US EditionStorms reveal rare 2,000-year-old footprints on Scottish beach
University of Aberdeen archaeologists recorded 3D models and casts of human and animal footprints exposed by storms before tides washed the site away within 48 hours, highlighting rapid coastal erosion risks.
- Storms recently revealed human and animal impressions at Lunan Bay, Angus coast, which dog walkers Ivor Campbell and Jenny Snedden spotted before council archaeologist Bruce Mann was alerted; the site was reclaimed by the sea within 48 hours.
- Shifting sands and dune damage recently uncovered a clay layer with semi-fossilised prints, prompting University of Aberdeen experts to act before the sea reclaimed the site.
- A University of Aberdeen team led by Professor Kate Britton captured drone imagery, millimetre‑accurate 3D maps and physical casts while working in winds of more than 55mph, and radiocarbon dating confirmed the footprints were made around 2,000 years ago.
- Archaeologists say the rare find offers a window into human activity along the Angus coastline, while drone images and 3D records will help establish a baseline for coastal erosion; Professor Gordon Noble said, `This is a real tangible link to the region's past.`
- With sea levels rising and coastal erosion accelerating around Scotland, experts urged local community monitoring and noted no previous record of such sites in Scotland, though similar markings exist in England's Montrose basin clays.
26 Articles
26 Articles
Archaeologists Race to Save 2,000-Year-Old Roman Footprints Found on Scottish Beach
University of Aberdeen team working at Lunan Bay. Credit: University of Aberdeen Archaeologists in Scotland rushed to document Roman footprints discovered on a beach after winter storms briefly exposed the 2,000-year-old markings before the sea erased them. The fragile prints, found at Lunan Bay near Montrose, offered a rare glimpse of human and animal activity during the late Iron Age, around the time of Roman influence in Britain. The footprin…
Storms reveal rare 2,000-year-old footprints on Scottish beach
Storms that recently ravaged Britain's coastline have revealed 2,000-year-old footprints on an Angus beach—one of only a handful of locations in the U.K. where markings of this kind have ever been discovered. The imprints of human and animal feet—made around the time of Boudicca, Jesus, and the height of the Roman Empire—were temporarily revealed by shifting sands at Lunan Bay and spotted by vigilant members of the public.
The Scotsman
perspectivemedia.com2,000-year-old footprints discovered on beach after storms
The incredible chance discovery speaks of life in Scotland 2,000 years ago
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