Landowner finds possible Iron Age chamber filled with Victorian mustard pots
In archeological terms, it's a two-for-one jackpot: an underground chamber that possibly dates back to the Iron Age housing artifacts from the 19th century.
The ancient "souterrain" has been unearthed in Harray on the Orkney Islands, off Scotland's northeast coast.
"A local man, a landowner...alerted us that he'd come across it by accident — effectively while he was doing some farming work on the land there," Martin Carruthers tells As it Happens host Carol Off.
Carruthers is an archeologist at the University of the Highlands and Islands and part of the team investigating the find.
"It's an entirely underground chamber, made of stone — so it's coursed masonry," he says. "And there's a short entrance passage with a flight of stone-out stairs leading down into the chamber."
As for what the chamber might have been used for, Carruthers says that's the "$64,000 question."
It's kind of like the Holy Grail of Iron Age underground structure studies, I suppose.- Martin Carruthers, archaeologist
"A lot of academic ink has been spilt trying to uncover the true answer to that," he says.
"There's a long-running debate as to what they were used for, ranging from very prosaic and mundane storage facilities, all the way through to the possible uses of ritual — maybe as shrines, maybe used in cult practices of some description.
"I hesitate to use the phrase, because it's so overused, but it's kind of like the Holy Grail of Iron Age underground structure studies, I suppose," says Carruthers.
It probably represents refuse from the local clergyman because he was the owned the land at that time.-Martin Carruthers
Meanwhile, the contents within tell a different story — from a different time.
"What we know is that the interior of the structure is absolutely filled to the brim, almost . . . with detritus from Victorian era — the later part of the 19th century. So it's been in-filled with iron work, kettles, pots, pans . . . bits of farm machinery. And also an interesting range of ceramics — various pots and vessels, including things like imported French mustard jars, Scottish marmalade, jars and things like that. It probably represents refuse from the local clergyman because he was the owned the land at that time."
Carruthers says it's somewhat surprising that not more was made of the chamber's Iron-Age origin by the clergyman, giving the budding interest in archaeology during the Victorian era.
It's a lovely little snapshot of a Victorian minister's tastes and interests in the food side of things.- Martin Carruthers
The re-discovery of the chamber marks a new chapter in its history, devoted to preserving what remains from its past — to determine the extent of the cavern's previous purposes.
"Temporarily it's been sealed up, in order to try to preserve the deposits," says Carruthers. And for the time being, "[i]t's a lovely little snapshot of a Victorian minister's tastes and interests in the food side of things."