A Pictish burial and Late Norse/ Medieval settlement at

Sangobeg, Durness, Sutherland

KEVIN BRADY, OLIVIA LELONG∗ and COLLEEN BATEY∗∗

with contributions from LOUISE GIDNEY, RUBY CERÓN-CARRASCO,
JENNIFER MILLER and SUSAN RAMSAY

Summary
Salvage excavation was carried out on an archaeological site, discovered during
the North Sutherland Coastal Zone Assessment Survey in 1998, in dunes at
Sangobeg, near Durness in northern Sutherland. The excavation, conducted in
2000, uncovered the fragmentary remains of probable Norse-period settlement,
including stone walling, a hearth and occupation deposits that had been truncated
by erosion. Sealed beneath the Norse-period remains was the burial of a child
of indeterminate sex, aged between 8–10 years, who had been placed in a flexed
position on a bed of quartzite pebbles and covered with a mound of clean
sand, capped with larger quartzite stones. The burial was dated by radiocarbon
to 170 cal BC–cal AD 30 (GU-12535).
Keywords: Pictish, Norse, burial, settlement

Introduction
In September 2000, the University of Glasgow’s Viking and Early Settlement
Archaeological Project (VESARP) excavated an eroding site at Sangobeg, near
Durness in northern Sutherland. The excavation was funded by Historic Scotland
in order to rescue information from the site before its total destruction through
coastal erosion.
The site first came to the attention of VESARP during the North Sutherland
Coastal Zone Assessment Survey, carried out on behalf of Historic Scotland in
1997 (Brady and Morris 1998). This rapid examination of a 50–100m strip of
coastline extended from the west side of the Kyle of Durness to the River Borgie
in Strathnaver (excluding Whiten Head). It included the small, sandy bay at
Sangobeg, approximately 1.5km east of the village of Durness (Fig 1).
The beach at Sangobeg (NGR: NC 242 966) is approximately 0.4km wide,
a broad pocket of sand nestled between stretches of steep, craggy coastline.
The eastern part of the beach contains a small outcrop of gneiss, but most of
the surrounding geology is of the Cambrian period, some 550 million years old
∗ Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division (GUARD), Gregory Building, Lilybank
Gardens, Glasgow G12 8QQ
∗∗ Department of Archaeology, University of Glasgow, Gregory Building, Lilybank Gardens, Glasgow
G12 8QQ

DOI: 10.3366/E147157670800020X
Scottish Archaeological Journal Vol.29(1) 51–82
52 BRADY, LELONG AND BATEY

Fig 1 Location of Sangobeg, Durness, Sutherland (Caitlin Evans with Gillian McSwan)

(Ross 1982, Table 1). The rear of the beach rises to low dunes covered with thin
turf. The adjoining hinterland consists of gently sloping, improved grasslands, with
the ground rising to hills and moorland further inland. On the improved grasslands
lie archaeological remains of more recent date, which were recorded during the
survey (Brady and Morris 1998). These include a revetted trackway leading up
from the beach, a longhouse and corn-drying kiln, and the unroofed remains of
croft houses belonging to Sangobeg township (NMRS NC46NW 17).
The Sango river flows off the moorland, descends the dunes and crosses the
beach to the sea (Fig 2). The river frequently changes course on the beach: during
SANGOBEG: PICTISH BURIAL AND SETTLEMENT 53

the excavation it flowed roughly E-W, parallel to the water’s edge and to the face of
the dunes containing the site, which isolated these dunes in a sweeping meander.
Four years later, however, it was flowing directly down the beach, perpendicular to
the water’s edge. Its direction is usually altered by large storms moving sediment
onto the foreshore.
By September 1997, when the site was discovered, the effects of erosion by
the river and by over-grazing had denuded the dunes of much of their turf cover.
The tops of the seaward dunes retained some vegetation, but the area behind (to
the south) had been badly deflated, and this had been exacerbated by the temporary
camp of soldiers on local manoeuvres in the 1980s (J Morrison, pers. comm.).
The site, as discovered and recorded during the 1997 survey, consisted of
a spread of black, charcoal-flecked sand on the seaward side of the dune top
(corresponding to excavation area C3, Fig 2). Examination of the surface of this
deposit yielded mammal and fish bone, two possible iron boat rivets, vitrified fuel
ash, and a fragment of low-fired, grass-tempered pottery similar to Late Norse
material from elsewhere in northern Scotland (for example, Freswick Links in
Caithness, see Gaimster 1995, 136–141). At the western end of the dune was a
concentration of stones, apparently coursed, with further stones emerging from the
erosion scar at the rear of the dune. These were interpreted as potential structural
elements belonging to a settlement. The erosion had disturbed and tumbled these
putative structures, and it seemed likely that any undisturbed structural elements
would lie under the portion of dune that was still grass-covered. It was also thought
unlikely that archaeology preserved in that portion would survive if the sea broke
through the dune or if grazing were to continue in this area. The river’s flow in
spate was also undermining the seaward face of the dune, where the occupation
deposits were exposed.
This report presents the results of the area excavations undertaken in 2000 of
the possible structural elements and occupation deposits first identified in 1997
and the earlier burial discovered beneath them, and also of the coastal sondages
excavated in the vicinity.

Archaeological Background
The nature and extent of Viking/Norse period settlement in NW Scotland remain
somewhat enigmatic (Morris, Barrett and Batey 1994; Lelong 2002). By the 13th
century, the area that now comprises northern Sutherland (stretching westward
from Caithness along the N coast) was known as the Province of Strathnaver. Its
territorial coherence probably originated in the Norse period, when it formed part
of the Norse earldom of Caithness and the bishopric of Caithness. The Orkneyinga
Saga relates that Earl Thorfinn (d. c.1065) was given Caithness and Sutherland (the
lands to the south of Caithness) by his grandfather, Malcolm II (Taylor 1938), and
this would have included the later Province of Strathnaver. Although Strathnaver
is not mentioned by name in the Norse sagas, Crawford (2000, 2) suggests that
it equates to the district referred to in the sagas as the ‘Dales’ of Caithness,
an argument previously put forward by Skene (1837, 361). The character of the
Province, with its long river valleys and kyles opening onto the Pentland Firth,
would be in keeping with this descriptive name. The period when this part of
54 BRADY, LELONG AND BATEY

Fig 2 Topographic Survey of Sangobeg Bay with Trench Locations (Olivia Lelong with
John Arthur)
SANGOBEG: PICTISH BURIAL AND SETTLEMENT 55

