Our first update based on the radiocarbon dates concerns our fantastic cist burial from 2013. Since it was in a classic square barrow type monument, we expected the date to be Pictish (early medieval).
We were not disappointed! Thankfully the preservation of the skeletal material was good enough to obtain a date of AD 420-566. This date works well with our main site up by the Craw Stane, which also has most of its dates in the 5th - 6th century AD. So, it looks like our community at the Craw Stane was burying some of its dead (in this case a lady) down by the village.
There's evidence for some other early medieval evidence going on around the cemetery as well including a pit full of burnt material and some possible use or activity in the larger of the two square enclosures. This evidence is a little harder to puzzle out, so we need to do some head scratching.
Rhynie, Aberdeenshire
The Craw Stane with Tap o'Noth hillfort in the background (Photo courtesy of Cathy MacIver).
Amazing to think that 'Rhynie woman' might have known the significance of the Rhynie man and other symbols....
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