It is possible, although unprovable, that the small fragment of burnt bronze from Urn 2 had come from a razor.
Metalwork from the 2011 excavation: razor and its associated sheath from Urn 5
Alison Sheridan, Lore Troalen and Penelope Walton Rogers
THE RAZOR
Alison Sheridan and Lore Troalen
This object was found in a fragmented state, associated with fragments of its animal-skin sheath, when the cremated remains inside Urn 5 started to be excavated; its position indicates that it had been among the last, if not the last, item to be placed in the urn before it was covered over, inverted and buried in a pit. The object consists of 21 fragments (some conjoining) of thin, corroded copper alloy, of which the largest measures 21.6 × 15.3 × 1.1 mm. It is not possible to reconstruct its overall shape; there are no obvious tang fragments (even though it could indeed have been tanged) and no sign of any rivet hole or notch. Nevertheless, the dimensions of the surviving pieces, and of those of its sheath, make it clear that this had been a small, thin blade and, given the frequency of associations between Cordoned Urns and razors (Waddell 1995, 120), its most plausible identification is as a razor. Where traces of the original, highly-polished surface survive (Fig. 5.19a–b) there is no sign of any decoration, except perhaps for a very shallow line that is visible in Figure 5.19b. Had this been a raised feature, it could have been interpreted as a medial ridge comparable to that seen, for example, on the razor from Laughton’s Knowe, Orkney (Jockenhövel 1980, taf. 4, 82); instead, the line is a shallow hollow, despite its appearance in Figure 5.19b.
Compositional analysis (by LT) of a cleaned surface was undertaken using a CamScan MX 2500 Scanning Electron Microscope fitted with Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDX). Elemental analysis confirmed that the metal is copper alloy with a concentration of tin around 20 wt%. This high level of tin might, however, reflect beam scattering around the small area analysed. Analysis of a bluish corroded area where the original surface appeared to be preserved (Fig. 5.19b) revealed mainly the presence of tin, which could possibly suggest a residual tinned surface. This would however need further investigation to be confirmed. Higher levels of phosphorus were also detected in the tin-rich areas, which might be explained as the result of long proximity to the sheath and to the cremated human remains in the urn.
While the surface of the metal is pitted through corrosion, there is no indication that it had passed through the pyre with the deceased – a point that Peter Northover had made upon his examination of the metal fragments. Indeed, the survival of the organic sheath fragments (described below) proves that the sheathed razor must have been added to the urn as an unburnt object.
THE ANIMAL-SKIN SHEATH
Penelope Walton Rogers
Ten fragments and several crumbs of a semi-mineralised animal pelt were found in direct association with the razor (Fig. 5.20), and traces of the same can be seen adhering to the metal (Fig. 5.19d). One fragment curves sharply (Fig. 5.20d–e), confirming that the pelt had been a sheath for the razor, with that fragment coming from its folded-over edge. Although these pelt fragments are now detached from the razor, a mineralized imprint in the surface of the metal shows that the hair side of the pelt must have faced towards the blade (Fig. 5.20d). It was impossible to identify the species of animal, but several technical characteristics could be recorded. The fibres were relatively straight and roots were present but no fibre tips, indicating that the full length must have been greater than the surviving 15 mm. A sample of 27 fibres viewed by transmitted light at ×400 magnification proved to be in the medium range, 14–67 microns diameter, most being around 30–40 microns diameter (mean 35.9 microns). Cross-sections were round and oval. The cuticular scale-pattern was not visible due to a surface coating of conservation lacquer, but fragmented, interrupted and continuous medullas could be observed on almost a third of the fibres. Moderate pigmentation was present on 10–20% of fibres, the rest being non-pigmented.
Figure 5.19. The fragmentary razor found in 2011 inside Urn 5. (a) The constituent pieces; (b) detail, showing medial ridge on surviving patch of original polished surface; (c) detail of surviving polished surface on another fragment; (d) fragment with attached fragments of the animal hide sheath (Alison Sheridan).