northern Scotland first came under the influence of Vikings from Norway and,
later, Norse settlers may have begun as early as the mid 9th century AD. The
beginning of the Late Norse period is taken as the point from which Viking activity
ended and the Norse earldom was securely established in the late 11th or early 12th
century AD, through the period in which, while Norse political power was on the
wane, its cultural influence continued in the far N (Graham-Campbell and Batey
1998, 2).
Place names, both habitative and topographical, attest to fairly widespread
Viking/Norse activity in northern Sutherland, especially along the coast (Waugh
2000; Fraser 1979; 1995). These are scattered among Gaelic place names, perhaps
suggesting that Norse settlement here was more diffuse and less intensive than in
Caithness. Indeed, in 1982, Alan Small wrote that ‘the archaeological evidence
for Norse settlement is even more sparse than the place name evidence’ (Small
1982, 182). ‘Sangobeg’ itself derives from the Old Norse ‘sand’ and ‘geo’,
coupled with the Gaelic ‘beg’, to denote ‘little sandy creek or bay’. Within a
radius of a few kilometres are numerous other Norse names (see Fig 1): Durness,
Smoo, Sangomore, Eriboll, Borralie, Croispol, Keoldale and, further to the west,
Cape Wrath – from hfarf or ‘turning point’, where Norse longships would turn
to sail south along the west coast. Other clusters of Norse place names occur
further to the east in the former Province of Strathnaver, particularly around the
Kyle of Tongue and in the valley of Strathnaver, suggesting considerable Norse
colonisation and/or linguistic influence in the area.
However, relatively few archaeological remains of certain Viking or Norse
date have so far been discovered in northern Sutherland (Lelong 2003). Almost
all of the known archaeological evidence for Viking/Norse activity in the Province
has been found in the vicinity of Durness (Fig 1). A single, 9th- or 10th-century
burial of a young male was found in the dunes at Balnakeil Bay (Low, Batey and
Gourlay 2000; Batey and Paterson forthcoming 2008), and another possible burial
is known from Keoldale, less than a kilometre to the south of Loch Borralie (Batey
1993). A 9th-century midden excavated in a small cave off Smoo Inlet is thought to
have been left by sailors using the inlet for shelter during the 9th to 12th centuries,
although evidence for cereal processing in the cave might indicate links to more
permanent local settlement (Pollard 2005). Ongoing excavation near Loch Borralie
by the Strathnaver Province Archaeology Project is uncovering evidence for later
Medieval (14th- to 15th-century) settlement (Gazin-Schwartz and Lelong 2005).
Most of the firm archaeological evidence for Norse to Late Norse settlement comes
from coastal Caithness: from Freswick Links on the east coast (Morris, Batey and
Rackham 1995; Morris, Barrett and Batey 1994) and from Robert’s Haven on the
N (Barrett 1995).
The discovery of a potentially Norse-period site at Sangobeg, therefore, was
a significant one in the regional context. Because of this potential importance and
the imminent threats to the site, Historic Scotland commissioned its excavation.

Methodology
The fieldwork was carried out over four weeks in September 2000. First, the high
water mark, the course of the river and the extent of the site and of vegetation
56 BRADY, LELONG AND BATEY

were surveyed using a total station. The resulting topographic map (Fig 2) will
provide a useful comparative tool for future analysis of the rate of dune erosion.
The survey also included visual assessment of eroding faces to identify potential
archaeological deposits. These were recorded photographically and their locations
were surveyed.
The excavation strategy relied upon targeting areas deemed the most likely to
produce settlement evidence, based upon the visual assessment. Eroding sections
in four areas (A, B, D and E in Fig 2) were cleaned and recorded by photograph and
measured drawing. Each area was then investigated by means of a large sondage,
the sides of which were stepped for safety reasons as cleaning and excavation
progressed. Two other areas (C and F) were also cleaned, recorded and investigated
in plan.

Areas A and B

These two small trenches to the west of the main settlement site were excavated as
box-sections or columns through the stratigraphy visible in the eroding section, in
order to recover samples from all anthropogenic layers below the turf-line to the
rock platform at the base. The trenches measured three metres E-W by two metres.
Their locations were chosen because erosion in the western part of the bay was
thought to be less severe than in the centre, although the seaward-facing deposits
had clearly suffered storm damage and been undermined by the river. Although no
structural remains were visible in the eroding sections, layers of very dark, humic
deposits were evident after cleaning. The deposits were excavated stratigraphically
and samples were retrieved for on-site sieving. The column excavated in Area B
had to be stepped due to health and safety considerations. The lower c. 50cm of
the trench were excavated by stepping the column to the N in an area contiguous
with the already excavated vertical face.

Area C

Two concentrations of stone in Area C were initially interpreted as possible cairns.

These were planned and then partially excavated in quadrants to establish their
character and date. To the N of these was a thin spread of midden-rich material,
which had been evident when the site was first discovered in 1997 and had
produced Norse-period artefacts. This area was excavated in plan, and samples
from the anthropogenic deposits were recovered for on-site sieving.

Area D

Area D lay along the northern, steeply sloping side of the turf-covered dune.
Although modern beach sand had been blown up against the side of the dune,
small patches of darker, organic sand were visible in the upper part of the 3m long
section. At the base of the section, what appeared to be the top of a human cranium
was discovered during cleaning. After recording of the section, it was covered to
protect it during excavation of the overlying deposits. The later structural elements,
occupation deposits and windblown sand were removed and recorded in plan.
SANGOBEG: PICTISH BURIAL AND SETTLEMENT 57

Once exposed, the skeletal remains and associated features were recorded
using standard burial recording techniques, lifted and bagged. The bones were
extremely light and fragile, and despite the care taken they partly disintegrated
during lifting.

Areas E/F

A trench was opened over Area E, to the east of Area D, as the dune was highest
at this point and the turf cover was largely intact; it was hoped that the sand and
grass would seal intact structural elements. After de-turfing, it quickly became
evident that this area concealed only amorphous concentrations of stone, along
with isolated and presumably water-borne boulders, and the sand was heavily
burrowed by rabbits. This area became subsumed within Area F, to the east.
At the eastern edge of the main dune system, structural elements were
observed in an eroding face. These included a metalled floor or path surface and
two to three courses of a dry-stone wall. This was the clearest evidence of structural
survival at the site. The dune overlay the wall to the west and a trench was opened
to expose further the archaeological features. At the suggestion of the land owner,
a mechanical earth mover was brought on to site to combine the two trenches into
one large area (E/F on Fig 2). The volume of sand to be moved meant that this could
not be done by hand over one season. Once the full extent of the archaeology was
exposed, the features were investigated in plan and section, with samples taken for
on-site sieving.

Sieving programme

All archaeological deposits sampled during the excavation were floated using a
modified Sirâf tank rigged with a 1mm mesh and Endicot sieves (250 micron and
1mm) to maximise recovery of palaeo-botanical evidence. The tank, connected to
a free-flowing water supply, was set up adjacent to the site to allow for flexible
processing. To facilitate feedback to the excavation, the heavy residues (>1mm)
were quickly scanned and sorted by hand after processing to retrieve organic and
inorganic materials. Four samples taken from around the inhumation burial were
retained for dry sieving under laboratory conditions.

Excavation Results
Areas A and B: Midden deposits and ploughed horizon

While the excavation of Areas A and B uncovered no structural features, it did

demonstrate that there were several phases of human activity in this part of the
bay, including cultivation and midden dumping, interspersed with periods of wave
incursion. The various phases of midden development suggest habitation very
close by, probably related to the fragmentary structures excavated in the dunes
to the west. The buried plough horizons also attest to attempts to work this land by
combining the domestic refuse with the sandy soils.
At the base of the column excavated in Area A was a layer of medium to
dark brown, coarse sand with a high humic content (A010), an old ground surface.
Overlying and mixed in with it was the lower storm beach deposit (A013), which
58 BRADY, LELONG AND BATEY

directly overlay the low, natural rock platform. The stones appeared to have been
deposited while the humic layer was developing and may have been the result of
one particularly large storm. Overlying both deposits were layers of fairly clean,
loose, coarse sand (A009 and A011), which indicated a period of time before the
accumulation of an overlying humic layer or old ground surface (A008). A second
storm beach deposit (A012), up to 0.35m thick, overlay the clean sand. Another
very dark brown clay-sand (A008) sealed the stones and had partly filtered through
them. A further layer of humic, dark brown sand (A007) sealed this. It was in
turn sealed by a probable ploughed horizon, consisting of grey/brown fine sand
(A006). This was sealed by a substantial deposit of midden material (A005), up to
one metre thick and consisting of very dark brown clay sand; it was striated with
lenses of clean, windblown sand that suggested the midden had accumulated over
a period of time. A patch of black compact sand (A015) sealed it. Windblown sand
overlay the latest midden deposit.
At the base of the column excavated in Area B was a humic old ground
surface (B009 = A010) directly overlying the low, natural rock platforms. As in
Area A, the storm beach material (B010) had been thrown onto the ground surface
while it was developing. Clean, loose sand deposited by the wind (B008 = A009)
overlay the storm beach. A thick layer of clean, orange/brown, fine sand (B006)
above contained a second humic layer (B007 = A008). Overlying this was a
thick midden deposit (B005 = A005). Above this was a very thin layer of clean,
wind blown sand (B016), which was only evident at the east of the trench. The
ploughed horizon noted in Area A was also present here (as B003). Overlying it
was (B013), a clean pinkish yellow sand marking an interlude in ploughing in the
immediate vicinity. Thick deposits of clean, windblown sand (B002, B001) capped
the stratigraphy.

