There was likely no shortage of ale and good cheer at a recently unearthed Viking drinking hall, discovered by archaeologists on the island of Rousay, Orkney, in northern Scotland.
The site was explored for a number of years before the discovery
The hall wasn’t a short-lived establishment, either. Its doors seem to have been open from the 10th to the 12th centuries, likely serving high-status Vikings, the archaeologists said.
Now, all that’s left of this once bustling alehouse are stones, a handful of artefacts — including a fragmented Norse bone comb, pottery and a bone spindle whorl — and very old trash heaps, known as middens.
The Norse bone comb fragment from the excavation site
Archaeologists discovered the beer hall this summer, after learning that walls extending from below a known settlement were actually part of a large, 43-foot-long (13 m) Norse building.
These walls were about 3 feet (1 meter) wide and 18 feet (5.5 m) apart. Stone benches sat on the sides of the building, they noted.
Stone walls and stone benches were found during the excavation
The drinking hall was found at an archaeological hotspot at Skaill Farmstead, a place that has likely been inhabited by people for more than 1,000 years.
That’s why a team of archaeologists from the University of the Highlands and Islands archaeology institute, Rousay locals and students have been digging there for years; they are often sifting through the middens to learn about old farming and fishing practices, as well as what sorts of foods were eaten by the people who lived there.
“We have recovered millennia of middens, which will allow us an unparalleled opportunity to look at changing dietary traditions, farming and fishing practices from the Norse period up until the 19th century,” project co-director Ingrid Mainland, an archaeologist at the University of the Highlands and Islands, said in a statement.
Excavations at the drinking hall are ongoing, but it’s already showing similarities to other Norse halls found in Orkney, as well as other parts of Scotland.
Moreover, the farmstead is part of the Westness on Rousay, a coastal stretch on the island. Westness is mentioned in the Orkneyinga saga as the home of Sigurd, a mighty chieftain, the archaeologists said.
Perhaps, Sigurd frequented the drinking hall, the archaeologists added.
“You never know, but perhaps Earl Sigurd himself sat on one of the stone benches inside the hall and drank a flagon of ale!” project co-director Dan Lee, an archaeologist at the University of the Highlands and Islands, said in the statement.
Well-Preserved Burial Cist Discovered on Scottish Island
The Scotsman reports that a well-preserved skeleton has been discovered in a tightly constructed stone burial cist about a half-mile from the Neolithic site of Skara Brae on the island of Orkney.
This researcher, a member of the archaeological team, is digging here in an effort to discover more about the skeleton, which is lying in a crouched position on its right-hand side, with the cist some three-metres wide and covered with a heavy stone slab.
It is too early to determine whether the bones are those of a man or a woman or if anything else was buried with them. But the robustness of the cist has left the skeleton virtually intact, with small bones – such as toes – surviving thousands of years.
The skeleton was discovered on a farm close to the Neolithic settlement of Skara Brae on Orkney but it is not clear if there is a link between the two, with the remains possibly from the later Bronze Age.
Martin Cook, director of AOC Archaeology, said: “The size and scale of the cist would suggest it is a late Neolithic or early Bronze Age burial.
“We think the skeleton is buried by itself and not part of a cemetery. It is obviously very close to Skara Brae.”
Mr Cook said it was too soon to say whether the burial was linked to Skara Brae, the Neolithic settlement that was occupied from around 3180 BC to 2500 BC.
“This could be a later grave,” Mr Cook added.
Evidence of other unexcavated settlements has recently been found on the coast at the Bay of Skaill.
Mr Cook added: “We are currently removing the skeleton and what we are looking for is material goods, things like pottery or animal bones or whether a joint of meat were buried with it.
“The skeleton was laid down in a crouched position and we can see the leg bones, the arms and the toes. Sometimes animals like voles will get in and take the smaller bones but this cist was really well, tightly built. It looks like all the bone is there and well.”
The find was reported to archaeologists after it was discovered during work on the Davidson cattle farm at Skaill. The excavation was carried out by AOC Archaeology on behalf of Historic Environment Scotland.
