How to Help Save Scotland’s Coastal Heritage
Did you know that Scotland has the second longest coastline in Europe? And it’s twice the length of England and Wales combined! People have always lived and worked at the Scottish coast, so much of our rich archaeological heritage is found there. However, many sites are under threat from erosion and rising sea levels.
Over the past 20 years, SCAPE (Scottish Coastal Archaeology and the Problem of Erosion) has worked with coastal communities and used a range of methods to ‘rescue’ some of Scotland’s most important and vulnerable archaeology. But what are the options if you want to save an archaeological site from the waves?
1) Physically move it
Stone structures were exposed on the beach at Meur in Sanday, Orkney by a storm in winter 2005, and a rapid excavation identified this as a complex burnt mound. These enigmatic monuments date to the Bronze Age (which began over 4,000 years ago) and were used to heat water in a large trough using hot stones that had been roasted in a fire – however, we don’t know why. Theories include bathing or saunas, cooking, brewing or other working of raw materials such as wool production or hide processing.
Over following winters, the local community watched as the site was damaged by subsequent storms, and in 2014 worked with SCAPE to re-excavate the site, move it stone by stone, and reconstruct it at the Sanday Heritage Centre.
2) Preserve it by record
But most sites can’t be moved, and will inevitably be lost to the sea. However, archaeologists can rescue the information they contain about the past before that happens.
In 2018, for example, SCAPE investigated a submerged forest on a beach at Lionacleit in Beinn na Faoghl (Benbecula), an island of Na h-Eileanan Siar (the Outer Hebrides). With a team of volunteers, they planned the remains of prehistoric trees embedded in intertidal peat, and samples were collected. Every day as the tide rose and chased them off site, the team examined the samples under microscopes and thanks to the expert guidance of Dr Scott Timpany from the University of the Highlands and Islands, were able to identify the trees as willow and birch with occasional Scots pine.
Combined with radiocarbon dating, and analysis of pollen and insect remains preserved in the peat, this gave the team a window into the environment of this island chain 8,000 to 6,000 year ago.
This beach also contains evidence of the prehistoric people who lived here before it was inundated by the sea. The remains of stone walls, a possible building and a cluster of animal bone and quartz tools have been revealed by erosion.
A small rescue excavation recovered the bones of a single cow bearing cut and chop marks, which are closely associated with freshly-struck quartz stone tools. These fragments, saved from the sea just in time before they were washed away, tell us that this is a rare example of a butchery site, a Bronze Age moment frozen in time.
3) Preserve it digitally
The Wemyss Caves in Fife are home to the largest collection of Pictish carvings in Scotland. These symbols were cut into the cave walls around 1,500 years ago by the people known as Picts. However, this unique site is also under threat from erosion, vandalism and the deterioration of the soft sandstone. Working with the Save Wemyss Ancient Caves Society, SCAPE used a range of digital technologies to create an accurate record of the site.
This information was used to create a virtual, 3D reconstruction of the coastline, the caves, and the individual carvings, which you can explore on the 4D Wemyss Caves website. This site allows you to see how the coastline has changed over 1,500 years, walk through the caves and shine your virtual torch across the mysterious Pictish artwork.
4) Designate it
A boat graveyard on the River Clyde at Newshot Island includes a collection of dredging vessels which once toiled to deepen the river. They transformed the Clyde from meandering shallows, opening up the city of Glasgow to international trade and shipbuilding. Wooden rectangular barges carried away the excavated mud. Of the original fleet of hundreds, only about 50 now survive, disintegrating at Newshot (as seen on this zoomable drone photomosaic) – can you spot the small metal boat?
This unique survivor was built in 1852, making it possibly the earliest diving support vessel. Workmen were sent down in a diving bell (an open-bottomed metal box) to manually excavate the toughest areas of the riverbed, or even lay explosives to blast stubborn areas of rock – dirty and dangerous work.
Coastal defences such as sea walls or rock armour are sometimes constructed to protect buildings, roads, or railways – but are often unsuitable for most archaeological sites, and impossible for intertidal remains such as these fragile boats. In recognition of their importance, they’ve now been legally protected as Scheduled Monuments. This won’t physically protect the site from further deterioration, but it will protect it from human disturbance and inadvertent damage as a result of development.
These are just four of the sites SCAPE has worked on which demonstrate how archaeologists and volunteers can save sites from the sea when physical protection is just not an option. You can also read about many other projects on the website, keeping in mind that there are hundreds more around the coast.
If you’d like to get involved in monitoring and recording coastal heritage in your area, visit the Scotland’s Coastal Heritage at Risk Project website where you can explore the interactive Sites at Risk Maps and register as a volunteer to contribute information about some of these vulnerable sites.
By the SCAPE team. SCAPE works with the public to research, investigate, interpret and promote the archaeology of Scotland’s coast.
This article was produced in support of Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters 2020-21.