A multidisciplinary study has found evidence for a previously unknown Iron Age funerary tradition stretching around Scotland’s northern coast.
It is difficult to identify funerary practices in Iron Age (c. 800 BC–AD 43) Britain, as human remains rarely survive. However, evidence is particularly prominent in north-west Scotland, because environmental conditions support the preservation of bone.
To take advantage of this, a team of researchers from the UK and USA examined two individuals (one adult female and one juvenile male) buried in a low stone cairn at Loch Borralie in Sutherland, close to the north-west extremity of the Scottish mainland.
“We knew that in the north-west of Scotland, including the Northern and Western Isles, the circulation and deposition of human remains were particularly prominent”, states lead author of the research, Dr Laura Castells Navarro from the University of York. “We tried to answer who these individuals were and where they came from, as well as if there was any relationship between them and/or with other individuals”.
The researchers took a multidisciplinary approach, combining osteology with isotope and ancient DNA analysis to create a broad picture of the individuals’ lives and relationships.
The osteological examination found evidence that the bones of Individual 1 (the adult female) were modified after her death. She displayed striations on the inside of her cranium, whilst her long bones (humeri, ulna and femur) tapered towards the end.
This suggests that her brain was intentionally removed and her long bones whittled to sharp points.
“The motivation behind the extensive manipulation of the skeletal remains of Individual 1 is very difficult to interpret”, states Castells Navarro. “However, the care with which she was reassembled and deposited in the cairn possibly suggests she commanded a level of reverence and respect by her community.”
Isotope analysis indicates both individuals likely grew up around 80km south-east of Loch Borralie, but ancient DNA determined that they share genetic connections with individuals from Orkney, around 175km north-east of Loch Borralie, and Applecross, around 225km south-west.
They also found that the two individuals were closely related to each other, most likely being maternal second cousins, suggesting that family groups were highly mobile.
“More broadly, our research shows that prehistoric maritime communities periodically moved around the north coast and Northern Isles of Scotland, possibly in small groups”, explains Castells Navarro. “This movement allowed for the spread and maintenance of cultural practices and traditions.”
Overall, this combination of unfamiliar postmortem modifications with evidence for extensive mobility adds an extra layer to our understanding of social networks in prehistoric Britain, suggesting that complex funerary traditions were maintained over long distances thanks to the interconnectedness of Iron Age communities.
“While we will never really know their motivations, the treatment of Individual 1 is indicative of a high level of care and attention by the living community and a continued interaction between the living and the dead”, Castells Navarro concludes.