A very interesting Q&A, well thought out, articulate on both sides. I'm amazed at the knowledge base of all three who patiently took turns answering the questions put forward. They all handled themselves very well. I enjoyed listening to their experiences and their impressions of the burial site. 🙏Thank you (Yukon, Canada)
Great find and very intriguing! Very good questions and detail. Thank you to everyone participating. My own humble thoughts though.. Could it be the person/people who killed him, hid him in a cave,, removed his clothes and placed a dead animal carcass on his face and torso,, to hide his identity??..And "camouflage" the shallow burial of the body..?? The dead animal carcass will obviously start rotting and stinking, and if someone were to stumble upon the burial place..they would think it's just an animal who died in the cave..and wouldn't bother to investigate..? Removing any identifying clothes and possessions, and covering the face and torso with a dead animal, and hiding the body in a cave.. all seem to me like an attempt at hiding the body and its identity..if it were accidentally found..🤔🤷♀️. Maybe he was a well known person in the area..? Just my thoughts.
This Accent is PRICELESS!!! Love the Irish Accent, but the Scottish is also uniquely Delicious! Alwys pits a smile on my face! ...a USA Chicago born girl, lineage from County Kerry, Irish of Basque Orgin.
In the year 536 CE there was a significant event that caused the sky to be shrouded in a dust veil, which led to crop failures, famine, and plague. If this man was indeed sacrificed to the Pictish gods, perhaps this event was the reason why... Is there any way to narrow down the date range? Bayesian inference perhaps?
A use of fish scales was to wash and dry them, make a wee hole in the edge and sew them to cloth in decorative forms. If the scales have a silvery sheen originally, many cultures used them thus. Just a thought. Excellent vid, thank you.
This was brilliant , so interesting and so much enthusiasm. I live in Burghead and have followed the various digs and attended subsequent talk on findings in Elgin mussum.
Very interesting, thank you. It all sounds like a planned ambush murder rather than an opportunistic one. Which brings me to the animal bones. I know archaeologists want everything to be related to ritual feasting, but feasting next to someone you just killed? One would assume they wanted to get the hell out of there (placement suggests being carried by two people). The stone would have been placed there so that animals wouldn't dig bones out (not in a hurry anyway). So if the murder was planned by a group, its likely the place of burial was prepared in the form of a shallow grave with animal bones placed on top of the soil just in case someone went to investigate what the smell is, assuming: Oh, its a rotting animal. Sorry if that sounds too pragmatic, but I think rituals are overrated when it comes to plain murder. PS: Fish scales and animal hides/bones were commonly used in glue making to join leather and wood. Especially the cartilage. Fish oil has been commonly used in preservation of metals to prevent oxidisation.
The idea of the animal remains used to disguise the smell of decomposition is an interesting theory. There was quite a collection of butchered bones from different animals in there, all placed carefully in tight areas, so it seems a lot of trouble to go to for that. You would have thought that the obvious thing might be to throw a whole rotting animal carcass on top of him if the purpose was to disguise the smell. One to ponder though!
As was said, the one true account of the incident died with him. I wonder if he could have been sitting on the stone, attacked, then slumped backwards (hence his cross-legged position). Another theory I'm thinking is that that rock could have been used to cause the massive crushing injury to his skull ... 'final blow.'
@@robertascotland7959 Certainly agree with your first sentence! The sitting idea is one for a forensic person to rule out, but seems a long shot to me. Certainly though the boulder wasn't what was used for the final blow - this was a weapon with a squarish profile that penetrated the cranium - a big blunt boulder wouldn't have done that.
The animal remains to help disguise the smell was my first thought too, butchered or not doesn't really matter it's the decomposing that will keep people away.
Fascinating 🥰 As was said, the one true account of the incident died with him. I wonder if he could have been sitting on the stone, attacked, then slumped backwards (hence his cross-legged position). Another theory I'm thinking is that that rock could have been used to cause the massive crushing injury to his skull ... 'final blow.'
When they described Sue Black, did anyone else think of Bones? To me she sounded just like Bones! I found this really interesting and enjoyed the interview with everyday people who nevertheless had a passion for archaeology that was anything but ordinary!
Sue Black is incredible. It's not surprising it reminds you of Bones, Kathy Reichs who wrote the novels that the series is based on is also a forensic anthropologist.
An excellent, excellent story of history, culture and mystery. Great story and great presentation by the next KING of Scotland 🏴 I enjoyed that and thank you .
