Bronze Age Burnt Mound Excavated in Scotland

INVERNESS, SCOTLAND—BBC News reports that road construction in Inverness has uncovered burned mounds dating to the Bronze Age. The mounds, made up of piles of burned waste, ash, and stones shattered by heat, were formed by repeated burning. Researchers from AOC Archaeology Group explained that the mounds are usually horseshoe shaped and found close to streams. The heated stones are thought to have been placed in pits filled with water in order to to heat it for cooking, washing wool, or as saunas. The excavation team also uncovered kilns that were used to dry grain, as well as Neolithic pottery fragments. For more on archaeology in Scotland, go to “Lost and Found (Again).”