Lasers shed light on Scotland's mysterious Iron Age tunnels [View all]

19th January



The underground passage is revealed in stunning detail (Image: AOC Archaeology)

By Jody Harrison
@jodeharrisonHT
Reporter

The underground passage is revealed in stunning detail (Image: AOC Archaeology)
They are deep and dark mysterious tunnels which were carved by the ancient people of Scotland whose purpose baffles scholars to this day.

Often found beneath the remains of Iron Age dwellings and settlements, the hand-carved channels could have been used for storage, a ritual site, or even as a safe space to hide from marauding invaders.

Probing the secrets of these ‘souterrains’ - named from a French phrase meaning underground passageway – has always been tedious and back-breaking work, forcing archaeologists to explore narrow confined crawlspaces often choked with centuries of rubble.

But now technology is being used to speed up the process – and deliver maps of the age-old tunnels in detail never seen before. A team of archaeologists are using lasers to map out souterrains scattered about the Scottish Highlands at various sites that have previously been explored.

More:
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/homenews/23262329.lasers-shed-light-scotlands-mysterious-iron-age-tunnels/