Members of the dig party at the former roundhouse.
Posted on 10/17/2006 11:40:40 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
The remains of a 2000-year-old city have been discovered under Inverness and it is being hailed as one of the most important recent discoveries in Scotland. The find near Inverness Royal Academy was uncovered by a team who spent almost a year excavating the remains of seven large roundhouses and almost a dozen iron kilns... the ancient city's "industrial estate" where iron was smelted, bronze was cast and glass was produced... Among the items found below a site near Inverness Royal Academy, now being developed by Tulloch Homes, were part of a bronze horse harness, an enamelled bronze brooch, dozens of woodworking tools and a large iron sword... The Tulloch Group has also been given permission to develop neighbouring fields but initial surveys have revealed this area is also likely to cover part of the ancient settlement and will need to be excavated. Headland Archaeology expects to begin negotiations soon with the developer about carrying out the work needed on that site. Over the next few months experts at the National Museum will analyse samples to assess where the iron ore used in the kilns came from and study fragments of ancient wooden beams to provide an accurate date for some of the buildings in the ancient settlement. Just as part of modern Culduthel stands on top of the Iron Age settlement, it too was built over the remains of a much earlier Neolithic community from 5000 years ago. These remains will also be investigated to learn more about the earliest inhabitants' lives.
(Excerpt) Read more at inverness-courier.co.uk ...
Members of the dig party at the former roundhouse.
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Very interesting. I just visited Inverness last month. Beautiful city as is most of Scotland.
I traveled through Scotland on a bus tour in May. We also visited the Isle of Skye. I loved Scotland and would love to go back, but in a rental car so I can see it on my own.
Well then you saw a part of Scotland I missed. My wife has a sister who lives near Aberdeen. So we saw most of eastern Scotland including Loch Ness. Failed to see the creature gosh darn it! (smirk) And if you're ever in Inverness, eat at The Mustard Seed. Excellent food.
Thanks for the eatery recommendation. Heading back down from the Isle of Skye, we drove along Loch Ness and had a photo stop at Urquhart Castle. We didn't however have time to tour the ruins, and although the Loch was calm, we didn't see Nessie either. I think she had better things to do that day :-) We did stop briefly at a small place down the road called Drumnadrochit where the Nessie Exhibition Center is. It was only a bathroom stop, but I was at least able to get a few Nessie t-shirts and souveniers for my family while I was there. I'd love to go back.
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