EAST LOTHIAN, SCOTLAND—A bone from a Great Auk has been unearthed at the Scottish Seabird Centre, along with bones of butchered seals, fish, and other seabirds. The bone from the flightless Great Auk has been dated to the fifth to seventh centuries, when it was a favored food source because it was easy to catch. “The discovery of the Great Auk bone at Kirk Ness is an illuminating find, as we seek to understand and document the importance of the area in the history of wildlife and human habitation in the Middle Ages,” archaeologist Tom Addyman told BBC News. The Great Auk, whose range once extended from the northeastern United States across the Atlantic to Britain, France, and northern Spain, was extinct by the middle of the nineteenth century.
Bone of Extinct Great Auk Unearthed at Medieval Site
News May 12, 2014
Recommended Articles
Features November/December 2024
Let the Games Begin
How gladiators in ancient Anatolia lived to entertain the masses
Features November/December 2024
The Many Faces of the Kingdom of Shu
Thousands of fantastical bronzes are beginning to reveal the secrets of a legendary Chinese dynasty
Digs & Discoveries November/December 2024
Egyptian Crocodile Hunt
Digs & Discoveries November/December 2024
Monuments to Youth
-
Features March/April 2014
All Hands on Deck
Inviting the world to explore a shipwreck deep in the Gulf of Mexico
(Courtesy NOAA) -
Features March/April 2014
Messengers to the Gods
During a turbulent period in ancient Egypt, common people turned to animal mummies to petition the gods, inspiring the rise of a massive religious industry
Courtesy The Brooklyn Museum -
Letter From Borneo March/April 2014
The Landscape of Memory
Archaeology, oral history, and culture deep in the Malaysian jungle
(Jerry Redfern) -
Artifacts March/April 2014
Chimú-Inca Funerary Idols
(Matthew Helmer)