Abandoned Metalworking Site Found in Scotland

MORAY, SCOTLAND—According to a BBC News report, a team led by archaeologist Clive Waddington is excavating a metalworking site in northeastern Scotland near Lochinver Quarry thought to have been in use for some 2,000 years before it was abandoned. The structures surrounding the metalworking area had been burned, and two cauldrons buried, perhaps in an effort to hide valuable items, Waddington explained. “We have got these burnt timbers and abandoned pits for making charcoal,” he said. “We have got pits with roasted ore—a valuable commodity—ready for smelting but just abandoned,” he added. Waddington suggests that Caledonians could have made weapons at the site, and the invading Roman army may have destroyed it after their victory at the Battle of Mons Grapius around A.D. 83. To read about northern warriors who resisted the Romans, go to "Letter from Scotland: Land of the Picts."