Area C: Possible Norse-period remains

This area of deflation lay between the turf-covered dune and the more stable ground
to the west (Fig 3). Measuring approximately 25m E-W by 10m, it consisted of a
stretch of sand dominated by two sandy mounds up to c. 4m in diameter, with
boulders and smaller stones concentrated on and around the mounds (Areas C1
and C2 on Fig 2). The boulders visible on the surface were of varying geological
origins and most were not water-worn beach stones, so it was thought they had
been deliberately deposited here, perhaps to form cairns. Along the northern edge
of the area, above the edge of the dune leading down to the river, was an expanse
of black, humic sand (Area C3 on Fig 2) from which marine shells and low-fired
grass-tempered pottery were recovered during the 1997 survey. Here, the remains
of a stone box-hearth and associated burnt deposits were discovered.

Areas C1 and C2

The two putative mounds were excavated in quadrants. The mounds and
concentrations of stone proved to be natural products of wind erosion and dune
formation; however, they each sealed fragmentary occupation deposits (Fig 3).
Evidence for intensive burrowing was found in both Areas C1 and C2, and as a
SANGOBEG: PICTISH BURIAL AND SETTLEMENT 59

Fig 3 Fragmentary Norse structural remains in Area C3 (Caitlin Evans)

result the layers were discontinuous and difficult to interpret within each area, let
alone between areas.
In the western mound, recent wind-blown sand (C001) partly overlay a spread
of boulders (C006). These in turn sealed a layer of mid brown sand (C007) that
contained occasional flecks of black, humic material and limpet shells, but was
otherwise fairly clean. The mostly articulated skeleton of a sheep was found in it.
60 BRADY, LELONG AND BATEY

It overlay a thick deposit of clean, pale brown sand (C015), which proved to be
heavily burrowed. Excavation halted at this point.
In the eastern mound (C2), recent wind-blown sand (C001) overlay a
concentration of boulders and smaller stones (C003). The stones sat in a layer of
windblown, more humic sand (C005), up to 0.28m deep. This sealed a thin layer of
black-brown, highly organic sand (C008) which produced two small sherds of low-
fired black pottery (SF 12). This overlay another clean layer of windblown sand
(C009). Below this was a thick (up to 0.2m) layer of mid brown sand containing
frequent lenses of black, organic clay sand (C010), which yielded a fragment of
burnt peat (SF 5) and sealed another patchy, thin layer of black clay sand (C011).
A discrete patch of black clay sand (C012), measuring 0.35m N-S by 0.28m, was
found in the NW corner of the trench at the same level as (C011), in association
with some large stones measuring up to 0.3m across. Separating these two organic
deposits was a spread of clean, pale brown windblown sand (C025), which also
continued beneath them. This clean layer was excavated to a depth of 0.15 m before
excavation of the area halted.
These spreads of dark, organic material encountered in Areas C1 and particularly
C2 may have related to those investigated in Area C3, including C019 and C024
(see below).

Area C3

Located immediately to the north of Areas C1 and C2, this small excavation area
of two metres by two metres was opened to recover samples of the compact, black
occupation deposit that first brought this site to the attention of the excavators. The
midden deposit (C019) was 0.15 to 0.20 metres thick in this area and consisted of
dark brown/black, organic-rich sand, containing abundant shell, fish and animal
bone. Sherds of grass-tempered and Scottish White Gritty Ware pottery (SFs
47, 50, 52–3, 55–6, 59, 62–3) were also recovered from it, as well as iron
nail fragments. As the midden was excavated, two small upright stones (C023)
were observed protruding through the adjacent sand (C021). After removal of
the midden deposit to the N, this potential structural feature was investigated
further.
Below the midden deposit (C019) was a light, loose, clean sand (C020). There
had clearly been some mixing of this layer, as occasional flecks of charcoal and
pieces of shell and fish bone were found in it. This deposit, and the midden
(C019) above, had been truncated on the NW by waves that had deposited clean,
very light sand (C021) and scoured the archaeological deposits. Below this beach
sand (C021) was a thick (0.1–0.15m) layer of compact black charcoal (C022)
with occasional shell, fish and animal bone inclusions. This overlay a large, flat
rectangular stone, which clearly formed a hearth with the two orthostatic stones
(C023). The hearth measured c. 0.55m E-W by 0.16m. The hearth stone lay
immediately N of the orthostats. The compact burnt deposit (C022) continued for
approximately one metre to the N of the hearth stone and was up to 0.7 m wide.
Sherds of 12th- to 15th-century cooking pot were recovered from the midden
deposit (C019), as well as a sherd from a possible Martincamp-type vessel, dating
to the 16th or 17th century (see Will, below).
SANGOBEG: PICTISH BURIAL AND SETTLEMENT 61

Fig 4 Pre-excavation plan of the Pictish cairn (Caitlin Evans)

Area D: The inhumation burial and Norse period remains

In Area D, a flexed inhumation represented the earliest event in the archaeological

sequence. It had been sealed by a mound of clean sand, capped with quartzite
pebbles. After windblown sand accumulated on top of the mound, a structure was
built and occupation deposits accumulated, probably during the Norse period.
The body lay flexed on its right side, on a carefully packed layer of pebbles
(D034) (Fig 7). The skeleton was aligned NNE/SSW (25◦ east of magnetic N), with
the head to the NNE. Most of the long bones were present, but all were eroded at
either end and, analysis showed, had been gnawed by rodents (see Roberts below).
The cranium was in situ but had been partly crushed by the weight of the overlying
sand and stones.
The bed of pebbles on which the body had been laid measured about 3m NW-
SE (as visible in the N-facing section) by 0.95m as exposed during excavation,
although the NE side had been eroded away. Its original shape, based on the
visible portion, may have been oval. The stones were all rounded beach pebbles,
62 BRADY, LELONG AND BATEY

Fig 5 East-facing section through the Pictish burial mound and overlying Norse
structural remains (Caitlin Evans)

Fig 6 North-facing section through the Pictish burial cairn (Caitlin Evans)

generally under 0.10m across, many of them quartzite and predominantly blue-
white, pale grey or cream in colour. Among them were 14 red stones, most of
them placed close to or directly beneath the body. The head and upper chest rested
on a large, flat stone. Larger, sub-rounded boulders lay around the edges of the
pebble platform on the east, south and west; these appeared to form a rough kerb.
The pebble platform and kerb lay on clean beach sand (D013/014), which in turn
overlay several thick layers of dark brown, peat-stained sand packed with sorted,
rounded stones (D016-023), the glacial till.
The body had been covered with a mound of clean, light yellow-brown coarse
sand (D012), up to 0.4m thick. This had been capped with a layer of sub-rounded
stones (D015/033), mostly comprising white or pastel quartzite (Fig 5). The stony
capping was sub-rectangular in plan as exposed, measuring about 3m NW-SE by
1m, although it had been truncated by wave action on the NE.
The east-facing section (Fig 5) through the burial mound and overlying
deposits illustrates the subsequent events in the sequence; Fig 6 shows the
SANGOBEG: PICTISH BURIAL AND SETTLEMENT 63

