THE CAVEMAN KING
Are remains in grotto those of a Pictish chief?
FOR more than a thousand years, he lay undisturbed in a cave by the sea.
Now experts believe the Pict, whose remains were discovered 14 centuries after his death, may have been royalty.
Analysis has shown his diet was extremely high in protein, a rarity for the time and place in which he lived, suggesting he was someone of great importance.
The man had been laid to rest in a recess of a coastal cave in the Black Isle, Ross-shire.
He was lying cross-legged, with his limbs weighted down by stones – and multiple head injuries.
Despite this, researchers at the University of Dundee were able to produce a remarkably detailed facial reconstruction.
Latest analysis carried out for the Rosemarkie Caves Project (RCP) indicates he was a prominent member of the community, such as royalty or a chieftain.
RCP founder Simon Gunn said: ‘He was a big, strong fellow, built like a rugby player, very heavily built above the waist. It’s rather peculiar – he had a very high protein diet throughout his life, to the extent that it’s as if he had been eating nothing but suckling pigs.
‘He was a bit special, that could be royalty or a chieftain. Obviously he had a rather brutal death, but he was buried quite carefully in that cave.’
Radio-carbon dating of a bone sample indicates that Rosemarkie Man died between 430 and 630AD, while his skeleton shows he stood 5ft 6in and was aged about 30.
Forensic anthropologist Professor Dame Sue Black, formerly of Dundee University, helped detail his injuries.
The first three impacts broke the man’s teeth, fractured his left jaw and the back of his head. The fourth strike went through his skull, while the fifth blow was to the top of his head.
Professor Black said: ‘It could well be we are looking at someone prominent. If you have a high protein diet you are eating well and not in the poor of the community.’