International prehistoric contacts at Kilmartin

Analysis of 4,000+-year old pots recovered during the 2005 AOC Archaeology Group excavation of two graves at Upper Largie, near Kilmartin in Argyll and Bute, provided exciting evidence linking this part of Scotland with the Netherlands during the Copper Age, and with Ireland and Yorkshire during the Early Bronze Age.

The excavations, directed by Martin Cook, AOC Archaeology Project Officer, revealed the graves on the gravel plateau at the northern end of the valley. Together with previous excavations sponsored by quarry operator M & K McLeod Ltd, the 2005 excavations  revealed a complex Neolithic and Bronze Age ritual landscape on the plateau, with monuments including an Early Neolithic cursus and an Early Bronze Age timber circle, 46 metres in diameter. 
 
The pots are the latest finds to come from this site and were discovered during the excavation of two graves, the larger (and earlier) of which contained three Beakers, a type of ceramic found across much of north, west and central Europe. Analysis of the pots has revealed that these are early, international-style Beakers (known technically as of epi-maritime, cord-zoned-maritime and all-over-cord style respectively): the best parallels for such a range of styles comes from around the lower Rhine, in the modern-day Netherlands. Radiocarbon dating of hazel charcoal from within the grave to 2500-2280 BC confirms this early dating, and the presence of multiple Beakers, a rare feature, is also characteristic of early Beaker graves.

The only other artefacts recovered from the grave were two pieces of flint, including a plano-convex knife and a straight-edge scraper. Bone does not survive in the sand and gravel, but excavation director Martin Cook has no doubt that a human body had been laid in the pit. The construction of the grave shows strong Dutch parallels, as well as the pots, and it is tempting to suggest that its occupant may have been a Dutch immigrant. A pit had been dug, and the body had probably been placed in a wooden coffin, covered by a small stone cairn; when the coffin collapsed, two of the three pots were knocked over and smashed flat. The grave was surrounded by a ring ditch, about 5.5 metres in diameter, with posts standing in it. Just to the south lay an associated arc of four larger pits that also held posts.

At a later date, a second grave was dug, in which was placed a Food Vessel bowl of unique design. Its upper part is of classic Irish style as current around 2150BC: but the four feet are a Yorkshire feature. This polypod, hybrid-design vessel is unique, and it neatly reflects some of the external contacts of the Kilmartin valley elite during the Early Bronze Age.

AOC Excavation Director: Martin Cook
Pottery Analysis: Alison Sheridan, National Museums of Scotland
AOC Laser Scanning: Graeme Cavers
Client: M & K McLeod Ltd