Nuts nearly nine thousand years old have been found in the north of Skye, and are thought key the key to learning more about our hunter gatherer forebears.
The discovery of hazelnut shells was made during the five-day archaeological excavation beside Staffin Bay in September. University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) archaeologists were investigating a suspected Mesolithic structure, in collaboration with the local Staffin Community Trust (SCT).
Radiocarbon dates have now confirmed what was unearthed dates to the Mesolithic period, towards the latter half of the seventh millennium BC, and further major digs are now almost certain.
Two fragments of charred hazelnut shell both returned dates of circa 6800-6600 BC (calibrated). The hazelnuts were recovered from soil samples from the lower part of the sequence at the site, suggesting human activity may have occurred over a long period of time.
The excavation also yielded a fragment of worked bone, and several thousand flints which are being analysed.
While the structure at the site is likely to date to the post-medieval period, confirmation of Mesolithic dates for the layers below it could provide further clues about life in the area over 8,000 years ago.
The new dates are a bit earlier than the earliest dates from material recovered at another nearby site in the 1990s, at An Corran rock shelter. Experts say both sites were essentially contemporary, with many dating to this period along the Staffin Bay coastline.
Dan Lee of UHI's Archaeology Institute UHI, said: “We are really pleased to have such convincing Mesolithic dates from the site. This hints at the huge potential for additional excavations in the area and presents a great opportunity to understand life in the Staffin area during this period.”
SCT director Dugald Ross said: “The lab confirmation of human activity in the local area close to 9000 years ago is a huge bonus to all who took part and we eagerly await the next phase of research.”
SCT and UHI are to discuss how further work can be carried out in the Staffin area following this exciting discovery from the community-led project, which was attended by more than 200 people, including pupils from Staffin and Kilmuir primary schools.
The project was funded by the Scottish Funding Council via Interface Scotland, Highland Council and the Carnegie Foundation of New York.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here