Fig 7 Pictish burial on the quartzite pebble setting, with red pebbles indicated (Caitlin
Evans)

N-facing section, which had been truncated by storm erosion. After its
construction, the south part of the burial mound was sealed by a small dune, made
up of several layers of clean, windblown sand (D007). An old ground surface of
firm, orange-brown sand (D005) had formed on the dune, while to the north a
deposit of clean, light brown sand and rounded boulders (D006) appeared to be a
storm beach deposit that had been thrown up on its seaward side. A thick wedge of
clean, windblown sand (D027) partly overlay the old ground surface to the south,
creating a level surface for subsequent activity.
The artefactual evidence (see Batey below) suggests this subsequent activity
took place in the Late Norse period. A drystone wall (D003) running NE-SW was
built on the level surface of the dunes. As exposed in the trench it measured 3.5m
long; the NE end had eroded away, while the SW end ran into the section. It appears
to have been at least three courses high (see section drawing, Fig 5) and of rough
double-skinned construction. A small iron fishing hook (SF 91) was found between
two courses of the wall.
To the N, an occupation deposit of black-brown humic sand with pale lenses
(D028) had built up against the base of the wall. A small iron object (SF 80),
64 BRADY, LELONG AND BATEY

possibly a nail head, was found in it. A more compact occupation deposit of mixed,
dirty grey-brown sand (D026) had accumulated over it and had also built up to
the south of the wall. Two fragments of indeterminate iron (SFs 23 and 29) and
two sherds of black, grass-tempered pottery (SF 34) were recovered from it, along
with abundant marine shells. A thin deposit of clean, windblown sand (D004) lay
over the wall, and small sherds of black, low-fired pottery (SFs 20–22, 27) were
recovered from it.
A final occupation deposit, consisting of black, humic clay sand (D024),
sealed the windblown sand to south of the wall. This appeared to represent
continuing occupation during the use of the structure. Thick layers of clean,
windblown sand, interleaved with turf lines and capped by the modern turf, sealed
these features and postdated the abandonment of the site.

Area E/F: Possible Norse period/post-Medieval remains

In Area F, thick deposits of windblown sand (F001) were removed by JCB to

expose as much as possible of the denuded drystone wall (F004) observed in the
eroding section and any associated deposits or features. Fig 8 shows the features
as originally exposed by hand, while Fig 9 shows their full extent after exposure
by machine.
A very compact layer of sand and gravel (F006) extended to the east of the
wall [F004] and appeared to be a metalled path or floor surface which overlay
storm beach deposits (Fig 8). The gravel component of the metalling was angular,
suggesting that it was quarried for its use here as opposed to deriving from the
beach. A sherd of brown-glazed redware (SF 72) was recovered from the storm
beach material. Mechanical removal of the thick sandy overburden to the NW of
this concentration of structural remnants established that the wall [F004] continued
in a straight line for some two metres to the N before turning to run west for
approximately 1.3 metres, forming a corner. The walling petered out at this point,
and here the building had presumably fallen victim to the sea in an earlier phase of
erosion.
The removal of several tonnes of sand failed to uncover any substantial
structural elements surviving to the west of the walling and metalling. Due to
pressures of time and resources, and given the rescue nature of the excavation,
a slot trench, c. 8.2m SE/NW by 1m wide, was excavated perpendicular to the
wall [F004] and extending two metres to the west of it (Fig 9). This would cross
the putative interior of the structure and expose any surviving floor or occupation
deposits. The only other structural feature it revealed was a more fragmentary
stretch of walling [F017], running along a similar alignment to wall [F004] and
about four metres to the west of it (Fig 9). Only 1.4 metres of this wall were
exposed in the course of the excavation, but its construction and the stone used
were similar to those of wall [F004]. Burrowing in the area between the two walls
had destroyed any stratigraphic relationship between them, but together they may
have defined a building.
The deposits exposed in the slot trench displayed a high degree of mixing,
due to burrowing and previous periods of marine or riverine incursion. The slot
trench was excavated to a depth of up to 0.6 metres below the base of wall
SANGOBEG: PICTISH BURIAL AND SETTLEMENT 65

Fig 8 Walling and occupation deposits in Area F (Caitlin Evans)

66 BRADY, LELONG AND BATEY

Fig 9 Fragmentary walling and occupation deposits revealed in the slot trench in Area F
(Caitlin Evans)

[F004]. The patchy remains of organic-rich, dark brown sandy occupation deposits
(including F019/F023) were encountered in the area between the two walls, with
clean windblown sand (F024) surrounding them. It proved impossible to relate
the occupation deposits stratigraphically either to the walls or to the associated
metalled surface (F006). The base of the slot trench lay below the bases of both
walls and it was clear that no intact floor layers remained. The organic-rich deposits
encountered did not appear sufficiently compacted to represent floors; they may
have been midden material deposited at a later stage over an abandoned building.
It is also possible that this area had been scoured by the sea or river and that the
mixed, humic sands represented redeposition of floor/midden deposits. The lowest
layers encountered (F030/F031), well below the wall bases, still displayed organic
content and mixing.
The antiquity of the features uncovered in Area E/F is unclear. The sherd of
brown-glazed redware (SF 72) sealed beneath the metalled surface (F006) would
suggest that it and the associated walling [F004] date to the 18th or 19th centuries.
However, the extent of burrowing and mixing of the deposits means that it is diffi-
cult to be confident of the sherd’s stratigraphic security. A sherd of low-fired, grass-
impressed pottery (SF 66) was recovered (unstratified from Area F). The character
of the walling and fragmentary occupation deposits are similar to the Late Norse-
period features elsewhere on the site (Areas C and D), and the unstratified sherds of
SANGOBEG: PICTISH BURIAL AND SETTLEMENT 67

Norse and Medieval pottery could indicate that activity took place in these periods
in Area F. The evidence, however, is too slight to allow certainty either way.

THE SKELETAL REMAINS

Julie Roberts
The remains analysed from the flexed inhumation in Area D were those of a
single individual. The skeleton was approximately 60% complete, and it was in
a very poor condition. All of the elements were fragmented to some degree and
heavily eroded. The cortex of the bones was thinned and there were multiple root
impressions on the surfaces. In addition, there was evidence of rodent gnawing
at the ends of all the long bones. There was good (almost 100%) recovery of the
dentition, but they too were degraded and eroded.
The age at death of the individual was based on dental development and
eruption (Buikstra and Ubelaker 1994). No epiphyseal ends of the long bones or
actual epiphyses had been preserved, so epiphyseal fusion could not be assessed.
Good recovery of the dentition meant that it was possible to determine an accurate
age at death of 9 years ± 24 months. As yet there are no acceptable osteological
standards for determining the sex of immature individuals. DNA analysis (if it were
possible) would therefore be the only means of establishing the sex of the child.
The condition of the skeleton precluded the identification of most pathological
disorders, because of the extreme fragmentation and erosion. Each element was
examined for evidence of pathology, but nothing conclusive was found. Both the
right and the left femur were flattened antero-posteriorly at the proximal and distal
ends of the shafts, but this may have occurred post-mortem, as a result of their
having been compressed after burial. No oral pathology was observed, but the
deciduous teeth were very heavily worn. This would suggest a very coarse diet
during childhood. The permanent teeth were healthy and developing normally.
As there were no intact long bones, it was not possible to assess the growth and
nutritional status of the child by comparing the lengths of the long bones with
dental development.
ARTEFACTS
Late Norse material
Colleen Batey

