An early Bronze Age tomb has been rediscovered on the Isle of Bute, an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland.
In 2022, a farmer’s plough accidentally struck a long-lost Bronze Age tomb, first recorded in 1863, but missing from archaeological records for over a century.
The chance discovery quickly attracted archaeologists, and the site was soon taken over by experts from the AOC Archaeology Group who carried out the first proper excavation of the tomb.
Dr Matthew Knight, senior curator of prehistory (Bronze Age Collections) at NMS and lead investigator on the SAHRC project, said: “The cist was found at a site called Rhubodach on the Isle of Bute, and it’s a cist that had been forgotten about.
Scientific analysis has dated the burial to approximately 2250 BC, placing it within Scotland’s Early Bronze Age.
The tomb, positioned less than 100 metres from today’s shoreline, contained two individuals interred at different times, indicating that the grave was deliberately reopened for a second burial.
The uppermost skeleton was identified as an adult male aged between 35 and 50 years, standing around 1.68 metres tall and showing few signs of illness or physical stress. Beneath him lay the remains of a much younger female, believed to have been a teenager or young adult. Her burial clearly predated that of the man.
Radiocarbon results suggest that both interments occurred within a relatively short span of time, but the sequential use of the grave raises new questions about kinship, status, and funerary customs among Bronze Age communities on Bute.
Further insights were gained from isotope testing, which revealed that both individuals relied almost exclusively on land-based foods. This finding is surprising given the tomb’s coastal location and challenges assumptions that island populations of the period depended heavily on marine resources.
The remains were formally transferred to National Museums Scotland, where they are now being curated and analysed at a newly established research centre specialising in ancient human remains. Researchers hope ongoing studies will provide information on the individuals’ origins, mobility, diet, and overall health.
Souces : AOC
