Dog walkers in Scotland stumble on 2,000-year-old footprints

Two people walking their dogs on a beach in Scotland came across footprints left by humans and animals 2,000 years earlier. Although ancient footprints have been found in a handful of locations in England, this is the first such site ever recorded in Scotland.

Ivor Campbell and Jenny Snedden spotted the prints on Lunan Bay in Angus, eastern Scotland, after a strong storm in January. The storm had damaged the sandy dunes, exposing a layer of clay. The pair thought the markings on the wet ground looked like footprints, so they notified the Aberdeenshire council who enlisted the aid of University of Aberdeen archaeologist Kate Britton and her team to investigate the find.

Time was of the essence. High tide was coming in and the winds were very strong, with gusts up to 55mph blowing scouring sand over the prints. Under these challenging conditions, the team had to document the prints as thoroughly as possible before they disappeared. When the wind let up, they photographed the site with drones, photographed the prints with cameras on the ground and then used the photographs to create 3D renderings of the remains. They made plaster casts of the prints left by barefoot humans and different species of animals, including red and roe deer. They also took samples of plant remains deposited right underneath the footprints.

Just 48 hours after the report, the site and its footprints were destroyed. The team returned to the University of Aberdeen laboratory where they radiocarbon tested the plant remains, confirming the date of ca. 2,000 years old.

“This is a real tangible link to the region’s past,” team member Professor Noble added. “The late Iron Age dates are in keeping with what we know about the rich archaeology of nearby Lunan Valley. It’s very exciting to think these prints were made by people around the time of the Roman invasions of Scotland and in the centuries leading up to the emergence of the Picts.”

Archaeologists say the unique find offers a window into human activity along the Angus coastline and the changing nature of the landscape.

Dr William Mills added: “It is incredibly rare to see such a delicate record saved, taking only minutes to create and hours to be destroyed, a snapshot of what people were doing thousands of years ago. The site also tells us how this now sandy beach was once a muddy estuary and that humans were using this environment, perhaps for hunting deer or to collect wild plant foods such as samphire.

* This article was originally published here