Bowled over by Hebrides treasure older than Pyramids

UNTOUCHED for thousands of years and older than the Pyramids and Stonehenge, it was plucked from the waters of a cold Hebridean loch.

The 5,000-year-old bowl was discovered by a former Royal Navy diver on the Isle of Lewis – and the exact location of the find is being kept secret.

Diver Chris Murray described it as ‘a beautiful example’ of the Neolithic age.

Mr Murray has previously discovered similar bowls and a drinking cup around man-made islands, or crannogs, in the Outer Hebrides, which has led to a ‘startling’ rewriting of history.

Crannogs are at least 1,000 years older than Egypt’s Pyramids and pre-date Stonehenge.

Of the latest find, pictured, Mr Murray, from Stornoway, said: ‘It is a very ancient early-Neolithic bowl from about 3,000BC. I have informed the various authorities but I do hope it will one day go on show in the islands.

‘It was in shallow water of about 10ft but it was very poor visibility. In fact I just about came face to face with it.

‘It is a lovely example of the early Neolithic age and there are also beautifully decorated shards of pottery.

‘To think it is older than Stonehenge, Callanish and the Pyramids is just fantastic.’

Crannogs were circular structures that seem to have been built as individual homes to accommodate extended families.

Last year, traces of a substance like butter, dating back 2,500 years and thought to be linked to a crannog, were found at the bottom of a loch.

Smears were preserved in a wooden dish discovered in Loch Tay, Perthshire.