High Pasture Cave
High Pasture Cave ( schott Gael: Uamh ARD Achaidh, also Uamh at Ard Achadh; German meaning:. Hohe Weide cave ) is an archaeological site on the island of Skye in Scotland. Here is the second largest cave system in the island with about 320 m walk passages.
The cave is located in Kilbride, about one kilometer south-east of the village of Torrin. The entrance is in a narrow valley on the northern slopes of the mountain Beinn an Dùbhaich, an offshoot of the Eastern Red Hills. This consists of Tertiary granite and forms a break in the otherwise occurring Durness limestone. The caves in the limestone were formed by the acidic, peaty water that flowed down from the granite rocks of the mountain slope. They point to several historical genesis präglaziale phases.
The cave system consists of a main course with several branches. Entry is by a shaft that was dug in 1972 by students of the University of London Speleological Society. After about 80 meters, come to a crossroad where there is a higher -lying dry passage right on a rocky ridge. 2002 there was discovered by cavers Steven Birch broken pottery and bones. Previous visitors to the cave had to find this material in the experiments new ways, then thrown aside. Birch recognized the value of the find and the importance of this place.
Then came 2003, the year-round excavation and landscape project High Pasture Cave Project. The excavations are currently being carried out in the period from April to September, while the winter months of documentation and analysis serve. The project is mainly supported by Historic Scotland, an agency of the Scottish Government. The excavations carried out primarily by volunteers who are trained in local needs.
Research results
In 4.5 years (as of 2008 ), the preliminary research results gave the following picture:
Initial activities showed from the Mesolithic period ( about 6,000 to 7,000 years ago); arrowheads found from this period indicate exploration of the area by nomadic hunters. The occasional visits stopped by the Neolithic and the Bronze Age to about 800 BC apparently won the cave in importance. During this time, a large fire pit was built at the entrance. The entrance appears to have been used for ceremonies or the storage of personal items.
During the next 1000 years the customs held to such an extent that the ashes of the hearth threatened to block the entrance of the cave. It was built around a four-meter long staircase to continue to enter the cave can. Hundreds of finds ( bronze, bone and antler needles, glass and ivory pearls ) around the fireplace and in the cave floor indicate a place of intense activity.
This continued until about 40 BC. Then the stairs was completely filled with boulders and earth. The skeleton of a woman was put together with a 4 to 5 -month-old fetus and a 9 to 10 -month-old child over the filling, as if you wanted to block the cave behind it.
After that, the place remained untouched until about 1500 years later so-called Shielings (summer cottages, willow huts) were built on it. There are at least three refuges and probably two pens available.
Today High Pasture Cave is a U-shaped grassy mound where now some trenches the excavation work as well as the now exposed stairs are. In a hut, the finds are kept. Some information boards for visitors have been built.