DIVER BOWLED OVER BY 5,000-YEAR-OLD POTTERY IN LOCH

Aformer awardwinning Royal Navy diver has discovered a 5,000-year-old bowl hidden in a loch in the Outer Hebrides.

The find could provide clues to the lives of the mysterious early islanders.

The bowl was found on the Isle of Lewis on Tuesday by Chris Murray.

The location has been kept secret at this stage, but Mr Murray described it as “a beautiful example” of the Neolithic age.

Mr Murray has also previously discovered similar bowls and a drinking cup around mysterious man-made islands in the Outer Hebrides which have led to a “startling” rewriting of history.

The structures – known as crannogs – are more than 1,000 years older than Egypt’s pyramids and predate Stonehenge.

Of the latest find, 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 10 feet 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 – suggesting that it may have been ritually smashed.

“To think it is older than Stonehenge, Callanish and the pyramids is just fantastic.

“I am just a pathway for the experts – and glad that I have been able to help shine a light on the past.”

Archaeologists in Scotland have made “astounding discoveries” in the islands’ lochs in recent years.

It follows searches and finds by Mr Murray, a former award-winning coastguard helicopter rescue winchman.

He has previously scoured Loch Arnish, Loch Langabhat and Loch Borgastail on Lewis making “startling” finds.

“This is of international importance – we have even had researchers from Lebanon and Mexico involved,” said Mr Murray.

“It shows that people were building these islands long before the pyramids and Stonehenge. It really is startling what we are finding out.

“This will be a long project over a number of years – but it is incredible what it is showing. These man-made islands were clearly very important to early Hebrideans. Some of the pottery is now even called Hebridean Ware. Some of the bowls were scallop-shaped and even the rims were decorated.

“The archaeologists don’t know why they were throwing these pots into the loch thousands of years ago – was it a sacrifice to water gods?

“I just decided to dive on them out of curiosity and I couldn’t believe my eyes – on some lochs it was full of pottery. It was incredible – a real archaeological treasure trove.”

While it is unclear what these sites were used for, scholars have suggested they might have been special places for social gatherings, ritualised feasting or funeral sites.

DISCOVERY: Chris Murray found the bowl in a loch.