IT is one of the best-known islands in Scotland, inspiration for artists, poets and musicians for centuries, but only now are we beginning to understand the human mysteries of Staffa.
A team of archaeologists working with conservation charity the National Trust for Scotland have been digging on the island, home to Fingal’s Cave and its extraordinary basalt rock formations.
The archaeologists announced yesterday that they had discovered the first clear evidence for human activity during the Bronze Age on Staffa.
The island lies six miles west of Mull in the Inner Hebrides and has been famous ever since its “discovery” by Joseph Banks in 1772. It quickly became established as an early tourist destination and has been an inspiration to some of Europe’s most important cultural figures, including William Wordsworth, Felix Mendelssohn, JMW Turner, Jules Verne and the Ettrick Shepherd, James Hogg.
There is also a wealth of folklore and oral tradition focussed on the island, including the tales of Fionn mac Cumhaill, a hunter-warrior in the mythologies of Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man.
During trial investigations in 2016, a small pit feature was uncovered which contained a single sherd of decorated prehistoric pottery.
Last week, a larger trench was excavated which revealed the western side of a clear structure defined by a series of ditches and pits cut into a distinctive underlying yellow clay subsoil.
A radiocarbon date for a burnt grain of hulled barley from the 2016 feature – provided by the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre in East Kilbride – indicated that it came from between 1880-1700 BC, which demonstrates that people were visiting, and probably living, on the island in the Middle Bronze Age.
Further quantities of distinctive decorated prehistoric pottery were recovered from the feature with this newly discovered Bronze Age date.
This work was undertaken as part of the Historic Archaeology Research Project, Staffa, a partnership between the National Trust for Scotland, the Glasgow School of Art’s School of Simulation and Visualisation, the University of Glasgow and the University of Stirling, with funding support from the trust’s London Members’ Centre and the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.
Derek Alexander, the National Trust for Scotland’s head of archaeological services said: “This is our fifth season out at the island to investigate its past. Each time we go there we add another little piece of the jigsaw.
“This is a really significant find. It seems likely that people in the past were just as curious about their surroundings as we are. We can only imagine what Bronze Age people may have thought of the geological marvel that is Fingal’s Cave.
“Our next objective is to understand whether this evidence represents domestic occupation on the island or something a bit more ritualistic.”
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