A spokesperson for Historic Environment Scotland (HES) said “We were approached by the local authority archaeologist in Orkney for assistance after the discovery of a cist burial in the buffer zone of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site. AOC Archaeology, current holders of our excavation call-off contract, is attending the site and will be carrying out an archaeological excavation.”
The find comes shortly after evidence of a possible Neolithic or Bronze Age settlement in the Bay of Skaill area was discovered around half a mile from Skara Brae.
The finds of a badly damaged wall, which had been exposed due to the pounding tides on this stretch of coast, along with deer antlers, a boar tooth, a cattle jawbone and a large decorated stone have led archaeologists to consider whether “another Skara Brae” is waiting to be discovered.
Eroding wall running out from an eroding section on to the beach. The dark material in the foreground is a layer of peat. Sigurd Towrie from the University of the Highlands and Islands discovered a badly damaged wall that had been exposed by pounding tides and pouring rain
Deer antlers, a boar tooth (pictured), a cattle jawbone and a large decorated stone have also been discovered at the site – said to date back nearly 5,000 years
Sigurd Towrie, the spokesman for the Archaeology Institute at the University of Highlands and Islands, said earlier this month that the finds “suggest there is another settlement at the Bay of Skaill – one that, from previous environmental sampling, is likely to be 4,000 to 5,000 years old”.
Erosion Reveals Possible Neolithic Village Site in Scotland
The Scotsman reports that erosion on the island of Orkney at the northern end of the Bay of Skaill has exposed deer antlers, a boar tooth, a cattle jawbone, and a large stone marked with incised triangles and a series of rectangular bands.
The artifacts were found about a half-mile away from the site of the Neolithic village of Skara Brae, which is located at the bay’s southern end.
Skara Brae is considered the best-preserved Neolithic settlement in Western Europe with people first making their home there around 3,100BC.
It was discovered in 1850 when a storm exposed part of the coastal site. Now, almost 170 years later, coastal erosion may have uncovered its neighbour.
A section of badly damaged wall has been exposed by the work of the pounding tides at the north end of the Bay of Skaill. Deer antlers, a boar tooth, a cattle jawbone, and a large decorated stone have also been discovered.
A boar tusk found at the north end of the Bay of Skaill.
Sigurd Towrie, the spokesman for the Archaeology Institute at the University of Highlands and Islands, said the finds “suggest there is another settlement at the Bay of Skaill – one that, from previous environmental sampling, is likely to be 4,000 to 5,000 years old”.
He said: “If this is the case, and based on the scale of the eroded section, we may well be looking at a Neolithic/Bronze Age site on a par with Skara Brae – albeit one that is now disappearing at an alarming rate.”
The large decorated stone found on the beach, which is similar to those found at Skara Brae.
The large decorated stone was discovered in the Bay of Skaill by Mr. Towrie after he noticed animal remains falling from an eroding section of shoreline.
Closer inspection found the stone marked with a pair of incised triangles and a series of rectangular bands running across the surface.
Dr. Antonia Thomas, the Archaeology Institute’s rock art specialist, confirmed the find was potentially a carved stone – one with designs similar to those recorded at Skara Brae.
The Bay of Skaill, where evidence of another potential Neolithic settlement has emerged.
It has long been thought that more Neolithic settlements may have dotted the bay surrounding Skara Brae. During building work in the 1930s, a wall was discovered to the north of the bay along with midden material, animal bone, and four burials, which were later moved.
The new finds have refreshed interest in who may have lived around the bay during the New Stone Age.
The discovery of deer remains is an unusual find for a Neolithic site on Orkney, with the animal perhaps used for rituals rather than food, it is understood.
The Bay of Skaill is now under close observation from the archaeology institute, although an excavation is unlikely in the near future given restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic.
A section of wall which has been exposed at the Bay of Skaill which may have been part of an undiscovered Neolithic settlement.
The cow mandible recovered from the eroding shoreline section. Towrie discovered the stone while visiting the Bay of Bay Skaill after she noticed animal remains falling from an eroding section of shoreline
Mr. Towrie said: “UHI Archaeology Institute will continue to carefully monitor the extent of the coastal erosion and act as an when necessary.”
