High Pasture Cave: ritual, memory, and identity in the Iron Age of Skye

This article is from Current Archaeology issue 435

Subscribe now for full access and no adverts

Caves have always captured the imagination. This is no less true of High Pasture Cave on the Isle of Skye, whose publication represents the latest contribution to a growing corpus in British cave archaeology. Nestled under the slopes of the Cuillin Mountains and overlooking Strath Suardal, the 320m-long (1,050ft) cave system ‘would have to be known rather than seen’ (p.55). Nonetheless, deep anthropogenic deposits attest to engagement with the site since at least the Early Bronze Age and over 900 years of near-continuous visitation through the Late Bronze and Iron Ages.

It was discovered in 1972 by cavers, before Steven Birch and the late Martin Wildgoose’s led excavations (2004-2010) that are ‘the most extensive investigation of a cave and its environs in Scotland to date’ (p.4). The aptly named ‘Bone Passage’ was the focus for deposition inside the cave, yielding significant quantities of bone, shell, charcoal, and fire-cracked stone, together with burnt grain, worked bone, ceramics, stone tools, and metalworking residue. This wealth of material, preserved by the limestone bedrock and the cool subterranean temperatures, is otherwise rare in the acidic soils of Skye (and much of Scotland). While most of this material is characteristic of prehistoric domestic assemblages, the context of its deposition deep underground warrants alternative explanation.

Construction of three successive stone-built walkways and stairwells around the natural entrance to the cave at the south end of the Bone Passage provided access from an external precinct and created a multi-level ritual complex. Periodic remodelling of the precinct attests to enduring attempts to control access into (and out of) what was clearly perceived as ‘a liminal, powerful, potentially dangerous place’ (p.543). As the authors note (p.546), the sights, sounds, and smells of butchered animals, feasting waste, and craft activity would have been heightened by choreographed access to/from the relative silence and gloom of the Bone Passage between the crackling flames of two large hearths. Exceptional finds, such as a charred lyre bridge fragment, representing ‘by far the earliest example found anywhere in Europe’ (p.412), attests to musical performances, accompanied perhaps by dancing and storytelling.

After a flourishing of Early Iron Age activity, Middle Iron Age access to the Bone Passage became more restricted. A series of deliberate deposits – among them charred barley, 23 semi-articulated pig carcasses, and the remains of a young dog – signal symbolic closure of the underground space. Despite this, High Pasture Cave endured as a special place in the landscape, and 150-260 years after backfilling, the upper courses of the stairwell formed a makeshift cist for the deposition of an adult woman (25-40 years), a foetus of 12-26 weeks’ gestation, and a perinate who died close to or just after birth. The presence of salix pollen suggests placement of catkins in the grave, along with fragmented rotary querns, a bronze double-link chain, an iron spear, a glass bead, and a Roman coin (p.544).

With 14 chapters split into six thematic sections on excavation and landscape setting, stratigraphic sequence, chronology, material culture, environmental assemblages, and wider context, the volume is a tour de force in the presentation of a complex and multi-faceted site for both academic and lay readers. At 656 pages, supported by 460 illustrations, detailed artefact catalogues, and a suite of thoughtful artist representations, the book is evidence of careful excavation, diligent post-excavation analysis, and the dedication of a large team of specialists and volunteers over several years.

The archaeology of High Pasture Cave is unique in many ways. However, the favourable preservation conditions and protection afforded by the subterranean environment have offered us glimpses into complex later prehistoric ritual practice that was undoubtedly more widespread. As the authors themselves state (p.571), ‘the High Pasture Cave archive is a resource with great future potential, and this publication should be viewed as a first step towards a better understanding of activity in caves and underground spaces in later prehistory’.

REVIEW LINDSEY BUSTER

High Pasture Cave: ritual, memory, and identity in the Iron Age of Skye
Steven Birch and Jo McKenzie
Oxbow, £55
ISBN 978-1785709500