Cremated bones of Bronze Age tumour sufferer found hanging from Scottish cliff

Cremated remains found within a quarry at Sannox could tell archaeologists more about Bronze Age burials

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A cist burial spotted hanging from a cliff on the edge of Scotland came from the ceremony of a Bronze Age adult cremated swiftly after their death, say archaeologists investigating the bones of a body whose skull carried a tumour.

Cracks and warping of the remains, which belonged to someone of indeterminate gender, suggest the body was still fleshed when it was cremated in a service accompanied by a tonne of burning wood.

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The bones were secured in a daring rescue mission on the eroding face of a sand cliff at Sannox, on the Isle of Arran, where experts used a mechanical cherry picker and balanced on harnesses to remove two cists.

“All the bone was uniformly white and in a similar condition, which is evidence for a hot cremation pyre reaching temperatures in the order of 650 to 950 degrees,” says Iraia Arabaolaza, who led the team responsible for the excavation.

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“It is likely that the cremation occurred soon after death.

“The smaller average weight of the bones in this cist, as well as the absence of axial [head and trunk] bones, is a common trait in some Bronze Age cremations. [...]  culture24.org.uk/


Actualización 08-04-14. Hallan restos óseos de una cremación de la Edad del Bronce con evidencias de padecer un tumor
Los restos de la Edad del Bronce se han encontrado dentro de una cantera en Sannox
Un enterramiento en cista localizado en un montículo en el límite de Escocia contiene los restos de un adulto de la Edad del Bronce cremado rápidamente tras su muerte. Así lo afirman los arqueólogos, que actualmente investigan los restos del cráneo con evidencias de un tumor. Las fracturas y deformaciones de los restos, que pertenecieron a un individuo de género indeterminado, sugieren que el cuerpo no fue descarnado antes de ser cremado en una pira de una tonelada de madera...