Remains of 6,000-year-old Neolithic longhouses discovered in Scotland

Archaeologists have recently uncovered traces of the very large remains of two separate Neolithic longhouses in Carnoustie, Angus in Scotland which have been dated and found to have been built 6,000 years ago.

The remains of the largest Neolithic hall found in Britain, which was were discovered in Carnoustie, Angus
[Credit: GUARD Archaeology]

According to the Scotsman, among these longhouses was discovered what is believed to be the largest Neolithic house ever built in Britain. Included in the remains of these structures are two halls which most likely served as the homes to many different people over time, and this Carnoustie site has been found to be much older as well as even more enormous than it was originally determined to be when it was first examined.

Archaeological excavations here have revealed that food was once produced as well as eaten within the hallowed halls of these Neolithic longhouses, and evidence suggests that pottery was also fashioned in these spaces.

The largest of the halls in these Scottish Neolithic longhouses has been determined to date all the way back to 4,000 B.C. as Ronan Toolis, commercial director of GUARD Archaeology, explained, in many ways, the smaller of the two houses may be more important as it housed people for much longer than the larger one.

“The larger of the Neolithic halls at Carnoustie is the largest ever found in Scotland, and indeed the rest of Britain. The radiocarbon dates now demonstrate it was perhaps the smaller of the halls that was more significant though because it was occupied for longer.”

As Toolis also elaborated, “They also demonstrate the two Neolithic halls lay within a much bigger settlement area. Even more unusual is the fact the two halls were initially contemporary with each other.”

Carnoustie excavation plan [Credit: GUARD Archaeology]

During the radiocarbon dating which took place between 2016 and 2017, archaeologists determined that at one point, there was a village in this location which would have been built much later in time than the two longhouses. In fact, after also discovering a large amount of Late Bronze Age artifacts at the site, it is believed that these would have originated from the village rather than the halls in the longhouses.

However, dating all of these materials is somewhat tricky as charcoal taken from the site in Carnoustie, Scotland has given archaeologists approximately 100 different radiocarbon dates with which to work with. But this dating will be enormously helpful and will allow archaeologists to have a much better idea of when the different areas around this site were occupied. Besides the two longhouses found in Scotland, traces of a few much smaller homes were also found around the periphery of the halls.

In terms of when the largest of the longhouses would have stopped being used, Toolis has suggested that 3,500 B.C. would have been the stopping point for when individuals resided here, while the smaller hall of the other longhouse continued to hold people until around 3,000 B.C.

Besides the 6,000-year-old remains of the longhouses that were found in Scotland, archaeologists have also unearthed jewelry, a spearhead, and a wooden sword sheath at the site.

Author: Kristine Moore | Source: The Inquisitor [February 18, 2019]