Skara Brae is considered the best-preserved prehistoric settlement of any period in the British Isles. Its preservation in the sand has left a vivid impression of life in a prehistoric village.
An ‘exceptional’ collection of artifacts recovered from the site tell a story of farming and fishing among its inhabitants, as well as jewellery making and crafts.
One of the houses at Skara Brae contains a hearth and stone beds. One bed, which is decorated, lies directly over the burial site of two mature women laid to rest in a crouched position.
Discovery of massive island ritual site where people gathered 5,500 years ago
The discovery of a cursus monument site at Tormore on the Isle of Arran, which is more than a kilometer long, is helping to reshape Neolithic history in Scotland with such landmarks usually associated with the east coast.
The previously unknown large Neolithic ritual site has been found on the Isle of Arran.
Cursus monuments were often defined by long lines of timber posts, forming a long rectangle, and were amongst the most spectacular features in the Neolithic landscape.
The posts may have served as a procession route, perhaps to honour the dead. Some were burned to the ground in an almighty display which is believed to have been part of the ceremonies associated with these huge monuments.
Dave Cowley, Rapid Archaeological Mapping Programme Manager at Historic Environment Scotland, who discovered the site following a laser scan of Arran, described the cursus monument as a “cathedral of the day”.
He said: “I think if you asked the survey team what they thought they were most likely to find on Arran, I would bet you no one would say a Neolithic cursus monument
“There is no other on Arran, it’s unique on the island, there is one more in Kilmartin Glen and that is pretty much it for the western seaboard.
“What this example at Tormore tells is there are probably actually many more on them but because they were built from timber, you are not likely to see them in the unimproved peat landscape of the west coast.
The site of the cursus monument was discovered after these two parallel lines, marked here by red arrows, were picked up by a laser scan of Arran landscape.
“Arran has got some cracking Neolithic and Bronze Age archaeology but we are still surprised that this monument is here.
“It adds a whole additional dimension to what the archaeology of the Neolithic on Arran can tell us. It is like finding a whole new layer in a box of chocolates of new things.”
Mr. Cowley detected the site after picking up two lines of mounds, which lie roughly parallel and stand 30 to 40 centimeters high, and which run for around a kilometer.
He said: “When you look at the topography, it very slightly runs to the crest of a ridge. They have been very careful about how they have positioned this monument. There probably was a superstructure here but we won’t know for sure without excavation.
“It would have had an impact. There is an element of design to it, a form of landscape architecture.
“It does seem likely that there were timber elements built into it. Whether or not it was set on fire we just don’t know at the moment. “
Mr Cowley said the monuments probably brought together “quite dispersed populations together in a communal activity” and that different community built different parts of the monument.
The site was discovered following an aerial laser scan of the site using Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) technology, which uses laser pulses to measure objects.
Images can then be reworked by filtering out vegetation or by changing the way it is lit which can then reveal previously unknown characteristics in the land. More than 1,000 unknown archaeological sites have been found on Arran using the technology.
A 5,000-year-old relic from the Great Pyramid discovered in a cigar box in Scotland
A ‘chance discovery’ at the University of Aberdeen could shed new light on the Great Pyramid with museum staff uncovering a ‘lost’ artifact – one of only three objects ever recovered from inside the Wonder of the Ancient World.
In 1872 the engineer Waynman Dixon discovered a trio of items inside the pyramid’s Queen’s Chamber, which became known as the ‘Dixon relics’.
Two of them – a ball and hook – are now housed in the British Museum however the third, a fragment of wood, has been missing for more than 70 years.
The box was found among the Asia archives at the University of Aberdeen
The lost piece of cedar has generated many theories about its purpose and date and holds particular significance because of the potential for radiocarbon dating. Some have speculated that it was part of a measuring rule which could reveal clues regarding the pyramid’s construction.
In 2001 a record was identified which indicated the wood fragment may have been donated to the University of Aberdeen’s museum collections as a result of a connection between Dixon and James Grant, who was born in Methlick in 1840.
Grant studied medicine at the university and in the mid-1860s went to Egypt to help with an outbreak of cholera where he befriended Dixon and went on to assist him with the exploration of the Great Pyramid, where together they discovered the relics.
