Pictish Trash Pit Yields Artifacts in Scotland

News May 30, 2018

(University of Aberdeen)
SHARE:
Scotland Pictish pin
(University of Aberdeen)

ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND—BBC News reports that Pictish artifacts have been recovered from the remains of a fort at Burghead, which is located on the coast of northeast Scotland. The fort is thought to have been burned during a tenth-century Viking invasion. The fire preserved a layer of oak planks that had been part of a wall in the fort, which otherwise would not have survived. Excavation of a trash pit has also yielded jewelry, including hair and dress pins, and animal bones, which do not usually survive in Scotland’s acidic soil. Gordon Noble of the University of Aberdeen said the artifacts will provide more information about the daily lives of the Picts. To read about the study of a Pictish artifact, go to “Game of Stones.”

  • Features March/April 2018

    The Viking Great Army

    A tale of conflict and adaptation played out in northern England

    Read Article
    (Bymuseum, Oslo, Norway/Index/Bridgeman Images)
  • Letter From Hungary March/April 2018

    The Search for the Sultan’s Tomb

    How archaeologists trying to locate the final resting place of Suleiman the Magnificent uncovered the remains of a crucial outpost of the Ottoman Empire

    Read Article
    (Courtesy András Szamosi)
  • Artifacts March/April 2018

    Sgraffito Slip-Decorated Plate

    Read Article
    (Courtesy Joe Bagley/Boston Landmarks Commission)
  • Digs & Discoveries March/April 2018

    The Mesopotamian Merchant Files

    Read Article
    (Mike P. Shepherd/Alamy Stock Photo)