The initial identification of the site as Norse rested on the recovery of a few sherds
of grass-tempered pottery. These can be assigned to the period by comparison with
other assemblages, such as that from Freswick Links in Caithness (e.g. Gaimster
1995) and Robertshaven (Barrett 1995). However, a total of only eight finds units
scattered across several contexts on the site is a very small quantity on which to
base a discussion of period. There is a small group of indeterminate fabrics (such
as SF 20) and others which have gritting to varying degrees in their make-up (such
as SF 32 from D024 and SF 53 from C019), but their chronological significance
cannot be confirmed. A small quantity of wheelthrown sherds may also fall into
this phase of activity or slightly later (such as SFs 50, 59 and 105; see Will, this
report) This is, however, probably consistent with the fact that the Norse-period
middens had been almost completely lost by 1997, when the site was identified,
68 BRADY, LELONG AND BATEY

Fig 10 Small Finds: Worked pumice SF 102, Glass Bead SF 111, Iron Rivet Plate SF 096
and Decorative Plaque SF 089 (Caitlin Evans)
SANGOBEG: PICTISH BURIAL AND SETTLEMENT 69

and certainly by 2000 when it was excavated. The single bead of black, opaque
glass (SF 111; Fig 10) may have a Norse origin, but in its form it is not especially
diagnostic. Among the small collection of ironwork, rivets such as SF 78 or SF 96
(Fig 10) may relate to this phase of activity on the site.

Medieval material
Robert Will

Three body sherds are from Scottish White Gritty cooking pots (SFs 50 and 59,
context C019, and SF 105, Area A midden). This type of pottery dates from the
late 12th century through to the 15th century and is found on many excavations,
particularly along the east coast of Scotland. This sherd may date to the late 12th
or 13th century. One of the best assemblages of this material was recovered from
the excavations at Kelso Abbey (Tabraham 1984), where these distinctive straight-
sided cooking vessels with thin walls were recovered. These vessels are thought to
date to the late 12th century and mark the beginning of the Scottish White Gritty
industry. Similar vessels have been found at a number of sites throughout Scotland,
including Aberdeen (Murray 1982) and more recently Robert’s Haven in Caithness
(Barrett 1995).
One sherd (SF 62, context C019) could be part of a Martincamp Type III flask;
this would date to the late 16th or 17th centuries. Although Martincamp vessels
are relatively common in Scotland, it is usually the Type I or Type II vessels that
are found, although a Type III sherd was recently excavated at Drumoig in Fife
(Haggerty 2006, Gazetteer D2j, 1). These vessels, in general, date to from the mid-
15th century through to the 17th century and are thought to have been made in or
near Martincamp in NW France, between Dieppe and Beauvais (Hurst et al. 1986).
The vessels are mainly long-necked globular flasks.
Although this is a small assemblage of pottery, it does confirm the trading
links within Scotland and across Europe in the Medieval and post-Medieval period.
In addition, the presence of both hand-made and wheel-thrown pottery in the
assemblage again confirms that wheel-thrown ceramics did not completely replace
hand-made wares and that the local hand-made tradition did continue through the
Norse/Medieval period.

Post-Norse to modern material

Colleen Batey

A small number of artefacts may relate to immediately after the late Norse period.
However, the majority of identifiable items suggest a 19th -century presence (in the
form of clay pipe stems, SFs 14 and 15) and 20th -century activity in the form of
the stoneware base (SF 104) as well as the brown glazed vessel sherd (SF 193 from
area A).
The most diagnostic item is the small decorative metal plaque (SF 89; Fig 10),
commemorating a gift to a church organist named Mr John Young by his choir in
October 1901, from a church at Lugar in Ayrshire.
Pieces in the assemblage which cannot be assigned to a specific phase of
activity on the site include waterborne pumice (SFs 101 and 102; Fig 10) and two
small chips of whalebone (SFs 28 and 61), both from area C.
70 BRADY, LELONG AND BATEY

PALAEOBOTANICAL ANALYSIS
Jennifer Miller and Susan Ramsay

The carbonised macroplant remains are fully discussed and tabulated in the site
archive, and are summarised here. In Area A, botanical remains from the midden
layer (A005) were abundant. They included quantities of birch, heather family
and willow charcoal, together with substantial quantities of burnt peat/turf, some
brown (Fucoid) seaweed and numerous cereal grains. Cereal types identified
included oat and both naked and hulled barley. Other carbonised seeds included
one of ribwort plantain and two of bilberry/cowberry. This mixed assemblage
represents general occupation detritus, including hearth deposits and possibly
cereal processing waste. The seaweed may suggest small domestic-scale industry,
such as ash production for detergent or, less likely, metallurgy.
In Area B, the midden deposit (B005) contained a similar carbonised
assemblage to its equivalent midden layer (A005) in Area A, suggesting a similar
provenance. Charcoal of alder, birch, hazel, heather family, Scot’s pine type and
willow was recorded, together with substantial quantities of burnt minerogenic
peat/turf and turf indicators, including sedges and heath grass remains. Several
cereal grains, including oats and hulled barley, were also recorded, as was
burnt seaweed. This very mixed assemblage is indicative of waste deposits
from various sources, including probably fire waste and/or general occupation
sweepings, consistent with the midden (A005) in Area A. Interestingly, these
two midden deposits contained the only evidence for fucoid seaweed from the
entire site.
Tiny quantities of burnt minerogenic peat/turf were recorded from four
contexts from area C2 (C008, C010, C011 and C016) and one deposit (C007) from
Area C1, possibly from anthropogenic activity in the immediate vicinity or from
natural events. The midden spread (C019) in Area C3 contained a variety of cereal
grains, some arable weed seeds and a mixed charcoal assemblage, suggesting
origins from both domestic hearth waste and crop processing events.
A deposit of black ash and charcoal (C022) lay directly on the flat slab of the
box hearth, while a surrounding burnt deposit (C024) was interpreted as material
swept out of the hearth. Indicators of heathland minerogenic turf dominated the
botanical assemblage from both deposits, with heather seed capsules and leafy
shoots and bearberry leaves observed, together with grass/sedge rhizomes and
prolific numbers of heather family twigs.
The latest occupation deposit (D024) in Area D produced charcoal of
alder, birch, heather family and pine, together with mineral turf/peat and a
few cereals, primarily barley. This is evidence of a domestic midden deposit,
probably including both hearth and cereal processing waste. A mixed occupation
layer (D026) that built up around the base of the Norse-period wall [D003]
contained similar evidence of domestic activity, albeit with less variety of charcoal
types.
In Area F, scant carbonised cereal grains and minerogenic heathland turf
remains were recorded from two layers (F019, F023), suggesting they were the
residues of domestic activities.
SANGOBEG: PICTISH BURIAL AND SETTLEMENT 71