The cigar box with wooden fragments had been added to the museum’s Asia collection, but actually housed the Egyptian relics.
The finding was widely reported at the time, with a British newspaper, ‘The Graphic’, carrying a story on the important discovery in December 1872 which stated: ‘Although they possess a remarkable interest, not alone on account of their vast antiquity, from the evidence they are likely to afford as to the correctness of the many theories formed by Sir Isaac Newton and others as to the weights and measures in use by the builders of the pyramids. The position in which they have left shows that they must have been left there whilst the work was going on, and at an early period of its construction’.
Following Grant’s death in 1895, his collections were bequeathed to the University, while the ‘five-inch piece of cedar’ was donated by his daughter in 1946. However, it was never classified and despite an extensive search, could not be located.
Then at the end of last year, curatorial assistant Abeer Eladany was conducting a review of items housed in the University’s Asia collection.
Abeer Eladany with the cigar box and pieces of wood.
Abeer, who is originally from Egypt and spent 10 years working in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, was immediately intrigued and, noting that the item had the country’s former flag on the top and did not seem to belong in the Asian collection, cross-referenced it with other records. It was then that she realized just what she was holding.
It may be just a small fragment of wood, which is now in several pieces, but it is hugely significant given that it is one of only three items ever to be recovered from inside the Great Pyramid”
Abeer Eladany
“Once I looked into the numbers in our Egypt records, I instantly knew what it was and that it had effectively been hidden in plain sight in the wrong collection,” she said. “I’m an archaeologist and have worked on digs in Egypt but I never imagined it would be here in north-east Scotland that I’d find something so important to the heritage of my own country.
“It may be just a small fragment of wood, which is now in several pieces, but it is hugely significant given that it is one of only three items ever to be recovered from inside the Great Pyramid.
“The University’s collections are vast – running to hundreds of thousands of items – so looking for it has been like finding a needle in a haystack. I couldn’t believe it when I realized what was inside this innocuous-looking cigar tin.”
Covid restrictions delayed the dating of the ‘lost’ cedar fragment which originally belonged to a much larger piece of wood, which was most recently seen in a 1993 exploration of the interior of the pyramid by a robotic camera is hidden and now unreachable voids.
Results have recently been returned and show that the wood can be dated to somewhere in the period 3341-3094BC – some 500 years earlier than historical records which date the Great Pyramid to the reign of the Pharaoh Khufu in 2580-2560BC.
This supports the idea that – whatever their use – the Dixon Relics were original to the construction of the Great Pyramid and not later artifacts left behind by those exploring the chambers.
Neil Curtis, Head of Museums and Special Collections at the University of Aberdeen, said: “Finding the missing Dixon Relic was a surprise but the carbon dating has also been quite a revelation.
“It is even older than we had imagined. This may be because the date relates to the age of the wood, maybe from the center of a long-lived tree. Alternatively, it could be because of the rarity of trees in ancient Egypt, which meant that wood was scarce, treasured, and recycled or cared for over many years.
“It will now be for scholars to debate its use and whether it was deliberately deposited, as happened later during the New Kingdom when pharaohs tried to emphasize continuity with the past by having antiquities buried with them.
“This discovery will certainly reignite interest in the Dixon Relics and how they can shed light on the Great Pyramid.”
1,000-year-old cross buried in Scottish field thought to have belonged to the king
Since painstaking restoration, a stunning Anglo-Saxon silver cross has arisen from under 1,000 years of encrusted dirt. Such is its quality that whoever commissioned this treasure may have been a high-standing cleric or even a king.
It was a sorry-looking object when first unearthed in 2014 from a ploughed field in western Scotland as part of the Galloway Hoard, the richest collection of rare and unique Viking-age objects ever found in Britain or Ireland, acquired by the National Museums Scotland (NMS)
The tiniest glimpses of its gold-leaf decoration could be spotted through its grubby exterior, but its stunning, intricate design had been concealed until now. A supreme example of Anglo-Saxon metalwork has been revealed.
The equal-armed cross was created by a goldsmith of outstanding skill and artistry. Its four arms bear the symbols of the four evangelists to whom tradition attributed the gospels of the New Testament: Saint Matthew (man), Mark (lion), Luke (cow) and John (eagle).
