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Image Credit: Rebecca Ellis-Haken; figure by Castells Navarro et al., Antiquity (2026)
Iron Age Burials in Scotland Reveal Unusual Funerary Practices and Long-Distance Links
A new archaeological study has revealed complex funerary practices and long-distance connections in Iron Age Scotland through the reanalysis of two skeletons buried in a stone cairn at Loch Borralie, in Sutherland, north-west Scotland. The research combines osteological study, radiocarbon dating, stable isotope analysis, and ancient DNA to better understand the lives, origins, and burial treatment of the two individuals.
The Loch Borralie cairn contained the remains of two people: an adult woman and a teenage male. Radiocarbon dating places both individuals in the first centuries BC/AD, most likely between about 50 BC and AD 70, before the Roman incursions into southern and eastern Scotland.
The adult woman showed unusual evidence of postmortem treatment. The study identified modifications to the skull and several long bones, including signs that some bones had been deliberately worked before burial. Despite this, the modified bones were placed back in their correct anatomical position, suggesting a carefully structured funerary process rather than accidental disturbance.
The researchers also note possible evidence that the brain had been removed shortly after death. This interpretation is based on damage to the base of the skull and marks on the inner surface of the cranium. The study treats these findings as part of a broader pattern of complex mortuary processing known from parts of Iron Age Britain.
The teenage male did not show the same pattern of postmortem modification. However, ancient DNA analysis showed that the two individuals shared a rare mitochondrial haplogroup, indicating that they were maternally related. The relationship may have been distant, possibly around the level of second cousins.
Stable isotope analysis suggests that both individuals spent their childhoods in a coastal environment, but not in the immediate area of Loch Borralie. Their isotope signatures point most likely to the east coast of Sutherland, around 80 km to the south-east. This means they moved to the Loch Borralie area sometime after childhood.
Ancient DNA also revealed more distant biological links with individuals from Orkney and Applecross. These connections suggest wider networks of movement and interaction across northern and western Scotland. The study highlights that seaways may have played an important role in connecting Iron Age coastal communities.
Overall, the findings show that funerary practices in Iron Age Britain were more varied and complex than formal cemeteries alone suggest. The Loch Borralie burials provide rare evidence for body processing, movement across landscapes, and long-distance biological connections among communities in northern Scotland.
Published on: 11-06-2026
Edited by: Abdulmnam Samakie
Source: Antiquity
