Croig Cave: a Late Bronze Age ornament deposit and three millennia of fishing and foraging on the north-west coast of Mull, Scotland

Steven Mithen (Author)

Karen Wicks (Author)

Phil Austin (Contributor)

Stuart Black (Contributor)

Sarah Elliot (Contributor)

Claire Ingrem (Contributor)

Brendan O'Connor (Contributor)

Sam Smith (Contributor)

Trevor Cowie (Contributor)


Keywords:
Wood Charcoal, Floor, Seaweed, Shellfish, Settlement Pattern, Cave Floors, Amber Bead, Iron Slag, Cave High Zinc, Copper Bracelet, Pit, Midden, Fish
Period(s):
Ad 1400, C 400 Bc, Later Prehistoric, C 1700 Bc, C 950 Bc, Ad 1200, Late Bronze Age

Abstract


Activity within caves provides an important element of the later prehistoric and historic settlement pattern of western Scotland. This contribution reports on a small-scale excavation within Croig Cave, on the coast of north-west Mull, that exposed a 1.95 m sequence of midden deposits and cave floors that date between c 1700 BC and AD 1400. Midden analysis indicated the processing of a diverse range of small fish and the collection of shellfish throughout this period, showing a high degree of continuity involving low-risk inshore fishing. At c 950 BC, a penannular copper bracelet and an amber bead were deposited within a small, shallow pit within the cave floor, suggestive of a discrete ritual episode within the cycle of otherwise potentially mundane activities. Lead isotope analysis indicated an Irish origin for the copper ore. A piece of iron slag within later midden deposits, dated to c 400 BC, along with high frequencies of wood charcoal, suggest that smithing or smelting may have occurred within the cave. High zinc levels in the historic levels of the midden c AD 1200 might indicate intensive processing of seaweed.

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Published
30-11-2013
How to Cite
Mithen, S., Wicks, K., Austin, P., Black, S., Elliot, S., Ingrem, C., … Cowie, T. (2013). Croig Cave: a Late Bronze Age ornament deposit and three millennia of fishing and foraging on the north-west coast of Mull, Scotland. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 142, 63–132. https://doi.org/10.9750/PSAS.142.63.132
Section
Articles

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