Dr Martin Goldberg, the NMS principal curator of early medieval and Viking collections, recalled his “wonderment” after seeing the cross in a gleaming state.
He told the Observer: “It’s just spectacular. There really isn’t a parallel. That is partly because of the time period it comes from. We imagine that a lot of ecclesiastical treasures were robbed from monasteries – that’s what the historical record of the Viking age describes to us. This is one of the survivals. The quality of the workmanship is just incredible. It’s a real privilege to see this after 1,000 years.”
The Galloway Hoard was buried in the late 9th century in Dumfries and Galloway, where it was unearthed by a metal detectorist in 2014.
The cross was among more than 100 gold, silver and other items, including a beautiful gold bird-shaped pin and a silver-gilt vessel. Incredibly, textile in which the objects had been wrapped was among organic matter that also survived.
The Galloway Hoard, which includes more than 100 items, was acquired by National Museums Scotland
Right: A millennium’s worth of dirt has been removed from the Anglo-Saxon cross buried in the 9th century;Left: The cross before it was cleaned.
Goldberg said: “At the start of the 10th century, new kingdoms were emerging in response to Viking invasions. Alfred the Great’s dynasty was laying the foundations of medieval England, and Alba, the kingdom that became medieval Scotland, is first mentioned in historical sources.”
Galloway had been part of Anglo-Saxon Northumbria, said Goldberg, and was called the Saxon coast in the Irish chronicles as late as the 10th century. But this area was to become the Lordship of Galloway, named from the Gall-Gaedil, people of Scandinavian descent who spoke Gaelic and dominated the Irish Sea zone during the Viking age.
“The mixed material of the Galloway Hoard exemplifies this dynamic political and cultural environment,” Goldberg added.
“The cleaning has revealed that the cross, made in the 9th century, [has] a late Anglo-Saxon style of decoration. This looks like the type of thing that would be commissioned at the highest levels of society. First sons were usually kings and lords, second sons would become high-ranking clerics. It’s likely to come from one of these aristocratic families.”
The pectoral cross has survived with its intricate spiral chain, from which it would have been suspended from the neck, displayed across the chest.
The chain shows that the cross was worn. Goldberg said: “You could almost imagine someone taking it off their neck and wrapping the chain around it to bury it in the ground. It has that kind of personal touch.”
Conservators carved a porcupine quill to create a tool that was sharp enough to remove the dirt, yet soft enough not to damage the metalwork.
Dr Leslie Webster, former keeper of Britain, Prehistory and Europe at the British Museum, said: “It is a unique survival of high-status Anglo-Saxon ecclesiastical metalwork from a period when – in part, thanks to the Viking raids – so much has been lost.”
Why the hoard was buried remains a mystery. Goldberg said that the cross now raises many more questions and that research continues.
The exhibition, Galloway Hoard: Viking-age Treasure, will be at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.
Mysteries of the 2,500-year-old butter found at the bottom of a loch
In Perth and Kinross, butter dated back 2,500 years was discovered at the bottom of a loch. Within a wooden butter bowl, manufactured by an Iron Age culture, traces of milk content were found preserved.
Archaeologists at the bottom of Loch Tay uncovered the wooden dish, where at least 17 crannogs, or Iron Age wooden houses, once stood.
Built from alder with a lifespan of around 20 years, the structures simply collapsed into the loch once they had served their purpose, taking the objects inside with them.
The replica crannog on Loch Tay, where the butter was found
The crannogs were considered high-status sites which offered good security as well as easy access to trading routes along the Tay and into the North Sea.
Rich Hiden, the archaeologist at the Scottish Crannog Centre, said conditions at the bottom of the loch had offered the perfect environment to preserve the butter and the dish.
He said: “Because of the fantastic anaerobic conditions, where there is very light, oxygen or bacteria to break down anything organic, you get this type of sealed environment.
“When they started excavating, they pulled out this square wooden dish, well around three-quarters of a square wooden dish, which had these really nice chisel marks on the sides as well as this grey stuff.”
Analysis on the matter found it was dairy material, with experts believing it likely originated from a cow. Holes in the bottom of the wooden dish suggest it was used for the buttering process.