Discussion

The remains of minerogenic, heathland turf dominated the carbonised assemblages

from the samples, indicating that this had been was the primary fuel during the Late
Norse and possible post-Medieval occupation. The exposed coastline of northern
Sutherland would never have had full, dense tree cover; however, the woody taxa
recorded (birch, alder, hazel, cherry and Scots pine types) probably do represent
fairly local, albeit not abundant, scrub woodland resources. This is likely to have
been present as small tracts growing in sheltered spots slightly inland, and was
probably also washed up as driftwood from further afield. This situation is similar
to that interpreted for the Norse settlement at Freswick, Caithness (Morris et al.
1995), where the very low tree pollen levels recorded by Jacqui Huntley also
indicated an almost treeless landscape other than small pockets in sheltered areas
(Dickson and Dickson 2000).
Turf and heather are valuable commodities in a marginal landscape. Heather
can be used for thatching, bedding, cereal parching, rope making or textile dyeing,
while minerogenic heather turf is the fuel of necessity when more satisfactory
woody resources are in short supply. It is also the main component of walls or
wall cores in many marginal environment dwellings, and forms satisfactory under-
felt to heather thatch. Both the thatch and underlying turf can then be burned as
fuel when roofing repairs are made, and the soot-blackened turf is an excellent
source of enrichment for impoverished soils. These uses are well documented from
ethnographic studies in the Northern Isles (Fenton 1978), where they continued to
be applied well into the 20th century. Midden material would also have eventually
been reused for soil enrichment. Fragments of brown (Fucoid) seaweed from
midden in Areas A and B may have resulted from potash production for domestic
use, but could also have been burned for soil enrichment.
The cereals recorded from Sangobeg include both naked and hulled barley, and
oats. This is entirely in keeping with the suspected Late Norse and potentially later
periods of occupation for the areas examined. There are many northern Scottish
examples of this type of cereal assemblage from Norse occupation, including at
Freswick (Morris et al. 1995), Howe (Ballin-Smith 1994) and Birsay Bay (Morris
1989; 1996). In some instances, naked barley may be an indication of an earlier
Norse occupation, although in such a marginal landscape as Sangobeg naked barley
may well have remained as a relict within crops far longer than it would have done
in a wealthier economy, since every grain would have valuable at this site.

ANIMAL BONES Louise Gidney

A very small assemblage of animal bone was recovered from the excavations.
Stratified finds from Area F included fragments of sheep-size longbone (SF
76 from occupation deposit F023) and cattle teeth (SF 81, from fragmentary
occupation deposit F025). In Area C3, cattle-sized long bone fragments and teeth
(SF 51 and SF 33) were recovered from midden spread (C019). The assemblage
included two unworn, deciduous calf teeth and a calf astralagus (SF 33 and an
unstratified piece from Area E). A high proportion of calves were noted in parts
72 BRADY, LELONG AND BATEY

Table 1 Fish species representation according to area

Species/Area A B C C1 C2 C3 D F

Cod 13 72 5 43 16 39
Gadus morhua
Haddock 11 98 53 1 1 93 44 37
Melanogrammus
aeglefinus
Saithe 49 19 33 10 9
Pollachius virens
Saithe 1 2 1
Pollachius sp
Gadidae 2 93 31 2 78 23 31
Gurnard 2 8 7 1 18
Eutrigla gurnardus
Triglidae 8
Rocker 2 2 1
Raja clavata
Tope 1 1 1
Galeorhinus galeus
Elasmobranchii 6
Herring 1 1
Clupea harengus
Dab 2
Limanda limanda
Pleronectidae 8 1
Butterfish 2
Pholis gunnelus
Ammoditae 1
Total 31 319 120 2 11 255 97 149

of the assemblage from Late Norse contexts at Freswick Links (Gidney 1995, 195,
200). The killing of calves was carried out not only so that milk could be collected
from the mother, but also to obtain the rennet from the calf’s stomach for making
cheese.

THE FISH REMAINS Ruby Cerón-Carrasco

The level of preservation of the fish bone was consistent throughout the site in
terms of fragment size and condition. Elements were most frequently 20–80%
complete. Their condition score was generally in the range of 6–9, indicating well-
preserved to extremely poorly-preserved bone (after Nicholson 1991).
A total of 15 taxa were identified, consisting of 10 identified to species
and five to family level. Haddock (Melannogramus aeglefinus) was the main
species represented in the assemblage. Other species of the same group (Gadidae)
recovered included cod (Gadus morhua), saithe (Pollachius virens), Pollachius sp
and other unidentified Gadidae. The other species recovered included gurnard
(Eutrigla gurnardus), unidentified gurnard species (family Triglidae), skate
SANGOBEG: PICTISH BURIAL AND SETTLEMENT 73

Table 2 Gadidae size category representation

COD Haddock Saithe

Area S M L S M L VS S M
20–30 30–60 60–120 20–30 30–60 60–120 15–20 20–30 30–60
cm cm cm cm cm cm cm cm cm

A 4 1 8 5 6
B 62 9 1 65 30 3 23 24 2
C 4 1 20 33 13 6
C1 1
C2 1
C3 6 33 4 42 50 1 17 16
D 8 4 4 26 18 4 6
F 12 25 2 24 13 9
Total 92 76 20 184 150 4 57 61 2

(Raja clavata), tope (Galeorhinus galeus) and other unidentified Elasmobranchs,

Dab (Limanda limanda), other unidentified flatfish (family Pleuronectidae),
herring (Clupea harengus), remains of the tiny butterfish (Pholis gunnellus) and
unidentified sand eel (family Ammoditae) (see Table 1).
From the range of species, particularly the range of Gadidae, and the different
sizes represented, fishing at Sangobeg appears to have been a broad-based activity.
Gadid bones were also dominant in the assemblage, and their size range implies
that fish were caught from rocky shores, inshore and deeper water using boats
(see Table 2). The importance of Gadids, the cod family fish, to the inhabitants
of Scotland is well known; they were common in all periods, but their relative
importance did change through time (Barrett et al. 1999).
In all the excavation areas, the most common species was haddock. In most
fish bone assemblages belonging to the Late Norse period throughout Caithness
and the Northern Isles, cod has been the main species present (Barrett et al. 1999).
Other contemporary assemblages with substantial proportions of haddock remains
include Smoo, about 2km from Sangobeg, and Earl’s Bu in Orkney (Barrett 1997).
The presence of substantial haddock remains at Sangobeg may also indicate
that these were caught to be consumed on site fresh, and were not meant for
trading. Haddock, unlike cod, is less suitable for preservation through salting or
drying, as its flesh is more delicate than any of the other gadids (Lockhart 1997).
Cod was preserved using these methods in the Northern Isles as far back as the
11th century AD (Cerón-Carrasco 1994; 1998a; 1998b), and it became part of a
substantial trade in stock-fish from at least the 15th century (Barrett 1995). None of
the elements recovered showed cut-marks, which usually indicate the production of
stock-fish. The earliest record of haddock preservation involved smoking and dates
to the 19th century (Walker 1982; Lockhart 1997). Therefore, it is more likely that
the haddock was consumed fresh at the site.
The Sangobeg fish bone assemblage is quite significant since it provides
further evidence that the Norse took advantage of their knowledge of the available
marine resources to exploit the areas they settled. Knowledge of the availability
74 BRADY, LELONG AND BATEY

of these resources appears to have played an important role in settlement and

subsistence. Recently-analysed fish bone assemblages from the Western Isles,
for example, indicate that during the Norse period herring was the main species
exploited (Cerón-Carrasco 2002), a very different trend from those in Caithness,
the Northern Isles and (with Sangobeg) northern Sutherland (Barrett et al. 1999).
The Sangobeg assemblage shows that haddock, not cod, was the main object of
fishing during the site’s occupation.
In the Norse period, fishing appears to have been a year-round activity, carried
out for subsistence. Fishing from rocks or from boats in shallow water would have
produced young saithe, which could have been eaten fresh or preserved for later
consumption; their livers may also have been used for oil. Other species would
have been caught while fishing for this species, including young cod and haddock.
The capture of mature haddock and cod would have required the use of boats for
venturing into deeper waters and hooked hand-lines, and these would have also
caught other species such as gurnards, rocker, tope and herring. This pattern of
exploitation appears to be in evidence in all the excavated areas that produced fish
remains.

