ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND—According to a statement released by the University of Aberdeen, researchers have analyzed the remains of nine adults and five children found in 1975 in a latrine at the site of a Roman fort located in Cramond, near the mouth of the River Almond at the Firth of Forth. Radiocarbon dating revealed the remains were dumped in the sixth century A.D. Some of the individuals had died violently, perhaps as a reflection of the political and social unrest of the period. It had been thought the remains may have belonged to members of one family, but chemical analysis revealed that six of the individuals grew up locally, while one man and one woman did not. The woman is thought to have traveled to Cramond, which may have been a center of power, from the West coast of Scotland, while the man likely came from the Southern Uplands, Southern Highlands, or Loch Lomond region. Researcher Orsolya Czére said the team's new analyses showed that these were well-connected individuals whose lives brought them across the country. She added that the study is an important step in unravelling how these different populations of early medieval Scotland and Britain interacted. To read about excavations at Pictish sites in northern Scotland, go to "Letter from Scotland: Land of the Picts."
