Scotland: Caverns littered with prehistoric children's heads

Caverns littered with prehistoric children's decapitated heads are found in grounds of Prince Charles's old school in remote Scotland

* Archaeologists made grim discovery in remote part of Gordonstoun estate
* Former pupils also include five of the Queen’s children and grandchildren
* Cave apparently used in funeral rituals from 1100-900 BC by Pictish clans
* Clans placed bodies in cave to decompose so bones could be retrieved


A cave where Bronze Age men displayed the decapitated heads of dead children has been discovered in the grounds of a public school attended by Prince Charles.

Archaeologists made the grim discovery in a remote part of the estate of Gordonstoun near Inverness, whose former pupils also include five of the Queen’s children and grandchildren.

The cave, looking out from sea cliffs over the Moray Firth, was apparently used in funeral rituals from 1100 BC to 900 BC by the Pictish clans ruling Scotland at the time.

Experts say the clans placed bodies in the cave to decompose so that bones could eventually be retrieved. They also say there are indications that it was later used for executions.

Ian Armit, professor of archaeology at Bradford University, said the cave seemed to have been used for elaborate funeral rites - including dismembering bodies and the ritual display of heads.

According to The Sunday Times science editor Jonathan Leake, Mr Armit told the British Science Festival: ‘Caves had a great symbolic significance for early humans as places on the margin.

‘They are on the edge of the land, they go from light to dark – all symbolising the transition from life to death. They were often used in funeral rites. Head displays are also common in prehistory.

‘It is a common feature of head hunting and ancestor veneration. In this cave, remains from the late Bronze Age, show evidence for dead children having their heads cut off for display in the entrance.’

Mr Armit added that land around the caves were inhabited by tribes of Picts, who were then in charge of most of Scotland. The cave is one of many found in the Gordonstoun grounds.

Last week, MailOnline reported how researchers had uncovered an unusual grave containing the Neolithic skeleton of a severely deformed woman on a tiny Scottish island in the Hebrides.

Her remains reveal signs of rickets in the breastbone, arms, ribs and legs, leading archaeologists to believe her to be the earliest case of vitamin D deficiency found in the UK.

She was found along with at least three other burials during an excavation in 1912, but her bones were more recently analysed by Mr Armit and his team from Bradford and Durham University.

(pics & source at: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3235869/Caverns-littered-children-s-decapitated-heads-grounds-Prince-Charles-s-old-school-remote-Scotland.html )