Text settings Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only Learn more Minimize to nav Very little is known about funerary practices in Iron Age Britain, since few human remains have survived. However, the environment in northwest Scotland is more conducive to preserving bone from that period. Archaeologists have previously noted evidence of postmortem manipulation of human remains, such as mummification, and of modifying human bones into tools or decorative artifacts. Now a new paper published in the journal Antiquity describes evidence of postmortem brain removal in remains from that region, as well as sharpened limb bones, possibly for use as tools.
The remains in question were found in 2000 at a burial cairn in Loch Borralie, near the most northwest tip of the Scottish mainland, after erosion revealed a human cranium. The excavated remains belonged to two individuals: one an adult female and the other a juvenile of (at the time) indeterminate sex; the cranium belonged to the latter. The authors of the new paper conducted a fresh osteoarchaeological analysis as well as multi-isotope and ancient DNA analysis. Radiocarbon dating of molar teeth from both sets of remains placed their deaths as occurring between 50 BCE and 70 CE.
In the case of the female individual, the authors noted an unusual break at the base of the cranium that likely occurred near the time of death. It’s the kind of fracture that one gets from high-velocity impacts, including vehicular collisions, sporting accidents, falls, assaults, or even long-drop hanging. But the known forensic patterns observed in the aforementioned scenarios don’t exactly match the pattern of the Iron Age cranium, leading the authors to conclude that it likely resulted from a targeted impact. They also noted perimortem fractures on both scapulae.
But the most interesting finding was several straight, parallel striations inside the skull, indicating the brain matter had been methodically scraped out with a sharp instrument shortly after death. This would be the first known instance of such a practice in the region, although in southern France and Bulgaria, there is archaeological evidence of cutting out sections of bone post-mortem and refashioning them into amulets.
Furthermore, four of the woman’s long bones (both humeri, the left ulna, and the left femur) showed marks that had previously been identified as tooth marks, suggesting rodents had gnawed at the bones. The authors disagreed with that earlier assessment, concluding that the bone marks were more consistent with whittling using a sharp implement. Three of the four bones had been whittled to a sharp edge, while the fourth seemed to have been worn down through use as a tool after being whittled into a sharpened point. Yet all four bones were ultimately placed in the correct anatomical position once they were laid in the grave.
Other archaeologists remain unconvinced that the woman’s brain had been removed or that the long bones had been deliberately whittled down into tools. “The marks certainly suggest some manipulation of the cranium, but whether we can link them to the brain removal, I don’t know,” Richard Madgwick of Cardiff University, who was not involved in the research, told New Scientist. Madgwick thinks the long bones may have already been broken and were simply repurposed as tools and finds it “remarkable” that the used bones were then placed back in the ground in anatomical order.
As for the young person’s remains, the ancient DNA analysis showed he was male. The authors concluded he was between 14.5 and 15.5 years old when he died, and the bones showed signs of growth disruption and vitamin C deficiency.
Both individuals were genetically typical of Scottish Iron Age populations. The isotope analysis suggested they had both spent the early part of their lives in a coastal environment—most likely the east coast of Sutherland—moving to the Loch Borralie area after childhood. They were close biological relatives, possibly maternal second cousins. The cairn’s layers indicate they were not buried at the same time, however, and their bodies did not receive the same postmortem treatment.
“The genetic and isotopic evidence highlights long-term interconnectedness between maritime communities around the north coast and Northern Isle of Scotland, where individuals and small groups periodically moved across wide areas, facilitating the maintenance and spread of cultural ideas and practices,” the authors concluded. And the treatment of the woman’s bones “demonstrates that, although sparse in terms of their archaeological survival, the Iron Age dead held a strong and compelling presence in the world of the living.”
Antiquity, 2026. DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2026.10353 (About DOIs).