These history cold cases are extremely interesting especially now that so many details can be ascertained by scientific advances, we can learn so much more about the people who lived before us, great video and account of the excavation of these caves, the facial reconstruction really does bring Rosemarkie man to life
Extremely informative and interesting, throughly enjoyed this, i have always regretted not studying archeology when i was younger, but it has me looking up local amateur archaeology groups, so thanks again
Regarding the herring scales - I wonder if they were the waste from processing fish skins to make fish leather? Especially as you didn't find any other part of the herring. Fish leather is stronger, tougher and more durable than animal leather of the same weight. It is also more water resistant. Following on, could the later tinkers possibly have inherited their leatherworking skills from earlier leathermakers?
I thought this too 🤗 also very interesting comment below about the use of scales on clothes for 'shimmering' effect but wouldnt they stink? They probably had a way to deal with that mind - there is nothing primitive about these people. We are from the stars 💥
Perhaps he had already fought outside and received his first heavy blow there, which had already seriously injured him, so he retreated into the cave to recover or hide, perhaps he even fell unconscious due to his injuries. But he was pursued, found and they finished him off.
Something about avenging a family members death and his sons kidnapped the King of England. Held him hostage for months before being banished and the name Ruthven forbidden. I cant remember where he was held, but it was some thing about the Kings affiliation with the Church.@@TheJourneyHolm-by1qg
It always confuses me how much value is placed on the intentions and motivations of people from the past and, honestly, I don’t think they were really that different from folk alive today - not every action had a deep meaning or significance, sometimes people do things just because they do. I can see the reasons why you’d think this could’ve been a ritual killing or something like that, but I can also see it as just some nasty people killing someone, discarding them after taking all their belongings and chucking their rubbish and a big stone on him as a finishing touch with no more meaning behind it than some evil person/people and the victim being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Imagine someone trying to figure out the significance of the crap we have in our houses these days and relating it to some deep significant spiritual meaning - they’d think I worship some sloth like creature the amount of sloth stuff I have (you mention you like something once and forever more you get gifts related to that one thing)
Everyone was so well-spoken, no hesitation. I enjoyed this very much. I'm surprised the dude hasn't been given a personal name yet, like the Ice Man found in the Alps.
Thank you. So far he’s just known as Rosemarkie Man. I wonder what name he could be given. No one knows anything about Pictish language, what it sounded like but some place names leave clues like places beginning with Aber or Pit, these were Pictish settlements.
This was a thoroughly interesting (ad-free) chat, with timely questions and sufficient answer segments. Was it possible the fish scales were early processing for kippers, smoking in the caves away from prying eyes and the taxman. The tinkers (non-derogatory name) may have been stripping leather from shoes for making larger garments and hats. Also the Picts were around much earlier than 400 AD, most likely 400-500 years before that, they had skirmishes with the Romans in first century AD in Scotland Finally, Culloden was undoubtedly the culmination of religious hatred and fighting that had beseiged Scotland for 120 years before 1746 and the brutality of it was from the bigotry of the men of the era. So glad this was loaded. Excellent production.
Thank you so much 😊 you have a good grasp of Scottish history. Although the channel is mixed interest I hope to revisit more Scottish history related content as I am fascinated by it. Re the adverts I spent a small fortune on this podcast 😭 so as soon as I can monetise the channel I will unfortunately have to put ads on so I can claw back the costs.
I can give you a little fact. Not sure how related it is. But in the village of Rosemarkie the museum holds a large Pictish standing stone, the stone was recovered from the entrance to the local church seen in the drone footage at the start of the podcast. It was used as a massive slab to walk over. Although I’m not sure if there was a further covering on top of it.
I don't know about feasts and sacrifices and rituals. Could just be he got murdered for one reason or another and shoved into the corner of this cave to hide him. The animal bones could even have to do with trying to disguise the rotting body. Like just make it look some place an animal drags its kills or something to explain the rotting meat smell. The types of animals would be interesting. No reason to believe this was violence that was sanctified by the society he lived in, and in fact it seems more likely that he was concealed due to an illicit killing.