A note on hand-collected fish bones

A very small amount of fish remains were collected by hand during the excavation.
However, no reference was made to size categories and since the remains are so
few these were not incorporated into the main sieved fish remains analysed by
Ruby Cerón-Carrasco. The only significant aspect of this small hand-collected
assemblage is the presence of ling (Molva molva), which is generally a deep-
water fish and normally requires the use of boats for its capture. However, since no
remains of ling were recovered in the sieved material, it is better to assume that this
element belongs to a specimen that was caught while fishing for mature haddock
and cod, which require similar fishing techniques.

Discussion
The Pictish burial

The burial found at Sangobeg was the most dramatic discovery of the excavation,
and a wholly unexpected one. It occupied a secure position in the relatively
complex stratigraphy in Area D, pre-dating the later, Norse-period occupation of
the site. The burial itself merits discussion on at least three levels: comparison to
other excavated burials of broadly similar form and date; the symbolic aspects
of the burial itself, and the juxtaposition of the burial with later, Norse-period
settlement.
Analysis of the human remains has shown that they were those of a child,
aged between 8 and 10 years old. A platform of small, quartzite pebbles probably
gathered from the beach had first been laid. Several red stones were placed close
to the body, a flat slab was set beneath the head and a rough kerb of larger stones
defined the platform. The child had been laid on its right side with the head to
the NNE, the body flexed, and covered with a mound of clean beach sand. This
SANGOBEG: PICTISH BURIAL AND SETTLEMENT 75

Table 3 Radiocarbon date from the burial (calibrated using Oxcal v 3.9)

Calibrated dates
Lab Lab.Age 1 sigma (68.2% probability)
code Sample material BP *13 C 2 sigma (95.4% probability)

SUERC Human femur 2050 ± 35 −19.4%0 110 BC–AD 10 170 BC–AD 30

−4527 from flexed
(GU- inhumation
12535) (Sk 1)

was capped with a layer of larger quartzite stones that were probably also gathered
from the beach.
Because of the poor condition of the bones, little could be said about diseases
or lifestyle, other than that the child had a very coarse diet. The ends of the long
bones had been gnawed by rodents, but the articulated state of the skeletal remains
suggests this occurred after the body had been buried, as a result of burrowing. The
burial appeared to be isolated. While it is possible that there were formerly other
burials to seaward that were later washed away by encroaching waves, there are no
local traditions of other human remains in the vicinity and no evidence to indicate
there was a cemetery here.
The Sangobeg burial has certain affinities with other excavated burials in the
N and W of Scotland, both in its form and its date of 170 cal BC–cal AD 30
(see Table 3). Ashmore (1980) has reviewed the corpus of low ditched mounds
and low kerbed cairns in Scotland and has pointed out that some of these, found
predominantly in northern Scotland, date to the pre-Viking Iron Age. That dis-
cussion focused upon extended inhumations. However, several aspects of the
Sangobeg burial fall within the broad traditions that Ashmore discusses and that
are represented by more recently published burials. A brief discussion of these will
help to place the Sangobeg burial in its chronological and regional context.
The geographically closest comparable site is a cairn partially excavated near
Loch Borralie, to the east of the Kyle of Durness and about 4km to the WSW
of Sangobeg (MacGregor 2003). Two inhumations were recovered during rescue
excavation here in 2000. One had been placed on a platform of stone and earth
and covered with a low mound of sand, while a second had been cut through this
mound and covered with another layer of sand. A layer of sub-angular and sub-
rounded (including quartz and quartzite) stones and cobbles sealed both burials.
Both were extended and supine and aligned E-W, with their heads to the east. An
iron ring-headed pin was recovered from near one of the skeletons. One of the
skeletons was radiocarbon dated to 40 cal BC–cal AD 210 (OxA-10253).
The burial at Sangobeg is also somewhat similar to two kerbed cairns
excavated at Sandwick, on Unst in Shetland (Bigelow 1984). Here, one inhumation
lay aligned NNW–SSE and extended on its left side, facing downward, in a shallow
trench. It had been covered with a thick layer of clean sand, which was sealed with
a carefully-packed layer of angular rubble defined by a kerb of upright slabs. This
had been capped with beach pebbles, many of them white quartzite. The second
cairn, built on the same old ground surface, was very similar except that it lacked
76 BRADY, LELONG AND BATEY

an occupant. The inhumation was dated by radiocarbon to cal AD 370–520 (GU-

1291). Another extended inhumation was discovered about 80m to the south on the
same beach in 2006. It was aligned WSW/ESE and lay in a shallow trench cut into
sand; the trench had been filled with clean beach sand and large stones had been
placed above it, forming a small cairn at the head (Lelong 2007). This inhumation
was dated by radiocarbon to cal AD 130–390 (SUERC-10745).
The Sangobeg burial might also be compared to burials at Ackergill in
Caithness, considered by the excavator of the later Sandwick burials to be that
site’s closest parallel (Bigelow 1984, 123). Seven low, square or rectangular cairns
were found in two groups, along with two separate long cists and one round cairn
(Edwards 1926). All of the cairns sealed long cists, generally orientated NW-
SE but also ENE/WNW and NNE/SSW, which contained extended inhumations.
The cists were typically surrounded by a layer of waterworn stones defined by
a kerb. Several of the cairns had been covered with white quartzite pebbles. No
radiocarbon dates have been obtained from any of the Ackergill skeletons. A
bronze chain was found around the neck of a skeleton in the round cairn, but it
has not been possible to determine its origins (Close-Brooks 1984, 97).
Comparable burials are also known from the Western Isles. At Galson on
the Isle of Lewis, a flexed inhumation in a cist and an extended inhumation in a
shallow cut were excavated and found to date between the 1st and 5th centuries AD
(Neighbour et al. 2000, 562–74). At An Corran, Boreray, a contracted inhumation
in a small cist and a flexed inhumation in a long cist were excavated along with
a small corbelled structure; the inhumations dated to cal AD 20–250 and cal AD
120–340 (Badcock and Downes 2000, 206). A square kerbed cairn (very similar
to the Sandwick cairn) at Cille Pheadair on South Uist contained an extended
inhumation dated to cal AD 620–780 (AA-48605) (Mulville et al. 2003, 25). In
the Northern Isles, oval cairns at Birsay Brough Road (Morris 1989, 113) might be
compared to the Sangobeg burial; inhumations from these dated to the 5th to 7th
centuries AD.
Certain phrases from a shared symbolic language appear again and again
in these burials, and at Sangobeg. Like the burials at Loch Borralie, Sandwick,
Birsay and Ackergill, as well as at Dunrobin in eastern Sutherland, Pityoulish
in Strathspey and Lundin Links in Fife (see Ashmore 1980, 347), the body at
Sangobeg had been covered over with a sterile sandy layer. As at Sandwick, Loch
Borralie and Ackergill, white quartzite pebbles were used for the capping material.
While at some of the sites reviewed above the inhumations lay in cists, this was
not the case at Sandwick, Loch Borralie and in one of the Galson burials. Burial
in short or long cists appears to have been a tradition dating from later prehistory
and adopted as a Christian rite, but clearly it was not considered mandatory in
the later Iron Age; it may have depended on the availability of suitable stone.
Commenting on the lack of a cist at Sandwick, Bigelow (1984, 123) noted the
dearth of flagstone in the vicinity for building a cist. The same is true of the geology
around Sangobeg and Borralie, which consists mainly of Lewisian gneiss and
limestone.
The other, perhaps more significant difference between the Sangobeg burial
and most of the others reviewed above is in the body’s position – flexed rather
SANGOBEG: PICTISH BURIAL AND SETTLEMENT 77

