Archaeologists have made a baffling Iron Age discovery near Dornoch in northern Scotland.
An unusual stone-lined structure containing human remains was unearthed during work by Highland Archaeological Services, a commercial archaeology company, in preparation for expansion at a local quarry in the area.
The structure has left experts with a 2,000-year-old mystery on their hands, as they work to understand the purpose behind the unusual feature, which they say is unlike anything previously uncovered in the country.
A Ring of Stones Emerges
The discovery was made as topsoil was removed by the team, initially revealing a circle of stones below the surface.
Further excavation revealed the feature to be something more elaborate, as an oval depression roughly 10 feet long and 6.5 feet wide began to appear as additional soil was removed. The feature, which includes carefully built stone walls and a floor made of rock slabs, also includes a descending stairway with narrow steps.
At the lowest portion of the structure, the remains of a human, along with animal bones, burned wood and charcoal, and a bowl hewn from soapstone were found, along with an artifact which appears to be a bangle crafted from shale.
Additional excavation nearby revealed evidence of postholes that may represent where ancient houses may have stood. Altogether, the site’s features are believed to be linked to Scotland’s Iron Age.
Purpose Remains Unknown
Right now, the archaeologists say they aren’t sure what the exact purpose of the site was, although they say it is certainly unique among suspected Iron Age burial sites known in Scotland.
Lachlan McKeggie, co-director of Highland Archaeology Services, says the group has reached out to experts in the region to get their opinions about the curious site, but none so far have an idea as to what it was.
“It is a bit of a mystery,” McKeggie recently told Northern Times, adding that “No one has seen anything like it before.”
While the site’s purpose remains unexplained, there are several possibilities that the team says are being considered. According to McKeggie, the structure does bear some resemblance to a souterrain, a type of underground chamber associated with Iron Age settlements that may have been used for storage and, potentially, as a refuge in ancient times.
Experts have also suggested that the unusual stone structure could have been incorporated into a larger aboveground building, perhaps a roundhouse similar to those suspected of having once stood nearby.
A Ritual Site?
Another idea involves the possibility that the structure might have served a ritual purpose—a theory that is often advanced in the absence of other possible explanations for archaeological features and artifacts.
There is some evidence that could support the structure’s ritual use, however, which includes the careful fitting of the stones and inclusion of a viscous clay-like substance used to bond portions of the lower structure, which could mean that it was designed to hold water or another liquid.
While this might all point to the site’s use for the simple storage of water, the steep staircase, narrow entrance, and small capacity all seem to suggest otherwise.
However, McKeggie advanced one other possibility about the site.
“I like to imagine that it’s an Iron Age hot tub, but that is speculative,” McKeggie joked.
“It will have been built with a purpose, but we just don’t know what that was yet.”
Ultimately, further analysis will be required before any final determination can be made. Another clue may be offered by the individual whose remains were found within the structure, which McKeggie and colleagues believe to have been a female adult, whose remains may have been placed within the structure as it was being deliberately filled in.
Ongoing Investigations and Possible Clues
Despite the structure’s uniqueness, similar practices have been documented in other parts of ancient Scotland. One example exists at High Pasture Cave on the Isle of Skye, where human and animal remains were found near a filled stairwell, which archaeologists believe to have been part of the site’s closure sometime between 25 and 90 CE.
Whatever the site’s purpose may prove to have been, Iron Age burials are relatively uncommon in northern Scotland, mainly due to acidic conditions in the soil that prevent the preservation of human remains over such long periods.
As investigations continue, the site has been documented and excavated, and researchers plan to conduct further analysis of the woman’s remains found within the structure, which may help to provide additional details about their life and possibly even clues about the purpose of the structure that became her final resting place.
Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. A longtime reporter on science, defense, and technology with a focus on space and astronomy, he can be reached at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow him on X @MicahHanks, and at micahhanks.com.