The idea of the animal remains used to disguise the smell of decomposition is an interesting theory. There was quite a collection of butchered bones from different animals in there, all placed carefully in tight areas, so it seems a lot of trouble to go to for that. You would have thought that the obvious thing might be to throw a whole rotting animal carcass on top of him if the purpose was to disguise the smell. Also, it seems likely the animal bones were buried along with the body, since they weren't subsequently disturbed by any predators. Impossible to 100% prove, probably, but we believe there must have been some ritual involved in the burial at least...
an idea that the Picts spoke an early non-Indo-European language originally is logical to me Perhaps they had kept a remnant language from Hunter Gatherer folk, or having been in contact with the Neolithic farmer folk, took on their language at least in parts, later taking on Celtic or Gallic if you like. We are talking about a very long length of time, a big part of which was before written texts in this area and in so being there probably has been a long line of evolving peoples, starting with the original H/G and Neolithic farmer EEF. The H/G Y DNA haplogoup most often found or known is I, if I recall correctly, the farmer being G2a etc. Then with the Romans there were many peoples brought into the area within their rank and file. I think (my pet theory) is that what became Pict, at least to what we think of as such, began as H/G peoples early on arriving in England/Scotland area. Later the farmer folk arrived and in so being farmers they set up farms and settlements in the better fertile areas, pushing the hunter folk up into the Highlands and places much less suited for farming, this sets the stage for all the rest I have spoken about.
There's a chance, since at least Orkney retained much of it's megalithic culture and genetic identity well into the Bronze Age thanks to its ancient naval power over the rest of the Isles, and probably remained distinctive until the vikings established their kingdoms in the northern isles. There is also a chance that they spoke an indo-european language that preceded the brythonic and gaelic languages, an proto-italo-celtic branch that derived from the first Bell Beaker folk that replaced most of the megalith builders during early bronze age.
the boulder, and the manner of the killing, I would question if he wasn't seen as a practitioner of black magic, a sorcerer or perhaps he was seen as possessed by a demon. Stones and weights were often used to prevent the victim from rising from the dead to attack his killers. See a lot of this kind of burial in Eastern Europe. The animal bones could have been meat placed there so he would eat it instead of hunting for fresh. This was the time of pagan religions. They were very superstitious and to them, things like Dragur and Vampires were very real.
Question, this pict was murdered, in today´s times his murder is a crime, but who is to say in the times of this murdered pict, that his murder would even be considered a crime?
Very interesting but you mentioned Cornwell witch and plenty of tin and Wales you only mentioned coal the most important of all is the WELSH GOLD THE ROYAL FAMILY THEIR WEDDING RINGS ARE PURE WELSH GOLD.🏴
Such an upsetting, heartbreaking story. My grandmother's family comes from Easter Ross. He bears more than a slight resemblance to my father. Hair is different however, the other features are quite good. Could be the ancient of anyone from Ross?
His facial reconstruction looks very Scottish to me interestingly. Who knows..he possibly was not a very nice man ( maybe he was a serial murderer ) who’s crimes finally caught up to him through vigilante justice or he was an innocent victim of tribal conflict ..wrongly accused of something serious..possibly infidelity..adultery. Not a bad looking dude…reminds me somewhat of actor Bryan Cranston as far as his phenotype goes.
That’s what I was thinking too, he could have been an innocent victim, but at the same time he could easily have been a danger to someone else and that someone caught him off guard.
Looks to me like this man was so scary that people thought he would come back from the dead. And the thought was he could not be dead enough. And needed to stay in this cave.
I figure future tech will allow virtual excavation without upsetting the soil. So much is lost now to the amateur and pros damaging and losing evidence.
@@TheJourneyHolm-by1qg yep, smithing has been around for many thousands of years. Whatever date is known for definite, you need to push it back by at least 50%
I’m curious what the animal bones were, maybe cattle? Also could the initial injuries be caused by an animal with horns? Perhaps he was badly gored and his companions put him out of his misery with a proper weapon… I also wonder if there was pollen analysis to explain the time of year..
Hi Dee, there is a wealth of further information in the link in the description. It takes you to the Rosemarkie Caves blog and there is a lot more information. It’s truly a fascinating history, I know the archaeologists are constrained by their budget to how much testing they can do. What I think is exciting is that they have fully excavated 2 caves and there are some 20 caves in total.
