Archaeolgists Find Largest-Ever Ceremony Hall, Weapons Hoard

Archaeologists in Scotland have discovered the largest Neolithic wood hall ever found in the country alongside a hoard of Bronze Age weaponry, including a gold spearhead, according to a report published in Guard Archaeology.

The wood hall, which dates back to around 4,000 B.C., was found by construction workers underneath the future soccer field at Carnoustie High School in Angus. The main area was built using oak wood and measures 115 feet long by 30 feet wide, while a smaller “companion hall” measuring 66 feet long by 26 feet wide was erected next door. This is a particularly unique arrangement for ancient Scotland, where buildings were often designed as singular entities and were significantly distanced from one another.

"The halls were probably close to routeways where people might have congregated naturally at various seasons of the year,” said fieldwork director Alan Hunter Blair. “The availability of hazelnuts in autumn is a strong indicator that that season was an important one for meeting, feasting, and celebrating."

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Inside the smaller hall, archaeologists discovered a stove which was filled with charred hazelnuts and cereal grains, indicating that the facility was used as a communal dining and food preparation space. The larger space, meanwhile, contained evidence suggesting it was used as a ceremonial space for the farmers. Found artifacts included an axe crafted from garnet-albite-schist as well as agate, quartz, and chalcedony, which are believed to have been provided by the community.

"This monumental timber hall, completely alien to the culture and landscape of the preceding Mesolithic era, was erected by one of the very first groups of farmers to colonize Scotland, in a clearing within the remains of natural woodland,” explained study co-author Beverly Ballin Smith. “It was fully formed, architecturally sophisticated, large, complex, and required skills of design, planning, execution, and carpentry."

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