A 1100-YEAR-OLD coin and the remains of a Pictish building were among the surprises awaiting archaeologists in Moray when they started digging at a fort that was thought to have been largely destroyed by a development in the 19th century.
And the team from the University of Aberdeen overseeing the dig at Burghead Fort near Lossiemouth say the site may yet reveal more significant findings.
The Picts lived in eastern and northern Scotland during the late Iron Age and early medieval periods, and experts believe the fort was a significant seat of power within the Pictish Kingdom, between 500AD and 1000AD.
Notable Pictish artefacts, including the Burghead Bull carvings and a mysterious underground well were discovered in the 1800s, but it has long been suspected that the building of a new town on top of the fort destroyed most of the remains in it.
However, the Aberdeen started a dig at Burghead in 2015 which is now starting to uncover further important clues about the Picts.
They uncovered a Pictish longhouse in the fort and, while very little is known about Pictish architecture this could provide vital clues about the character of Pictish domestic architecture and the nature of activity at major forts. Within the layers of floor, an Anglo Saxon coin from Alfred the Great’s time was discovered, providing key dating evidence for the use of the house and fort. The coin dates to the late ninth century when Viking raiders and settlers were leading to major changes within Pictish society.
Dr Gordon Noble, a senior lecturer at the university, said: “The assumption has always been that there was nothing left at Burghead; that it was all trashed in the 19th century, but nobody’s really looked at the interior to see if there’s anything that survived inside the fort. But beneath the 19th-century debris, we have started to find significant Pictish remains. We appear to have found a Pictish longhouse. This is important because Burghead is likely to have been one of the key royal centres of Northern Pictland and understanding the nature of settlement within the fort is key to understanding how power was materialised within these important fortified sites.
“The Anglo-Saxon coin shows the building dates towards the end of the use of the fort based on previous dating. The coin is also interesting as it shows that the fort occupants were able to tap into long-distance trade networks. The coin is also pierced, perhaps for wearing; it shows that the occupants of the fort in this non-monetary economy literally wore their wealth. Overall these findings suggest that there is still valuable information that can be recovered from Burghead which would tell us more about this society at a significant time for northern Scotland – just as Norse settlers were consolidating their power in Shetland and Orkney and launching attacks on mainland Scotland.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here