of origin or destination (Branting 2004). In recent years, using spatial technologies, more research has aimed to investigate movement from a landscape perspective, in which more attention has been paid to the processes that may have happened on journeys. Some of these studies have directly or indirectly analysed the possible factors influencing the decisions about which paths to take, the mechanics of movement and the archaeological evidence related to it (Llobera 2000; Fairén Jiménez 2004; Cruz Berrocal 2004; Fábrega Alvarez 2006; Fábrega Alvarez / Parcero Oubiña 2007; Llobera / Slukin 2007; Fiz / Orengo 2008; Murrieta-Flores 2010, 2012a; Mlekuzˇ 2010; in the current volume, Lock et al. and Mlekuzˇ among others). In the specific case of Iberia, megalithic monuments are among the archaeological elements at a landscape scale that have been linked to potential patterns of movement, and it has been argued that, besides their symbolic and funerary meanings, they may also have been utilized as landscape markers.

The Rhynie Environs Archaeological Project (REAP) was initiated in 2005 as a three year (Phase 1) programme of research and fieldwork based in and around the village of Rhynie; the main aim was to study the landscape context of an important group of Pictish symbol stones. Eight symbol stones are known from the village, including one, the Craw Stane, which is likely to be in its original position. A series of cropmark features have also been identified surrounding the ‘Craw Stane,’ and the substantial early medieval remains are set within an area rich with prehistoric monuments. This article outlines the results of geophysical survey and a small targeted excavation conducted in 2005-2006. The surveys included a substantial gradiometer and a smaller resistivity survey that aimed to characterise and explore the extent and survival of archaeology around the symbol stone findspots. The results showed several discrete anomalies; one of these was targeted by a small-scale excavation and proved to be a burnt Middle Bronze Age timber structure. The article highlights the survey and excavation within its landscape context and provides a summary excavation report with specialist reports for the MBA building.

How can we begin to understand and explain the changing significance of cremation in past societies? From many parts of the world and for many periods of human history from as early as the Upper Palaeolithic (Bowler et al., 1980) to recent centuries, archaeologists have uncovered and investigated material evidence for the use of fire as a means of transforming and disposing of the dead. This chapter argues that in contrast to the rich and widespread evidence for cremation in the archaeological record, theoretical approaches in the archaeology of cremation have been relatively thin on the ground until very recently. This relative failure to adequately engage with the complexity and the variability of cremation practices across cultures seems connected to the fact that most of the theoretical debates and developments in mortuary archaeology have, until quite recently, been primarily geared to the investigation of unburned human remains. Therefore, alongside increasingly refined methodologies for investigating burnt bones, it is argued that archaeologists need to redress this imbalance by developing explicit theoretical approaches to the phenomenon of cremation. Such theories need to engage with broad cross-cultural themes and also remain sensitive to the considerable variety of mortuary procedures involving fire used at different times and in different places.