<< News >> Mesolithic House found in Scotland
Submitted by Andy B on Friday, 22 November 2002 Page Views: 9416
Mesolithic, Palaeolithic and EarlierCountry: Scotland County: East LothianInternal Links:
ARCHAEOLOGISTS have unearthed the remains of Scotland's oldest house which may be 10,000 years old. The discovery was made on the site of a new limestone quarry near Dunbar in East Lothian.
But the substantial structure could have ended up as bags of cement for modern homes had it not been for East Lothian Council.
Planning officials insisted that the site was surveyed before any excavation could begin at East Barns, Dunbar, near Torness Power Station.
Archaeologists believe holes discovered were to take wooden posts for a teepee-like structure.
They say this suggests that Scotland's Mesolithic hunter-gatherers built semi-permanent structures from which to roam the shores and countryside in search of food.
Other Mesolithic sites have been found in the UK but none, with the exception of Mount Sandal in Northern Ireland, show evidence of serious construction methods.
Dr Alan Savile, curator of archaeology at the National Museums of Scotland, described the find as "extremely significant".
He added: "We may well be looking at Scotland's earliest house."
Hunter-gatherers were the original environmentalists.
Last year, excavations at Cramond, near Edinburgh, revealed evidence of a hunter-gatherers' camp overlooking the Forth Estuary dated to about 8500 BC
by Charlie Gall
Source: Daily Record