Benderloch Human Remains
AOC Archaeology Group undertook an archaeological excavation and survey under the terms of the Historic Scotland Human Remains Call-off Contract in May, 2007. Human remains had been discovered by a householder undertaking landscaping for a garage in the garden of his home in Benderloch, Argyll. The find was reported to the police and the West of Scotland Archaeology Service. Dr Jennifer Miller (GUARD) consequently visited the site and confirmed that the disturbed bone was of some antiquity. Historic Scotland was subsequently contacted by WoSAS with the request that the find be dealt with under the terms of the Human Remains Call-off Contract.
The landscaping had impacted on a rock shelter located above a raised beach. Inspection of the site revealed that the vast majority of the previously in situ deposits, including midden material, had been disturbed and removed from site. Examination of the remaining in situ soils recovered a small quantity of decorated prehistoric pottery (most likely from a Food Vessel), a single worked bone tool and a small amount of human bone. Extensive quantities of small mammal bones and marine shells were identifiable within the disturbed material. The location of the remaining human bone was recorded by EDM survey and all the remains encountered at the site were collected. Initial examination of the human bone assemblage collected by the police and Dr. Jennifer Miller, and subsequently examined by Dr Stuart W. McDonald, Glasgow University, indicates the presence of two adults with a single adolescent bone pointing to a third individual. After undergoing conservation assessment these will be stored at AOC Archaeology Group AOC Archaeology Group's laboratory.
Although the excavation revealed the remains of what appears to be multiple burials, with at least three individuals identified, the fragmentary nature of the remains and the unfortunate circumstances of discovery mean that little can be positively concluded at this time about the burial rite, or even the age of the burials, given the lack of clear stratigraphic sequence or relationships. However there are hints that the bodies are incomplete and that possibly the cave acted as an ossuary in similar fashion to the Carding Mill Bay II site. The presence of the decorated prehistoric pottery, from a possible Food Vessel, hints at least some Bronze Age activity at the cave site but the relationship of the burial to the pottery is unknown.
The very small quantity of surviving archaeological deposits is of unknown date. This consisted primarily of stony deposits with rarer midden material present. The upper surface held a ceramic teapot lid and from the pictures of the site prior to the works it is clear the cave was still open and visible. It is possible that the last vestiges of the cave fill, given its height, relate to more recent times with the earlier material, lower in the sequence, being completely lost.
Dating of the human remains via radiocarbon dating would allow the burial to be placed within its proper archaeological context alongside the Food Vessel sites and the various other burial and cave sites investigated in the Oban area. A full specialist report on the human remains and a programme of radiocarbon dating will be the essential requirements for the post-excavation phase of this project. However there are other items worthy of examination, such as the finds of pottery and worked bone tool as well as the marine shell and animal bone assemblage. Examination of material derived from the in situ midden deposits may lead to the recovery of material suitable for dating. The full post-excavation process will lead to a fuller understanding of the burial and allow it to be understood in relation to the other excavated and known archaeological remains from around Oban and the west coast in general.
