Iron Age site shows Roman trade links

An ARCHAEOLOGICAL excavation in rural Scotland is thought to have uncovered evidence of the very first contact between the Picts and the Roman Empire.

The team, from the Strathearn Environs and Royal Forteviot (SERF) project, who are working on a site in Dunning, Perthshire, have unearthed an Iron Age hollow walled structure, or broch, containing items believed to have been traded between Picts and Romans. Project leader Stephen Driscoll, professor of historical archaeology at Glasgow University, said: “There can be no doubt that we have located one of the major centres of Pictish power.

“It’s not unreasonable to see this as a seat of a Celtic chieftain who collected luxury objects from the Roman world, perhaps through trading with Romans and even serving in the Roman army.”