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Workers installing new sewer line in Scotland unexpectedly discovered ancient human remainsas well as evidence of a much older settlement.
The burial site dates to the 6th century AD, according to a Jan. 28 press release from Scottish Water. It was found at Windhill in the Scottish Highlands.
Surprisingly, archaeologists also found two Iron Age roundhouses, which may date back up to 3,000 years.
‘HUGE EXCITING’ PREHISTORIC ARTIFACTS DISCOVERED DURING SEARCH FOR LONG-LOST IRISH CASTLE
The excavators also found stone tools and two smelting furnaces, which “would have been housed in structures outside the roundhouses”, Scottish Water said.
“The ovens would likely have produced significant heat and fumes, which would preclude their installation in an enclosed space,” the statement added.
The discovery at Windhill revealed two well-preserved Iron Age roundhouses; one of them is shown above. This has added to the growing evidence of prehistoric settlements in the region. (Scottish Water, Steven Birch and Andy Hickie)
“This is evidenced by the posthole arches which were much shallower than the roundhouse surrounds and probably formed temporary auxiliary structures.”
The site’s artifacts and environmental materials can reveal “a lot about everyday life,” both during the Iron Age and the 6th century AD, said Steven Birch, an archaeologist with West Coast Archaeological Services.
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“The two melting furnaces and a smaller one [blacksmith’s] “The home was relatively well preserved and during the excavations I was able to reveal many details about its construction and use,” he said.
One of the 6th-century burials had been placed in a log coffin, Birch said, and although most of the remains did not survive, a patch of dirt marked where they had been placed, along with some cranial fragments.
Archaeologists discovered well-preserved smelting furnaces, pictured left, and rare decorated clay, seen right, at the Windhill site, offering new insight into Iron Age industrial activity and settlement life in the Scottish Highlands. (Scottish Water, Steven Birch and Andy Hickie)
“There was no grave goods, as is typical in tombs of this era. in Scotland – unlike the well-furnished Anglo-Saxon burials of this period in England.”
Experts were aware that the site had some archaeological potential, as “a large number of prehistoric elements” were found a few years ago, Birch said.
Birch also described the condition of the two prehistoric roundhouses as “excellent”, contributing to further evidence of a settlement at the site.
“In a broader context, these types of discoveries “They add to a growing corpus of sites around the Moray Firth basin, suggesting that the area was well populated during prehistory and with widespread evidence of industrial activities, including metallurgy,” he said.
“There was no grave goods, which is typical of tombs from this period in Scotland,” said an archaeologist from West Coast Archaeological Services. (Scottish Water, Steven Birch and Andy Hickie)
He added: “These sites did not produce pottery, but [rather] a series of stone tools for grinding grain, some small fragments of copper alloys and iron objects, which require more detailed analysis.”
He also said: “Environmental materials recovered from bulk samples include charcoal, burnt hazelnut shells and some burnt grain…probably six-row barley.”
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Because the soil is very acidic, few bones survived from the burial site, although several fragments were recovered.
The most surprising discovery There was mud in the roundhouse, or mud plaster that was used to cover the woven wooden walls.
“We know that during the early medieval period, although Christianity was coming to the fore, people still had respect for it. [their pagan] ancestors.”
What made the painting so unusual was its decoration, particularly its chevron or V-shaped patterns.
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“I can confirm that this type of decoration is incredibly rare and this is the first case to be found in Scotland, if not the UK, although further research is required here,” he said.
He also said that when people of the 6th century They lived there, some evidence of the earlier Iron Age roundhouses was still visible.
Shown here is a representation of Iron Age Britain. This period dates back thousands of years, when roundhouses and metalworks were part of active, populated communities. (Museum of London/Heritage Images/Getty Images)
“We know that, during the early medieval period, although Christianity was coming to the fore.people still had respect for [their pagan] ancestors, and that the prehistoric menhirs and earlier funerary monuments were linked to the deep past and the ancestors,” he said.
“These later burial mounds are often centered around these earlier monuments.”
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He added that remains from the site, including remains of burned plantsanimal bones and human teeth, can “provide some knowledge about diet and subsistence.”
Researchers are now conducting radiocarbon dating and isotope analysis on the remains in hopes of building a clearer chronology of the site.