This, then, was a relatively thick pelt, comparable with that of animals such as cattle and bear. Fur from small mammals can be disregarded due to the absence of fine fibres and ladder medullas. The absence of fine and coarse fibres also makes sheep, goat and deer unlikely. The original colour in the area examined will have been fawn (mid-brown and white fibres combined).
Remains of animal pelts have been found in a number of Bronze Age graves containing unburnt human remains in Scotland, either lining the grave floor, or covering or wrapping the body (McAdam 1982; Walton Rogers unpublished a and b). Where identified, the pelts have mainly been bovine (aurochs, Bos taurus primigenius, or European cattle, Bos taurus taurus, sometimes colloquially ‘ox’), with one example of sheep and another possibly stoat. Bovine hides have also been particularly associated with sheaths or scabbards for Bronze Age daggers (Ryder 1964; Henshall 1968; Gabra-Sanders et al. 2003; Cameron 2003; Sheridan and Cowie 2003). Walton Rogers thought that the fibres associated with the dagger from Lockerbie might be too fine for cattle (Kirby 2011, 36–37), but Ryder and Gabra-Sanders have argued, citing examples from Ashgrove, Masterton and Pyotdykes, that some Bronze Age cattle hair had more fine fibres than medieval and later examples, and they have termed such specimens ‘primitive’ (Gabra-Sanders et al. 2003, 63). If the Tuach remains derive from cattle, they are closer to the coats of later, rather than primitive, stock.
Figure 5.20. The razor sheath. (a) Constituent fragments; (b) detail showing texture; (c) detail showing individual hairs; (d) and (e) views of the folded-over edge fragment (Alison Sheridan).
Discussion of the Urn 5 razor
Alison Sheridan
The presence of a razor – a prestigious item of personal grooming – in a Cordoned Urn is consistent with a broader pattern in Britain and Ireland, in which razors are the commonest metal object to be found in Cordoned Urns, and the frequency of razor associations with this urn type is significantly higher than that for other types of Early Bronze Age cinerary urn (Kavanagh 1991; Waddell 1995). The kind of razor that is most likely to be represented here – with a tanged, leaf- or paddle-shaped blade – is consistently associated with adult males (Kavanagh 1991; Waddell 1995) and this is likely to be the case for the occupant of Urn 5; while the sex could only be identified as ‘possibly male’ on the basis of osteological analysis (as described below), the person had been an ‘older adult’, at least 30 years old. The radiocarbon date of 3405±30 BP (SUERC-37076, 1862–1622 cal BC at 95.4% probability) obtained from a fragment of calcined bone provides a welcome addition to the small but growing number of dates for Early Bronze Age razors in Scotland. Three other calcined bone dates, associated with three razors (including one found in a Cordoned Urn), have recently been obtained for a cemetery at Broich Road, Crieff, Perth and Kinross (Sheridan 2014) and two of these are closely comparable with the Urn 5 date. These dates are consistent with the broader chronological picture that shows the currency for leaf- and paddle-shaped tanged razors – and for the Cordoned Urn ceramic tradition – to lie within the second quarter of the second millennium BC (Brindley 2007, 371–72, fig. 162, table 73; Bayliss and O’Sullivan 2013).
The bone toggle from Urn 1, excavated in 1855
Alison Sheridan
During osteological examination of the cremated remains from the Cordoned Urn, Urn 1, in 2013, Cecilia Medina-Pettersson discovered two fragments of a calcined mammal longbone that had multiple perforations (Fig. 5.21), and it was clear to the author that these were parts of a ‘fancy’ example of an Early Bronze Age bone toggle, for fastening a garment – probably the funerary garment of the deceased, given that the object had passed through the pyre.
The largest fragment measures 17.1 mm long by 9.5 × 6.
2 mm wide, with a bone thickness of 2.05 mm, and the smaller fragment is 10 mm long and 5.1 mm wide. The holes had been drilled from the exterior surface and their maximum diameter is 1.7 mm; the larger fragment has five complete holes plus six or seven incomplete holes, while the smaller fragment has four incomplete holes. The overall shape of the object had probably been fusiform, with gently-tapering ends; it is clear that not all of the object is present, and it is quite possible that other small fragments had not been recovered from the pyre debris.
