Secrets of Bronze Age life in Highlands uncovered as buried necklaces and bracelets emerge

The hoard of Bronze Age jewellery that was lifted from a shallow pit in Rosemarkie in the Black Isle. PIC: GUARD Archaeology. | GUARD Archaeology

Tests on a hoard of jewellery found buried in the Highlands have revealed a stunning collection of nine bronze bracelets and necklaces which were placed underground sometime around 1,000BC.

Archaeologists discovered the items during an excavation order ahead of the building of new homes in Rosemarkie in the Black Isle.

The jewellery was found buried in a shallow pit after archaeologists unearthed the remains of a Bronze Age village, comprising of at least six roundhouses and a cist grave, on the site.

A complete neck ring, a partial neck ring, six penannular bracelets and one cup-ended penannular bracelet were found, with archaeologists believing they may have been deliberately placed there.

An X-ray image of the Bronze Age hoard of necklaces and bracelets. PIC: GUARD Archaeology. | GUARD Archaeology

Intriguingly, some of the individual pieces were knotted together with delicate strands of organic plant material which had survived some 3,000 years.

The Bronze Age jewellery was discovered by archaeologists as they worked on the site for this housing development at Rosemarkie in the Black Isle. PIC: GUARD Archaeology. | Guard Archaeology

The results will help to shed light upon the lives, beliefs and deaths of Bronze Age Highlanders, archaeologists said.

Rachel Buckley, of GUARD Archaeology, who led the laboratory excavation, described the objects as “highly significant”.

She said: “The recovery of the artefacts was successfully carried out under the controlled conditions necessary to preserve these highly significant objects, particularly the very delicate organic cords that tether some of the objects together.

“Where bracelets were held together with organic material, these were recovered as a group to allow further detailed study.

“While there are other examples of hoards where it has been postulated that items were bound together due to their positioning, the vegetation in the Rosemarkie hoard has survived for approximately 3000 years, proving that these artefacts were held together.”

The organic material is likey to have survived due to the the anti-microbial properties of the corroded copper in the bronze.

Archaelogists will now work to determine why the hoard was buried at the Rosemarkie site.

Iraia Arabaolaza, who is managing the analysis at GUARD Archaeology, said: “That the hoard was buried under a single homogenous fill within a shallow pit with little extra room for anything other than what was found within, indicates that this was no accidental loss.

“It would seem that the shallow pit was dug to the required length and depth to accommodate the items, before then being quickly backfilled.

“It may be that it was intended as temporary storage with the intention of recovering the hoard at some stage. The evidence from the surrounding settlement may reveal whether it was not just the hoard that was abandoned but the settlement as well.”

The archaeological work was funded by Pat Munro (Alness) Ltd and was required as a condition of planning consent by Highland Council following advice from the local authority’s Historic Environment Team, who considered there to be potential for archaeological finds at the site.

The finds at Rosemarkie will add to what GUARD archaeologists have gleaned from another Bronze Age hoard excavated in Carnoustie, which was also found within a Bronze Age village.

Hamish Little, Senior Manager at Pat Munro Homes said: “It’s been a great experience for the team at Pat Munro Homes to work with the archaeologists at our development at Greenside, Rosemarkie and also be part of the team that uncovered the Bronze Age artefacts.”

It is hoped that a permanent feature on or nearby the site will tell the story of the Bronze Age people who once lived there.