than extended. In broad terms, the preferred mode of burial during the Iron Age
in northern Britain appears to have been for inhumations in crouched or flexed
positions (Close-Brooks 1984, 87; also see Whimster 1981). Flexed inhumations
dating to the late first millennium BC are more abundant in southern Scotland
(Ashmore 2003, 39); during the first few centuries AD, extended inhumation burial
appears to have become the preferred rite (Close-Brooks 1984, 89). The overlap
in dates between the burials at Boreray (Badcock and Downes 2000) and Galson
(Neighbour et al. 2000), where both flexed and extended inhumations were found,
appears to indicate that chronological distinctions between these body positions
are blurred. The date from the Sangobeg inhumation is somewhat earlier than
most of these examples cited here; this may reflect an earlier preference for flexed
inhumation that was soon to fade.
The burial at Sangobeg is particularly striking in the evident care and delicacy
with which it was composed. During the excavation, it evoked a sense of poignancy
in visitors and excavators alike, partly because it appeared to be that of a child.
The components of the burial are worth closer contextual consideration for their
potential symbolic qualities.
The use of white quartzite pebbles, with red pebbles placed close to and
beneath the body, and the sterile sand that covered it are part of a burial vocabulary
that, as the above examples suggest, appears to have been current in northern
Britain over much of the first millennium AD, and perhaps had more ancient
roots. Quartzite pebbles were clearly an important component of that vocabulary.
They had a broad and long-running symbolic currency. A number of painted
quartzite pebbles have been found in Pictish domestic contexts in Caithness and
the Northern Isles; some of these may date to the late first millennium BC (Ritchie
1972, 298). St. Columba reportedly used a white stone for healing when he visited
the court of the Pictish king Bridei in c. 565 AD (Sharpe 1995, Book II 33,
181). In more recent centuries, pebbles were used to convert water into a healing
potion for cattle (Hutcheson 1900), and they were deposited as offerings at sacred
sites such as holy wells during the Medieval and post-Medieval periods. Coloured
pebbles are less commonly found, but some instances of their selective use are
known; for example, a red pebble was buried with the body of a child, who died
between cal AD 1150–1280 (AA-45873), outside the chapel of St. Trolla in eastern
Sutherland (Lelong 2005). White or coloured pebbles may have been perceived as
charms, possessing magical properties, and therefore fitting objects to accompany
the deceased in the afterlife.
The sand that covered the burial at Sangobeg was absolutely free of carbonised
domestic detritus, which suggests that it was gathered at a spot well away from
human settlement. That purity, and the place from which it was collected, may have
been considered important. It was most likely gathered from the beach, where the
sea or wind had deposited it and where it had been washed by the tide. An inter-
tidal context for the covering sand would have marked it as distinct from the zone
of everyday domestic life, and its use may have underlined the deceased’s departure
from that sphere to another. The decision to bury the child at the head of a beach, a
position similar to many other burials from later prehistory and the early Medieval
period (including most of those noted above), also seems significant. The liminal
78 BRADY, LELONG AND BATEY

nature of the foreshore, poised between land and sea, may also have reflected
the transitional status of the dead and a way for their communities to negotiate
that transition (see Pollard 1999 for a more comprehensive exploration of this
notion).
Finally, the juxtaposition here of a Pictish burial with Norse-period settlement
is worth a brief comment. In the far N of Scotland, at least two other examples
of Norse-period settlement that overlay or stood near Pictish burials are known:
at Sandwick on Unst (Bigelow 1984) and at Cille Pheadair, South Uist (Mulville
et al. 2003). There are even more examples known, of course, where Viking Age
settlement was established on the site of earlier, Pictish settlement (such as at
Jarlshof on Shetland, Hamilton 1956). At Sangobeg, the absence of carbonised
botanical remains in the pre-settlement ground surface in Area D suggests there
was no pre-existing settlement on the site when people settled here in the Norse
period. At Cille Pheadair, the cairn covering the burial would have been highly
visible when the later farmstead was established (Mulville et al. 2003, 26). At
Sandwick, the Pictish burials lay close to a complex orthostatic cellular structure
of later prehistoric date, which lay in ruins and had been partly covered with
windblown sand by the time the first inhumation was put into the ground between
cal AD 130–390 (Lelong 2007).
The dataset of Pictish burials juxtaposed with later, Norse settlement is far
too small to represent a pattern, but it does raise questions: Did Norse settlers
on these spots know of the earlier burials? Did they deliberately choose places
that the indigenous population left alone because of their spiritual or symbolic
connotations? Did their settling at such spots represent a kind of cultural insult,
or was it purely coincidental? Even if we cannot answer these questions based on
present evidence, they are worth asking. Future fieldwork, along with processes
of coastal erosion and recording, may reveal more instances of juxtaposition and
provide some answers.

The Late Norse phase

The initial identification of the site at Sangobeg as a Norse site hinged on the
small amount of artefactual material which was recovered from the heavily eroding
middens in 1997: a small bead and ceramic fragments, iron rivets and scattered
large fish bones. However, by the time excavation was undertaken in 2000, much
of the midden material had been lost to the elements and a few sherds of grass-
tempered pottery associated with the wall which was found to overlie the Pictish
burial and localised midden scatters in Area C were all that remained. It is clear
that originally the settlement extended closer to the sea, and that it had already
been mostly washed away.
However, the significance of even this fragmentary survival is clear in the
context of the paucity of evidence for contemporary activity in the far N of
Scotland (see above). The site at Sangobeg provides a valuable addition to the
series of Norse sites so far identified in northern Sutherland, which include Smoo
Cave (Pollard 2005), Balnakeil (Low, Batey and Gourlay 2000) and probably
Borralie (Gazin-Schwartz and Lelong 2005).
SANGOBEG: PICTISH BURIAL AND SETTLEMENT 79

The post-Medieval phase

The upper levels of sand and parts of the rock-strewn beach had obviously been
battered by the sea. These deposits produced evidence of the latest stages of the
site’s use, where casual loss of items shed a little light on the character of more
recent visitors to this beautiful bay. Of most interest is a small metal plaque,
perhaps originally affixed to a box or a walking stick, gifted ‘By the Choir and
Office Bearers of LUGAR CHURCH on 25 October 1901’ to their organist Mr
John Young. The plaque also notes that his wife was given a token of esteem in the
form of a pearl brooch. The rest of the material culture from this phase of activity
is mundane by comparison: indeterminate fragments of iron, clay pipe stems and
waterborne pieces of pumice – the common detritus of everyday life mixed with
that left by the waves.

Acknowledgements
The excavation and post-excavation analysis were funded by Historic Scotland.
John and Joyce Morrison, crofters at Sangobeg, kindly permitted access to the
site and assisted the team in many ways. The excavations were directed in the
field by Kevin Brady with additional supervision by Dr. Olivia Lelong and Dr.
Andrew Baines. Aileen Maule supervised the on-site flotation, with assistance
from Chris Connor. Professor Chris Morris gave advice during the fieldwork.
The illustrations were prepared by Caitlin Evans, with additional work by John
Arthur and Gillian McSwan. The authors would also like to thank the students
whose hard work made the excavations successful.
The site archive will be deposited with the National Monuments Record of
Scotland and the deposition of the artefacts will be allocated through the Treasure
Trove Panel.

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This paper is published with the aid of a grant from Historic Scotland.