Figure 5.21. Bone toggle associated with Urn 1 excavated in 1855 (Photo: Alison Sheridan; drawing: Marion O’Neil).
While there is no exact parallel for this object, it is clearly recognisable as a toggle – a type of dress fastener which, along with bone and antler pins, is well-known from Early Bronze Age graves containing cremated remains (Piggott 1958). The radiocarbon date relating to the current example – 3406±38 BP (SUERC-56457, 1873–1617 cal BC at 95.4% probability), from the associated calcined human bone – brings the total of dates relating to Scottish toggles (and known to the current author) to a dozen (Sheridan 2007b, 175 and fig. 14.11; McLaren 2012; Johnson and Cameron 2012, table 7); it falls well within the date range for this artefact type. The Tuach toggle is more elaborate than others associated with Cordoned Urns, which tend to be of a simpler, flat ellipsoid design.
Worked stone
Richard Bradley
Eighteen pieces of worked flint were found in the excavation. Pebbles provided the main source of raw material. Five of these pieces had been burnt. Only three of the artefacts assumed diagnostic forms (Fig. 5.22a–c): a scraper based on a split pebble (b), a multi-platform core (a), and a snapped blade (c). None can be dated independently. All came from superficial deposits in Trench 2.
There were also nine pieces of worked quartz or quartzite, plus three more doubtful examples. Two were struck flakes of quartz, and there were a fragmentary core and a less diagnostic chunk in the same raw material. Two of these pieces came from the secondary filling of the enclosure ditch, and one from a disturbed stone socket (Feature 2). In addition, two large blocks of quartz and two split cobbles of the same material showed occasional flake removals. The same applies to four quartzite cobbles which had also been split in half in order to create a striking platform.
Unworked stone
Rosemary Stewart
The unworked pebbles found in the excavation consisted of a hard grey igneous rock, mica schist, quartzite and red sandstone. Two kinds of stone stood out from the natural background on the site: two red pebbles of sandstone and quartzite respectively, and two distinctive speckled pebbles, one of which had been placed on the bottom of Feature 7. The selection of red stone is especially noteworthy as pieces of the same colour were used to pack the urns excavated in 2011.
Figure 5.22. The flint artefacts from the excavation.
The cremated human remains
Cremated human remains from the 1855 excavation
Cecilia Medina-Pettersson
The material from Dalrymple’s 1855 excavation held by NMS includes a small quantity of cremated human bone from Urns 1 and 3. This was examined as part of the author’s doctoral research, using the same methods as used by Fiona Shapland for the 2011 finds.
Cremated bone from the Cordoned Urn (Urn 1)
The total weight of the cremated human bone from this urn is 405 g, of which 148 g (66 fragments) could be identified as to body part; of this, 67 g consisted of skull fragments. It is not known whether this constitutes the totality of the cremated bone that had originally been placed in the urn. As indicated above, fragments of a calcined bone toggle (of unidentifiable, but non-human bone) were also present among the cremated bones, and the presence of turquoise staining on seven of the bones suggested the former presence of a small, copper-containing artefact. One calcined long bone fragment of a non-human mammal was also present, and an unburnt sheep tooth represents intrusive material.
The cremated bones all appear to belong to a single individual, probably aged 18–19 years (on the basis of features observed on fragments of femur, sacrum, ischium, radius and scapula). The small size and delicate appearance of a mandible fragment suggests that the sex may have been female; the ilium fragment was too incomplete to provide sexing information. The identification as ‘possible female’ must remain tentative. No pathology was noted. The largest single fragment is that from a femur, measuring c.60 mm in length. All but 17 of the fragments had been fully calcined, to a white colour. The pattern of warping and cracking is consistent with cremation of a corpse while fleshed. A fragment of lower limb bone produced a radiocarbon date of 3406±38 BP (SUERC-56457, 1873–1617 cal BC at 95.4%).
