Bronze Age Cist Found on Orkney Island

News May 8, 2019

(ORCA)
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Scotland Orkney cist
(ORCA)

FINSTOWN, SCOTLAND—The Orcadian reports that an intact burial cist was discovered at a proposed construction site on the main island of Orkney by a team from the Orkney Research Centre for Archaeology (ORCA). A stone-lined box capped with a large, flat stone, the cist was found just below the surface of the ground, and is estimated to be 3,500 years old. No human remains have been found in the cist to date, but archaeologist Pete Higgins said careful excavation may detect some pieces of bone. To read in-depth about archaeology on Orkney, go to “Neolithic Europe's Remote Heart.”

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