Post by UKarchaeology on Apr 1, 2016 21:49:15 GMT
Charcoal-producing platforms, roundhouses, tools and evidence of hunter-gathering have been found at a site on the north-west coast of Scotland
The tiny Scottish Isle of Rum could have been a “social territory” during the Mesolithic period, say archaeologists who have discovered tools for hunting, drilling, scraping and cutting on a series of charcoal burning platforms on the west coast of the country.
An “extraordinary” range of radiocarbon dates have been taken from a lithic scatter at Loch Doilean, in Argyll, where evidence of quartz and flint exploitation has been found alongside raw materials across sites used from around 8,500 BC to the early 19th century.
“The most interesting aspect of this small lithic assemblage is its inclusion of relatively large numbers of bloodstone artefacts – 50 pieces,” says Torben Ballin, a lithic specialist examining the results of the evaluation, commissioned by Forestry Commission Scotland in January 2015 ahead of the creation of a new forest road.
“Although the largest assemblages of Rum bloodstone are known from the Isle of Rum itself, assemblages have also been recovered from mostly Mesolithic sites up to 90km away.
Full story/pics: www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/archaeology/art549045-archaeology-scotland-argyll-bloodstone-mesolithic-forest
The tiny Scottish Isle of Rum could have been a “social territory” during the Mesolithic period, say archaeologists who have discovered tools for hunting, drilling, scraping and cutting on a series of charcoal burning platforms on the west coast of the country.
An “extraordinary” range of radiocarbon dates have been taken from a lithic scatter at Loch Doilean, in Argyll, where evidence of quartz and flint exploitation has been found alongside raw materials across sites used from around 8,500 BC to the early 19th century.
“The most interesting aspect of this small lithic assemblage is its inclusion of relatively large numbers of bloodstone artefacts – 50 pieces,” says Torben Ballin, a lithic specialist examining the results of the evaluation, commissioned by Forestry Commission Scotland in January 2015 ahead of the creation of a new forest road.
“Although the largest assemblages of Rum bloodstone are known from the Isle of Rum itself, assemblages have also been recovered from mostly Mesolithic sites up to 90km away.
Full story/pics: www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/archaeology/art549045-archaeology-scotland-argyll-bloodstone-mesolithic-forest