The butter then may have been turned into cheese by adding rennet, which naturally forms in a number of plants, including nettles.
Mr Hiden added: “This dish is so valuable in many ways.
“To be honest, we would expect people of this time to be eating dairy.
The 2,500-year-old butter dish and the remains of the butter.
“In the early Iron Age, they had mastered the technology of smelting iron ore into to’s so mastering the technology of dairy we would expect.
“So while it may not surprise us that they are eating dairy, what is so important about this butter dish is that it helps us to identify what life was like in the crannogs and the skills and the tools that they had.
“To me, that is archaeology at its finest. It is using the object itself to unravel the story.
“The best thing about this butter dish is that it is so personal and offers us such a complete snapshot of what was happening here.
“It is not just a piece of wood. You look at it and you start to extrapolate so much.
“If you start to pull one thread, you look at the tool marks and you see they were using very fine chisels to make this kind of object.
“They were probably making their own so that gives another aspect as to how life was here.”
It is believed that 20 people and animals lived in a crannog at any one time. Many trees were used to fashion the homes, with hazel woven into panels to make walls and partitions.
Metal Detectorist In Scotland Unearths Rare Medieval Knife
Scottish history enthusiast and metal detectorist Craig Johnstone had worked out that woods near Penicuik were probably an escape route from a 1666 battle and he went to see what he could find.
But after coming across some musket balls which confirmed his theory, he unearthed something which turned out to be much older and unusual – a small, highly-decorated knife and scabbard which has been dated between 1191 and 1273.
“When I found the knife it was covered in mud,” he said. “The knife was stuck inside the scabbard and I thought it was the top of a railing someone had cut off.
“I showed it to a couple of people and one of my friends worked for Midlothian council – he took it into their archaeologist and straight away she knew it was a knife. The knife and its scabbard have been dated to between 1191 and 1273
The knife and its scabbard have been dated to between 1191 and 1273
“She advised us to heat it up slowly so we put it in the oven at really low heat with the door open. It was a pure Excalibur moment for me when I pulled out the handle and there was a blade.”
There were also two pieces of leather inside the scabbard to protect the knife. Mr Johnstone, who lives in Penicuik and has his own data communications business, took his find from Deanburn woods to an independent expert in Edinburgh. “He knew it was from the medieval period, but he didn’t realise how early it was – he thought maybe the 16th century.
“After that, I realised I had better report it to Treasure Trove – but they dismissed it as a ‘relatively modern item’.”
The knife is highly decorated and could have belonged to a nobleman.
Undeterred, he paid to have it carbon-dated privately and was told it could be over 800 years old, originating between 1191 and 1273.
“I wasn’t expecting it to come back with such an early date.”
He passed the carbon-dating details to Treasure Trove and the knife is due to be considered by the Scottish Archaeological Finds Allocation Panel. Mr Johnstone said the knife was about the same size as a skean dhu. “The blade is only about three inches and it’s a high-grade, hollow-ground blade.
Craig Johnstone had only been metal-detecting for six months when he found the knife
“It’s a very highly decorated item for its time. The blade would have had a silver leaf on it, the handle is bronze would have been covered in gold.
“It would have belonged to a nobleman or someone of some substance.
“This is an important item. There’s never been one found before that’s as early as this.”
Mr Johnstone had only been metal-detecting for about six months when he made his discovery. He has since found a bronze age spearhead which has been dated around 1500 BC and he received £200 for it.
The scabbard, knife and leather insert were unearthed at Deanburn woods, Penicuik
The scabbard, knife and leather insert were unearthed at Deanburn woods, Penicuik.
But he says: “None of this is about the money or how much these things are worth. It’s about Scottish history and the knife getting the recognition it deserves.”
A Treasure Trove spokeswoman said: “This is a highly unusual object, comprising of a blade with a hilt and a metal scabbard with leather inside. While the leather and blade date from the medieval period, the hilt and scabbard are unusual for the period.
“Treasure Trove is still carrying out investigations into the object. It was due to be x-rayed as part of the investigation process, but this has unfortunately been delayed due to Covid-19 restrictions.”
