High Pasture Cave (Gaelic: ''Uamh An Ard-Achaidh'') is an archaeological site on the island of Skye,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. Human presence is documented since the Mesolithic, and remains, including

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

structures, point to ritual veneration of either the landscape or deities associated with the place. The cave system extends to about of accessible passages

Site

The cave is about southeast of the village of Torrin, near Kilbride. The entrance of the cave lies in a narrow valley on the northern slopes of the mountain of Beinn Dùbhaich, east of the Red Cuillin hills, and is formed by erosion of ''Durness''

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. The interior is accessed via a natural shaft about deep that leads into the main cave, which appears to have been in use between 1,200 BC and 200 BC (mid-

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

to late

). After about there is a fork, with a rocky, dry passage on the right. In 2002 the cave explorer Steven Birch discovered broken crockery and bones. Previous visitors to the cave had thrown this material aside in the attempts to find new ways. Birch recognized the value of the find as well as the importance of the cave.

Excavations

The cave system was originally excavated in 1972 by students of the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

Speleological Society. A full year of excavation then took place in 2003, mainly supported by

Historic Scotland Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment ...

, and continuing project work was under the supervision of Steven Birch and Martin Wildgoose.

Finds

A wide variety of artifacts has been recovered from the cave and its surroundings, including stone items, bone, antler and residue of metalworkings along with well-preserved faunal remains."High Pasture Cave"
Highland Council. Retrieved 30 April 2012. Arrowheads left behind by nomadic hunters suggest occupation during the Mesolithic period (about 6,000 to 7,000 years ago). It was only occasionally occupied during the

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...

and the

until about 800 BC, when the site became more frequented and a large fireplace was set up in front of its entrance. The entrance area also seems to have been used for ceremonies or storage of personal items. During the following 1000 years, activities and ash deposits of the fire site threatened to block the entrance of the cave. A staircase about in length was built to permit entry to the cave. Hundreds of finds (bronze, bone and antler needles, glass and ivory beads) around the fire pit and the cave floor point to a place of intense activity. This lasted until about 40 BC, when the stairs were completely filled with boulders and earth. The skeleton of a woman along with a four to five month-old fetus and a nine to ten month-old child were placed on top of the filling. In 2012 a piece of carved wood thought to be the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

of a lyre was discovered. The small burnt and broken piece has been dated to approximately 300 BC and is the earliest find of a stringed instrument in western Europe. The notches where the strings would have been placed can be easily distinguished and according to Graeme Lawson of Cambridge Music Archaeological Research the find "pushes the history of complex music

n Britain N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

back more than a thousand years"."Delight at find of ancient lyre". (5 April 2012) Inverness. ''Highland News''. If dating and attribution are confirmed, this object may indicate contacts between local Celtic people and Mediterranean cultures.

Notes

References

External links

High Pasture Cave website
{{Navbox prehistoric caves Landforms of the Isle of Skye Archaeological sites in the Northern Inner Hebrides Landforms of Highland (council area) Caves of Scotland