Chapter 5: Autumn 873 AD

There was much to do that autumn. The fact that so many materials were required for building also produced a surprising bonus for Scott. The ovens had been used to roast the limestone to make quicklime for use in making mortar. Immediately afterwards a potter had tried to fire some pots and found the lime created a glaze that turned the pots a bright white colour. When Scott was called to see this strange phenomenon he grinned hugely at what looked like vitreous china, a key prerequisite in his plans for improving sanitation and running water in his settlements. Vitreous china was non-permeable so could hold water easily and also deal with the kind of waste that sanitation would involve. Scott had thought that this material was available by the ninth century but neither he nor his potters had known how to produce it. They now knew that the presence of lime was somehow key to producing more.

Scott had re-thought some of his plans for settlement defences after a stray thought had come to him. He dimly remembered a programme on the History Channel that had covered the American civil war. The 'Johnny-Rebs' had made a significant strategic move when Virginia had joined the struggle - they had moved the confederate 'capital' from Alabama to Virginia. By doing so they had, at a stroke, moved the 'front-line' over a thousand miles closer to Washington. This served to protect the rich, fertile areas to the west and south of Virginia, allowing those areas to produce much of the food that sustained the confederate army.

Scott now thought that he should create a network of defences along the West Coast of the lordship so that these could protect the improvements he was putting in place behind them. It was a 'stop them on the beaches' approach and the fact that it had come from the American south pleased him, as he was sure many displaced Scots had ended up in that area.

He picked out three new sites - Easdale, Barnacarry and Dunbeg. Together with the planned camp at Oban, that would establish a line of defences with only some three or four miles between each along the seaboard. The new settlements were not particularly big but were sufficient to base up to one hundred men. Work began immediately to fortify these positions with stone walls. There wasn't time to do anything too fancy with the housing inside the walls, but Scott did let his builders practice assimilating chimneys into the work.

The walls would also feature protected firing points that would be used by his archers. Another feature he had designed in was a purpose-built 'armoury'. This structure was kept at a distance from the housing and would be used to store pots of oil that would be useful in dealing with Norse enemies.

The construction of these camps, incorporating stone walls, was a major undertaking and Scott knew they wouldn't be completed for perhaps a year. He had concentrated efforts at Dun Ollaigh/Oban in an effort to at least have this site completed before the spring hosting season began.

The men of the lordship had responded mostly positively to all that Scott was doing, could see the benefits of his ideas. The introduction of soap, boiled water and heating milk didn't go down well, the response much like it had been in the Knapdale settlements, but they went along with them. There was almost a rebellion however, when Scott instituted the use of the lordship's women to help things along. Allowing women to undertake roles traditionally carried out by men was a huge culture shock, but Scott argued his case, pointing out how much quicker things could be achieved. Fiona and Eilean also described the contribution of the women at Aird Driseig - both in labour and defending the camp. Several weeks of seeing such benefits for themselves did more to convince the men perhaps than Scott's arguments.

The greenhouses helped ensure his plantings were effectively 'harvested', a significant stock of seeds secured and stored for use the following year. The meagre Loarne grain harvest was gathered in and Scott observed how this was achieved. He also studied carefully how the grain was threshed and eventually ground down to make flour. The processes were all labour intensive and, so far as he was concerned, hugely inefficient.

His plans were to harness ploughs and the like in the next year to greatly increase the planting. He knew that the methods that were being used currently would never be able to cope with processing the much larger volume of grain. It occurred to him that Lachlan would be facing the same issue if he continued with the increased planting in Knapdale. The Viking raid had wiped out the Aird Driseig crop and that meant the production from other camps could be spread to Aird Driseig for processing, but the following year they would be faced with a huge volume to deal with.

Autumn was a time for picking berries and Scott returned to one of his earlier ideas that had never been put into effect - the making of 'home' wines. The lordship's churchmen were best placed to take this on he thought and he visited several of the church sites to discuss methods with the monks. Brewing of ale and even cider was already commonplace so the basic concepts and processes were understood.

Scott had worked with his potters to produce a number of glass objects that he thought would help with alcohol production. Part of his studies at University had included a trip to a glassworks and he had been fascinated by the early use of glass in the production of an alembic still. This still was fairly basic in design and would allow his monks to begin to produce uisge beatha in much greater quantities than had been achieved hitherto.

He had also gone through a student 'home-brew' phase and now also put into production his designs for a little glass 'bubble' airlock and some demijohn jars. He explained to the monks how the fermentation of berries could be achieved using the two together, emphasising the need to maintain a constant temperature during the fermentation. The process of letting the fermented wine settle and of 'racking' were similar to what the monks were used to, so that wouldn't cause any trouble.

Scott was satisfied that his monks at Kilmore and Kilchrenan would be producing wine and whisky before the winter was out. He despatched a stock of barrels to them so that the alcohol could be allowed to age before use.

Gabrain was growing and filling out, his weapons practice adding muscle to his young frame. He was continuing with his studies too and Scott was impressed with the progress he was making. Gabrain had grasped the fundamentals of reading and writing and his progress and the way he was applying himself made Scott proud, almost paternal. He thought about that and realised he did almost think of the boy as his own son, despite the fact he was only some ten years his junior. The boy's natural inquisitive nature and quick wits were being moulded and expanded through his learning, all of which augured well for the Kingdom of Dalriada.

The days were shortening as winter approached and Scott decided it was time to make a last tour of all of his settlements before the snow made that impossible. There was a holiday atmosphere as he rode round the camps, Gabrain and the girls with him. The people of the lordship had quickly taken to their new lord, his reputation in battle, and the energy he was putting in to improving their lot, key reasons for that. The morale in every settlement was in marked contrast to how it had been immediately after the defeat of King Fergus and the death of Oengus. Scott was pleased to see how well his trainee long bow archers were doing already, their training regime building their strength.

Inveraray was already producing fish and shellfish, much to Scott's delight as he enjoyed both, although he had difficulty in convincing the men about when to harvest shellfish. He remembered well an old saying from his time. Shellfish should only be eaten in a month that had an 'R' in its name. He wasn't sure whether this was because they might be unfit to eat or whether this was the period they reproduced, but he wasn't taking any chances.

The lordship's craftsmen in particular had developed a special fondness for Scott. He spent time with them and his ideas had moved their crafts on by leaps and bounds. Scott also enjoyed these occasions, developing glass working, designing simple woodworking (that he remembered from his rudimentary woodwork in school), and bouncing ideas off of his builders. He had shared better designs for mortise/tenon and dovetail joints, the construction of a hand turned lathe with metal gouges and even the simple concept of using dowels. The development of these and the forging of wood planes were a source of joy for the wood workers.

The construction at Easdale, Barnacarry and Dunbeg were starting to take on definition and at Dun Ollaigh/Oban they were pretty far progressed. It was at Oban that Scott intended the family would spend the winter. The little bay was a constant centre of activity as Scott's fishermen were trawling for fish and then the catch was being distributed throughout the camps.

Scott had also ordered the construction of icehouses in each of the settlements and explained how ice should be cut this winter to make them operational. Overall he was more than satisfied at how far things had come along in such a short time. The improved access to labour, bolstered by enlisting the women of the lordship, made a huge difference to what he could achieve.

He spent some of his time thinking about further projects that he could set in train in the coming year and some visiting his 'shipyard', pleased to see the progress being made on the production of more longships. He pondered the idea of creating the first 'iron-clad' ship. That would certainly catch the Vikings by surprise! He had no access to welding however, and although an iron ship would certainly protect him against Norsemen throwing oil or trying to ram him, he wasn't sure about their performance, particularly on the open seas.