ORKNEY, SCOTLAND—The Scotsman reports that the site of an Iron Age feast has been found at The Cairns, on the island of South Ronaldsay. Martin Carruthers of the University of the Highlands and Islands said the bones of some 10,000 animals, including horses, cattle, red deer, and otters, have been found in a dump at the site, suggesting they had been cooked and eaten on the cliff overlooking Windwick Bay during a single event. Traces of metalworking have also been found at the site. Carruthers thinks the feast may have been held to celebrate the conclusion of making a big batch of brooches and pins, which may have been handed out to the members of the community during the party. A large building at the site may have been home to the people who organized the making of jewelry and the event. “These items are probably of such high value that people could never have the capacity to pay back the debt,” Carruthers surmised. “It holds you in your place. This whole event is about maintaining society.” To read in-depth about archaeology in the area, go to “Neolithic Europe's Remote Heart.”
