Crammond Mesolithic Site, Crammond, Edinburgh, Scotland
Excavations carried out on this spot in 1995 discovered the remains of what at the time was Scotland's earliest known settlement. The archaeologists discovered stake holes and pits, together with thousands of hazelnut shells and tools made of flint and chert.
The stone tools included arrowheads, scrapers, burins (for punching holes) and small blades for hunting and gathering activities. The stake holes marked the site of tent-like shelters where the people sat making and using these tools and also where they prepared and cooked their food. The pits were filled with the burnt shells of hazelnuts which were an important food source. These shells have been carbon dated to around 10,500 years ago (between 8,630BCE and 8,250BCE). The people who camped here so long ago were amongst the first to discover Scotland after the last Ice Age had ended, less than 1,000 years earlier. It marks the start of the Mesolithic period in Scotland. This lasted until the arrival of farming in the Neolithic period at around 4,000BCE.
Sea levels rose when the last Ice Age ended. This flooded the land (Doggerland) which had joined the south of Britain to the continent. People had to move because of this, some moving north along the coast. These explorers were skilled at gathering all the things they needed to survive from the countryside around them.
We need to imagine how Cramond looked 10,000 years ago. This was a great place to choose for a campsite. The sea and the River Almond offered plenty of food, such as fish and shellfish. The local forest provided other foodstuffs and resources, such as wild animals and birds, nuts, berries and plants, as well as animal skins for clothing and wood for fuel and building.
