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MHG33474 - Burial cairn - Loch Borralie

Summary

A cairn which was discovered to contain burials when a human skull was unearthed by rabbits. Two human internments were excavated here by GUARD in July 2000. Radiocarbon samples obtained from one of the individuals suggested a date of 40 cal BC - 210 AD.

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Full Description

Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division (GUARD) undertook an archaeological evaluation of the find spot of a human skull from a cairn at Loch Borralie, Sutherland. Excavation recovered the remains of two burials beneath the cairn and established that the cairn was multi-phased. One individual was an adult male (skeleton 1), while the other was immature and of undeterminable sex (skeleton 2). Both individuals showed signs of ill health, and dogs and/or rats appear to have gnawed their bones. A ring-headed pin was recovered close to skeleton 1 during the excavation. A radiocarbon date was obtained from the left humerus of skeleton 1 of 40 cal BC - cal AD 210 at 2 sigma (OxA-10253).

Excavation revealed that the cairn, broadly subrectangular in form, had a maximum height of 1.2m and was composed of large, sub-angular and sub-rounded rocks (including quartz and quartzite) and occasional rounded cobbles within yellow - orange sand. One inhumation, skeleton 2, lay within an irregular grave, cut through the red brown sand that was sealed by the cairn and into the natural gravel sand below. The other inhumation, skeleton 1, was sealed by the red brown sand and had been placed on a low primary cairn of stone and earth, the full extent and depth of which remains unknown. <1> <2>

The radiocarbon date published in 2003 was withdrawn and due to the dates dertermined by the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit on Scottish material between 2000-2002 being unreliable due to a problem in the ultrafiltration system used to pretreat the bone during this time. The original sample was redated to 40 cal BC - cal AD 130 at 2 sigma. <3>

As part of the European Research Council-funded COMMIOS project, which examines the demography and funerary archaeology of Iron Age Britain, osteoarchaeological reanalysis, multi-isotope analysis, ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis and radiocarbon dating was conducted on the human remains. The results were published online in Antiquity on 10/06/2026. This multi-method analysis successfully reconstructed aspects of the life histories and mortuary treatments of the two individuals buried at Loch Borralie. The pair were shown, through aDNA analysis, to be close biological relatives, possibly as close as maternal second cousins. Isotope analysis demonstrated that they moved to the area around Loch Borralie sometime after childhood and, for Individual 1 at least, probably after adolescence. The most likely area where they would have spent their childhoods was the east coast of Sutherland, around 80km to the south-east. The journey could have been made on foot over a few days, or else by sea around the challenging waters of the Pentland Firth. Given the closeness of the radiocarbon dates, their similar isotopic profiles and their biological relatedness, it was possible that these individuals travelled together, perhaps as part of a larger group. Nevertheless, the stratigraphy of the cairn suggested that they may not have been buried at the same time, while osteological analysis revealed very different postmortem treatments of their bodies.

Despite the close similarities in burial form to other sites, none of these provided close parallels for the complex sequence of postmortem manipulation incurred by Individual 1 at Loch Borralie. Elucidation of the sequence of traumatic lesions - cranial base blunt-force trauma, possible brain removal, probable perimortem scapular fracture - was not possible, but taken in combination with the bone modifications - working of the long bones to form points, use of at least one worked femur as an implement of some kind - it was possible to suggest that the heavily-processed remains of this female were curated for a period of time before being reassembled for deposition within the cairn.

The work at Loch Borralie demonstrated the potential of a multi-method approach, incorporating osteoarchaeology, multi-isotope and aDNA analysis, to deepen understanding of mortuary behaviour, mobility and connectivity within prehistoric societies. The genetic and isotopic evidence highlighted long-term interconnectedness between maritime communities around the north coast and Northern Isles of Scotland, where individuals and small groups periodically moved across wide areas, facilitating the maintenance and spread of cultural ideas and practices. Meanwhile, the complex and protracted mortuary treatment afforded to the female identified as Individual 1 at Loch Borralie demonstrated that, although sparse in terms of their archaeological survival, the Iron Age dead held a strong and compelling presence in the world of the living. <4>

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Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NC 3791 6761 (16m by 16m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NC36NE
Geographical Area	SUTHERLAND
Civil Parish	DURNESS

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