A high-status four-ton slab, forty centimetres thick and measuring two metres by two metres, was unearthed by
archaeologists excavating at the site of a major Pictish Royal centre. Using a giant
crane to remove the slab, known as a capstone, a
burial chamber was revealed containing what little remained of a Bronze Age body and
grave goods. The underside of the capstone had been engraved with a spiral and axe shape. The
cist, built using large sandstone slabs in a rectangular shape, had several axes and other weapon engravings where the head of the deceased would have been positioned. Such carvings in that part of Scotland are very rare although there are similar carvings at
Kilmartin Glen, in
Argyll. Thought to be of high social standing, the body had been laid on a bed of white
quartz pebbles and an interwoven lattice of
birch bark. Amongst the grave goods were a dozen personal possessions which included a leather bag, wooden objects and a bronze dagger with a ribbed gold band around the hilt. The discovery of plant matter among the remains were later found to be flowers, possibly
meadowsweet, and is the first evidence that Bronze Age people placed flowers with their dead.
Radiocarbon tests and the style of metalwork found in the grave suggest that the tomb dates from between 1950 BC and 2100 BC.
Prehistorian Dr. Noble has said of the find: "The sheer size of the stone slabs used to construct the tomb, the extremely rare rock engravings, the rare preservation of the leather, wood, and bark items and the high status location make this a find of both national and international importance". ==Archaeological Site==