Scotland. Nut shells found on Skye 'more than 8,000-years-old'

Some of the nut shells found during an excavation above Staffin Bay

The remains of hazelnuts found during an archaeological dig in Skye are more than 8,000-years-old, laboratory tests have confirmed.

Hazelnuts were a favourite snack of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers, according to archaeologists at the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI).

The shells were discovered during an excavation above Staffin Bay last year.

Archaeologist Dan Lee said: "We are really pleased to have such convincing Mesolithic dates from the site.

A five-day excavation was done in Staffin in September

"This hints at the huge potential for additional excavations in the area and presents a great opportunity to understand life in the Staffin area during this period."

Trust director Dugald Ross described the tests results as a "huge boost" to efforts to better understand human activity on the island thousands of years ago. BBC News