Cladh Hallan Explained

Cladh Hallan
Map Type:	Scotland Outer Hebrides
Coordinates:	57.1712°N -7.4076°W
Public Access:	Yes

Cladh Hallan (Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Cladh Hàlainn, in Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic pronounced as /kʰl̪ˠɤɣ ˈhaːl̪ˠɪɲ/) is an archaeological site on the island of South Uist^{[1] [2]} in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. It is significant as the only place in Great Britain where prehistoric mummies have been found.^{[3] [4]} Excavations were carried out there between 1988 and 2002, which indicate the site was occupied from 2000 BC.^{[5] [6]}

In 2001, a team of archaeologists found four skeletons at the site, one of them a male who had died c. 1600 BC, and another a female who had died c. 1300 BC. At first, the researchers did not realise they were dealing with mummies, since the soft tissue had decomposed and the skeletons had been buried.^[7] But tests revealed that the two bodies had not been buried until about 1120 BC^[8] and that the bodies had been preserved shortly after death in a peat bog for 6 to 18 months. The preserved bodies were then apparently retrieved from the bog and set up inside a dwelling, presumably having religious significance. Archaeologists do not know why the bodies were buried centuries later. The Cladh Hallan skeletons differ from most bog bodies in two respects: unlike most bog bodies, they appear to have been put in the bog for the express purpose of preservation (whereas most bog bodies were simply interred in the bog), and unlike most bog bodies, their soft tissue was no longer preserved at the time of discovery.

Analysis

The skeletons and other finds are being analysed in laboratories in Scotland, England and Wales. Following the provisions of the Treasure Trove Act, all the finds from Cladh Hallan, including the skeletons, will be allocated to a Scottish museum after the lengthy process of analysis and reporting is completed. According to recent anthropological and DNA-analysis, the skeletons of a female and a male were compiled from body parts of at least 6 different human individuals.^[9]

See also

• List of unsolved deaths

Further reading

• Book: Parker Pearson, Michael . Michael Parker Pearson . South Uist: Archaeology and History of a Hebridean Island . Tempus . 2004 . Stroud . 0-7524-2905-1 . etal.

External links

• • South Uist, Cladh Hallan Roundhouses Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland

57.1712°N -7.4076°W

Notes and References

1. Pearson . Mike Parker . Chamberlain . Andrew . Craig . Oliver . Marshall . Peter . Mulville . Jacqui . Smith . Helen . Chenery . Carolyn . Collins . Matthew . Cook . Gordon . Craig . Geoffrey . Evans . Jane . Hiller . Jen . Montgomery . Janet . Schwenninger . Jean-Luc . Taylor . Gillian . September 2005 . Evidence for mummification in Bronze Age Britain . Antiquity . en . 79 . 305 . 529–546 . 10.1017/S0003598X00114486 . 53392023 . 0003-598X.
2. Book: Pearson, Michael Parker . From Machair to Mountains: Archaeological Survey And Excavation in South Uist . 2012 . Oxbow Books . 20.500.12657/53457 . 978-1-78925-887-5 . English.
3. Booth . Thomas J. . Chamberlain . Andrew T. . Pearson . Mike Parker . 2015 . Mummification in Bronze Age Britain . Antiquity . en . 89 . 347 . 1155–1173 . 10.15184/aqy.2015.111 . 161304254 . 0003-598X. free .
4. https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/archaeology/excavations_techniques/mummies_cladhhallan_01.shtml "Mummification in Bronze Age Britain"
5. http://www.shef.ac.uk/archaeology/research/cladh-hallan "The Prehistoric Village at Cladh Hallan"
6. Book: Pearson . Mike Parker . Cladh Hallan - Roundhouses and the dead in the Hebridean Bronze Age and Iron Age: Part I: Stratigraphy, Spatial Organisation and Chronology . Mulville . Jacqui . Smith . Helen . Marshall . Peter . 2021-10-31 . Oxbow Books . 978-1-78925-696-3 . en.
7. Pearson . Mike Parker . Chamberlain . Andrew . Craig . Oliver . Marshall . Peter . Mulville . Jacqui . Smith . Helen . Chenery . Carolyn . Collins . Matthew . Cook . Gordon . Craig . Geoffrey . Evans . Jane . Hiller . Jen . Montgomery . Janet . Schwenninger . Jean-Luc . Taylor . Gillian . 2005 . Evidence for mummification in Bronze Age Britain . Antiquity . en . 79 . 305 . 529–546 . 10.1017/S0003598X00114486 . 53392023 . 0003-598X.
8. Hanna . Jayd . Bouwman . Abigail S. . Brown . Keri A. . Parker Pearson . Mike . Brown . Terence A. . 2012-08-01 . Ancient DNA typing shows that a Bronze Age mummy is a composite of different skeletons . Journal of Archaeological Science . en . 39 . 8 . 2774–2779 . 10.1016/j.jas.2012.04.030 . 2012JArSc..39.2774H . 0305-4403.
9. Web site: Kaufman . Rachel . "Frankenstein" Bog Mummies Discovered in Scotland; Two ancient bodies made from six people, new study reveals . National Geographic . 2012-07-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210226231119/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/120706-bog-mummies-body-parts-frankenstein-ancient-science . dead . 26 February 2021 . 2021-12-21 .