Cremated bone from the urn of indeterminate type, possibly Collared Urn (Urn 3)
The total weight of the cremated human bone associated with the sherds of this urn is 89 g, of which 55 g (29 fragments) could be identified as to body part; of this, around half (27 g) consisted of skull fragments. It is highly likely that more bone had originally been found, but that only these fragments had ended up in the Museum. As noted above, these bones had been associated with a copper alloy object; this had left turquoise staining on six bone fragments.
The cremated remains belong to one individual aged 12–18, of indeterminate sex; the possible presence of a second individual of the same age cannot, however, be ruled out. All but five fragments had been thoroughly calcined to a white colour. The pattern of cracking and warping is consistent with cremation of the body while fleshed; no pathology was noted. The largest single fragment, from the skull, measures c.46 mm. One skull fragment produced a radiocarbon date of 3393±38 BP (SUERC-56458, 1870–1566 cal BC at 95.4%).
Cremated human remains from the 2011 excavations
Fiona Shapland
Cremated human bone was recovered from several contexts. The main groups were from the Collared Urn (Urn 4) and the Cordoned Urn (Urn 5). Small amounts of bone were also recovered from a pit (Feature 11) and other contexts within this central area.
Cremated bone from the Collared Urn (Urn 4)
The total weight of bone fragments recovered from this urn was 1341.44 g, which is consistent with the cremation of a single adult and would indicate good post-cremation recovery and relatively complete burial of the remains. No clearly non-human bone fragments were identified, though given the extent of fragmentation this cannot be definitive. One piece of human bone from this urn has produced a radiocarbon date of 3500±30 BP (SUERC–36749, 1906–1743 cal BC at 95.4%).
BONE COLOUR AND CONDITION: THE CREMATION PROCESS
The cremated human bone from this burial was predominantly white in colour, with little variation between elements, and relatively thoroughly fragmented; most recovered fragments measured less than 10 × 10 mm. Fracture lines were curved and irregular, with considerable warping. This indicates that the body was fleshed at the time of cremation, and that a temperature of over 900°C was maintained.
IDENTIFIED FRAGMENTS
The majority (over 85%) of bone fragments from this burial were unidentifiable, but 386 fragments were identified as belonging to an area of skeleton or, in a small proportion of cases, a specific bone (Table 5.1). These identified fragments provide a minimum number of individuals (MNI) of one.
Table 5.1. Identified human bone fragments from the Collared Urn (Urn 4).
Area of skeleton No. fragments Specific bones identified
Cranium 114 Frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal, sphenoid, maxilla, mandible, 1 tooth root
Vertebrae 28 4 cervical and 6 thoracic vertebrae
Ribs 63 Left and right ribs, upper, middle and lower
Upper limb 74 Humerus, radius, ulna, clavicle, scapula
Hands 25 Triquetral, 1 metacarpal, 2 proximal phalanges, 4 middle phalanges, 4 distal phalanges
Pelvis 14 Os coxa, sacrum
Lower limb 65 Femur, tibia, patella
Feet 3 Talus, 1 metacarpal, 1 distal phalanx
EVIDENCE FOR AGE-AT-DEATH A
ND SEX
Estimation of age-at-death was impeded by the fragmented and incomplete nature of the skeleton. In particular, no whole teeth were recovered, the state of the pubic symphysis and auricular surface of the pelvis were not recordable, and sternal rib ends were not observable. Cranial sutures were, where observable, unfused. The distal ulna did, however, exhibit signs of relatively recent union in the form of a surviving line of epiphyseal fusion. It is therefore likely that these skeletal remains are those of a young adult (18–25 years).
Sex assessment was particularly problematic due to the poor survival of the pelvis, from which no pelvic criteria were recordable. Three cranial features were observable: the orbital margin was recorded as possibly male, the mastoid process as possibly male, and the occipital process as male. This individual has therefore been classified as a possible male.
PATHOLOGY
No pathology was noted on the surviving bone from this burial. However, one area of change at the site of a muscle attachment (deltoideus) on the humerus was noted, equivalent to R3 on the scale of Hawkey and Merbs (1995), indicating muscular development of the upper limb.
The Use and Reuse of Stone Circles Page 16