Revealed... the secret of Sir Walter Scott and the stolen skull of Massacre Cave
IT is a ghoulish souvenir, plundered by one of Scotland’s most celebrated authors from what he called ‘the scene of a horrid feudal vengeance’.
Now a skull from the personal collection of Sir Walter Scott is to play a vital role in solving the mysteries of a massacre.
Legend has it that, in the 16th Century, the entire population of the island of Eigg – nearly 400 men, women and children – were murdered when clansmen from a neighbouring island cornered them in a cave then burned them alive.
More than 200 years later, Scott, curious to investigate the bloody tale, sailed to the site of the socalled Massacre Cave and removed a skull as a keepsake.
Now, as science is beginning to shine a light on the circumstances of the tragedy, the trust that manages Scott’s estate has agreed to offer up the skull for analysis.
Its decision comes as new DNA analysis of other bones, more recently discovered in the cave, suggests that one of the victims was a child aged only nine years. Camille Dressler, chairman of the Eigg History Society, which has been working with Historic Environment Scotland to research the massacre, said the souvenir could yield vital clues.
She added: ‘The chance to examine the skull could be invaluable. It would help shed light on what happened in the cave. The skull has teeth which would help with analysis.’
The legend of Massacre Cave is one of Scotland’s most gruesome. Tradition states that MacLeods from Skye sailed to Eigg in 1576 and made unwanted advances towards local girls.
The angry menfolk of Eigg – all MacDonalds – rounded up the invaders and set them adrift in a boat. Although the MacLeods were rescued by their fellow clansmen, they vowed to return to Eigg for revenge.
The following year, when a legion of MacLeods stormed back to Eigg, the terrified islanders all took shelter in a secret cave by the shore. Named Uamh Fhraing – St Francis’s Cave – it had a small low entrance covered in undergrowth, but was large enough inside to hide the entire population of nearly 400 men, women and children.
After searching the island fruitlessly for two days the MacLeods decided to set sail – then spotted one of the MacDonalds leaving the cave.
When the MacDonalds refused to come out of hiding, the MacLeods piled thatch and roof timbers at the entrance and set fire to it, damping the flames so the cave was filled with smoke.
It was said 395 people died, by smoke inhalation or heat and oxygen deprivation, with only one family escaping to tell the tale. In 1814 Scott sailed around the Hebrides, aiming to collect material for his epic poem The Lord of the Isles. On Eigg, he found a guide who took them to the entrance to a cavern ‘through which one can hardly creep on hands and knees’ which then rose to a greater height, and the floor of which ‘is strewed with the bones of men, women and children, being the sad relics of the ancient inhabitants of the island, 200 [sic] in number who were slain’. He wrote: ‘I brought off, in spite of the prejudices of our sailors, a skull, which seems to be that of a young woman.’ Scott, in his own words, was a ‘collector of grim cracks and rarities’ which he displayed at Abbotsford, his grand mansion in Roxburghshire, and from which he took inspiration. It is thought he treasured the skull as a stern reminder of the futility of feuds, war and bloodshed. He also owned a cast of the skull of Robert the Bruce.
Massacre Cave maintains a macabre appeal for visitors to Eigg, and in 2016 tourists found 53 human bones. Research commissioned by Historic Environment Scotland revealed that the bones date to a period between 1430 and 1620 – roughly the time of the legendary massacre.
Now new analysis has also managed to identify that some of the bones belonged to a child aged between nine and ten. The other identifiable victim is an adult.
Describing the results of the latest research, Miss Dressler said: ‘The latest remains were in a moderate state of preservation, with the child 30 per cent complete and the adult represented only by the left and right kneecaps. The discovery of human remains inside Massacre Cave has provided an opportunity to examine the validity of claims that a massacre took place at the site in 1577.
‘The skeletal evidence is limited by the incomplete nature of the remains but demonstrates two individuals – a nine to ten-year-old child and an adult of unknown age and sex – were deposited at the site.’
A spokesman for Historic Environment Scotland said: ‘There was no indication of how either had died. Samples from both individuals have been sent to Bradford University and they are undertaking analysis to find out more about their diet and lifestyle.’
Kirsty Archer-Thompson, collections and interpretation manager of the Abbotsford Trust, said the charity would be happy to submit the skull for investigation.
She added: ‘Scott was always interested in artefacts that served to remind him of the futility of feuds, war and bloodshed and famously proclaimed that “life is too short for the indulgence of animosity”.’
‘Shed light on what happened’ ‘Futility of feuds, war and bloodshed’