High Pasture Cave

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Location of the High Pasture Cave (front) at the foot of the Beinn an Dùbhaich
Overview of the archaeological site
Close-up of the excavation site, July 2006

High Pasture Cave ( Scottish-Gael .: Uamh Àrd-Achaidh , also Uamh an Ard Achadh - German  "Hochweidehöhle" ) is an excavation site on the Isle of Skye, an island in the Inner Hebrides in Scotland . Here is the second largest cave system on the island with over 320 m of passages.

The cave is in Kilbride, about one kilometer southeast of Torrin. The entrance is in a narrow valley on the northern slopes of Mount Beinn an Dùbhaich , a spur of the Eastern Red Hills . This consists of tertiary - granite and forms a break in the otherwise occurring Durness- limestone . The caves in the limestone were formed by the acidic, boggy water that flowed down from the granite rocks of the mountainside. Historically, they have several pre-glacial phases.

The cave system consists of a main passage with several branches. Entry is through a shaft excavated in 1972 by students from the University of London Speleological Society . After about 80 meters there is a fork where a higher dry passage is on the right on a rock ridge. In 2002, speleologist Steven Birch discovered broken crockery and bones there. Previous visitors to the cave had thrown this material aside while trying to find new ways to get there. Birch recognized the value of the find and the importance of this site.

Then in 2003 the year-round excavation and landscape project High Pasture Cave Project was created . The excavations are currently being carried out from April to September, while the winter months are used for documentation and analysis. The project is mainly supported by Historic Scotland , an agency of the Scottish Government. The excavations are carried out primarily by volunteers who are trained on site if necessary.

research results

In 4.5 years (as of 2008) the preliminary research results showed the following picture:

First activities showed up from the Mesolithic period (about 6,000 to 7,000 years ago); Arrowheads found from this period indicate that nomadic hunters visited this place . The occasional visits continued through the Neolithic and Bronze Ages until around 800 BC. The cave apparently gained in importance. During this time, a large fireplace was built in front of the entrance. The entrance area also seems to have been used for ceremonies or for storing personal items.

For the next 1,000 years, the customs persisted to such an extent that the ashes from the fireplace threatened to block the entrance to the cave. A staircase around four meters long was built so that the cave can still be entered. Hundreds of finds (bronze, bone and antler needles, glass and ivory beads) around the fireplace and in the cave floor indicate a place of intense activity.

This lasted until about 40 BC. Chr. Then the stairs were completely filled with boulders and earth. The skeleton of a woman was along with a 4 to 5-month-old fetus down and a 9 to 10-month-old child over the filling, like trying to block the cave behind it.

After that, the place remained untouched until about 1500 years later so-called shielings (summer huts, pasture huts) were built on it. There are at least three shelters and probably two pens .

Today, High Pasture Cave is a U-shaped grassy mound in which some trenches as well as the exposed staircase can be seen. The finds are kept in a hut. Some information boards for visitors have been set up.

Nearby is the clach Na H-annait .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Brian R. Bell, Jeffrey W. Harris: An Excursion Guide to the Geology of the Isle of Skye. Geological Society of Glasgow, Glasgow 1986, ISBN 0-902892-08-8 , pp. 84-93.
  2. ↑ Peter F. Ryder, Alan L. Jeffreys: Caves of Skye (= Limestone caves of Scotland. Part 5; Grampian Speleological Group. Occasional publication. No. 7). Grampian Speleological Group, Edinburgh 1995, ISBN 0-9513901-0-4 , p. 3.

literature

  • Martin Wildgoose, Steven Birch: High Pasture Cave Project. Historic Scotland, 2007 (English, Gaelic)
  • M. Wildgoose, S. Birch: High Pasture Cave: Entrance to the Underworld. (German: Entrance to the Underworld?) In: Current Archeology. Vol. 205, No. 6, 2006.
  • Steven A. Birch: High Pasture Cave: A Window on Prehistory of Strath, Skye (German: Window to the Prehistory of Strath, Skye) . In: Teachd an Tir . 2004, p. 6-7 ( gov.uk [PDF; accessed February 21, 2009]).

Web links

Coordinates: 57 ° 12 '18.6 "  N , 5 ° 59' 4.4"  W.