Thursday, November 9, 2017

EIGG, SCOTLAND—The Scotsman reports that tests have confirmed that some 50 human bones discovered in Frances Cave on the island of Eigg belonged to a single teenager who lived between 1430 and 1620. The cave is also known as Massacre Cave, after a story of clan warfare said to have wiped out as many as 400 members of the Macdonald clan by their Macleod rivals in 1577. The Macdonalds are said to have retreated to the cave when the Macleods arrived on the island seeking revenge after several of their young men were tied up and returned to their boats for reportedly harassing the local girls. The Macleods are accused of setting a turf fire at the entrance to the cave that suffocated the hiding Macdonalds. “When post-excavation analysis has been completed we will discuss what happens next with the community on Eigg,” said archaeologist Kirsty Owen of Historic Environment Scotland. For more on archaeology in Scotland, go to “Fit for a Saint.”