Starvation, sandstorms and rising tides on North Uist
Excavations at the Udal peninsula show how hard life was for the prehistoric inhabitants of the area, writes Alison Campsie
Islanders on North Uist battled starvation, sand storms, rising tides and floods that drove them out of their homes around 5,000 years ago.
The hardships of prehistoric life caused by dramatic shifts in the environment during the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age period have been revealed by new findings from excavations at Udal peninsula.
The tough environment had a “severe effect” on the health of those living on the Udal, said Beverley Ballin Smith, of GUARD Archaeology.
Analysis of teeth from the remains of two inhabitants indicate the population suffered a lack of food as children and endured periods of starvation with shellfish such as whelks likely to have been a staple of their diet.
Remains of two round buildings dating to between 3000 and 2500BC were also examined with artefacts indicating the Udal population butchered animals, made pottery and manufactured quartz tools.
These buildings may have been the last surviving structures of a larger settlement that was covered by a thick layer of sand, like Skara Brae on Orkney, with people likely to have moved inland as a result, Ms Ballin Smith said.
She added: “Our Neolithic and Bronze Age ancestors lived through climate change events such as dramatic sea-level rise and increased storminess, and trauma such as loss of fields, crops and animals.
“They had to relocate their settlement and houses to safer areas.”
New fields for grazing and agriculture were created once the sand had settled but these was also destroyed in time by another severe storm.
A thick stone and shingle beach was left in place of the farmland with the coastal landscape being dramatically altered.
Sometime after the creation of the beach, a burial cairn was built, under which a young man was laid to rest in stone cist.
This large round mound of stone and turf was the largest man-made structure on the Udal peninsula with the monument lasting approximately 4000 years before coastal erosion led to its excavation.
Further research will determine how those living on Udal survived the Bronze Age will be part of the research at the South Mound, the next site on the peninsula to be investigated.
The Udal was the focus of many years of archaeological excavations by the late Iain Crawford.
A new book has been published in honour of his vast body of work undertaken on the peninsula.
The book, which has been edited by Ms Ballin Smith, is the result of several years of post-excavation work on the smallest of the Udal sites, which was exposed by coastal erosion after an exceptional high tide in 1974. While Iain Crawford completed the fieldwork by 1984, he could not complete the project to publication. After a long illness he died in 2016 at the age of 88.
Ms Ballin Smith has spent the last few years analysing the archaeological material recovered from Mr Crawford’s excavations.
It is hoped the findings will help illuminate the archaeology of the Western Isles to a larger audience.
Malcolm Burr, Chief Executive of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, said: “While the archaeology of the Western Isles is as rich, diverse and intriguing as that of the rest of Scotland, it is less well known.
“Comhairle nan Eilean Siar and its partners are working hard to see this position change, and this new publication of the smallest of Iain Crawford’s excavations at the Udal site in North Uist, is part of this effort. The excavations at the Udal recovered fragile evidence in the face of erosion by sea, storm and the ravages of time. The story told by these structures and artefacts, however, reflects the earliest centuries of communities’ life experiences on the Udal headland.
Life on the Edge: The Neolithic and Bronze Age of Iain Crawford’s Udal, edited by Beverley Ballin Smith, is available from Archaeopress Publishing Ltd for £25.