Sadly no pollen analysis (so far anyway). It's an interesting idea, but the injuries to the skull are all consistent with blows from weapons wielded by human assailants
maybe some local chief or invader the people didn't like? Or his own children wanting to inherit rulership? Hiding the body shows it not to be any kind of "legal" killing I'd say. Upper body build can also mean archers and Pictish lasted up till early middle ages
Hhmm mythology you say Goidel glas mixed 30 languages and out popped old Irish 🤔 Leaving Egypt roughly 3000bc to journey thru to Iberia then onto Ireland and finally Caledonia - beautiful story to unite a kingdom as done by Robert De Brus Hasn't Ireland had 1 majority language and 1 majority language only in its time which is much longer than 3000bc when Goidel created it
@@TheJourneyHolm-by1qg lol......scotia is a made up tale.she's supposed to be buried in ireland(nobody knows where). you have to ask yourself ....why is there no international archaeological interest in locating this famous queens grave. also, no mention of her in the list of egyptian queens. type in....who was queen scotia ?princess scotia grave and other facts.......
Seems like a case of overkill there appesrs to be alot of anger and resentment in how badly he wss beaten . So sad but thats the cycle of life during certain periods where even then tribal mentality and hatred for others still abounds. Absolutely wonderful podcast
His initial injuries were not consistent with a sacrificial victim. This looks more like murder. Ritual sacrifice is usually quite controlled not usuallyinvolving multiple injuries such as in this case to the jaw, for example. It is possible that the pieces of bone and probably meat could have been placed on the body to allow their decay to mask the distinctive stench of decaying human flesh (once smelt, never forgotten). It seems possible that the perpetrators were trying to conceal their actions.
That’s impressive if they did. I had to go and google that and there does seem to be information on that. That said it’s a fairly cold part of the world most of the year
That's where the body tats come in. They were supposed to frighten enemies, that's why they went naked. The reason why they were referred to as "blue".
@@dementedopossum8148 the midges melt if you put some kind of dry oil on and they will keep landing on you and melting until the oil is soaked up then eat you alive. They are so relentless. We use to have bear, wolf and beaver but we eat them all and made a new jacket but the midges are something else
@@Cainb420 I think you got the wrong person. I didn't mention midges, someone else did. But living in the West of Ireland I am sadly used to the little terrors.
The seashore most likely would have been a mile out .Or further and the cave could have been in a woodland. He could have been murderd cause of rivalry over a women. So made drunk so he could not defend himself then dumped his body in the hole in the cave.
I find it curious that archaeological finds like this lead to endless theories, debate and speculation, all of which is utterly pointless. Even the suggestion that he was murdered is empty speculation. He was killed, yes, but it could have been in battle. All that can be said with certainty is that he was killed and subsequently buried in that cave. That's it.
I agree we will never no for sure, but certainly not that such debate is pointless. If it was a battle then why is he the only body there? The boulder and the patches of butchered animal bone suggest some care was taken over the burial, and that it had some significance. Diet suggests he may have been of high status, and we know he was likely local. It is certainly possible that further finds analysis in the future may be able to add to the picture.
@TheJourneyHolm-by1qg Yes, at a certain point, the rabies take over, and couple with the fact that the person has a fever of outrageously high temperature, you get an out of control Rabied zombie. In the black foot tribe, the death would have happened pretty much the same way.
I’m still learning the podcast craft and still a one man team, hopefully the show grows and I can afford to get in some professionals to organise the composition. Do you enjoy the episode otherwise?
I hope you know each other outside of the 'virtual' world or you comment comes across as extremely rude!😂😂 I thoroughly enjoyed your podcast, it was my very first so I thought it was extremely well done, maybe once I've seen more, I may change my opinion! But, as a podcasting Virgin, I enjoyed it! Very very interesting. I know the reason for the fish scales, but can I remember it? If it comes back to me I'll let you know. Right, I'm off to the kitchen, don't for the life of me know why, maybe if I stand in there a while it'll come back to me...............😂😂😂😂 Looking forward to your next Podcast! Chez in Valencia Spain 😘
A very interesting Q&A, well thought out, articulate on both sides. I'm amazed at the knowledge base of all three who patiently took turns answering the questions put forward. They all handled themselves very well. I enjoyed listening to their experiences and their impressions of the burial site.
🙏Thank you (Yukon, Canada)
Great find and very intriguing! Very good questions and detail. Thank you to everyone participating.
My own humble thoughts though.. Could it be the person/people who killed him, hid him in a cave,, removed his clothes and placed a dead animal carcass on his face and torso,, to hide his identity??..And "camouflage" the shallow burial of the body..??
The dead animal carcass will obviously start rotting and stinking, and if someone were to stumble upon the burial place..they would think it's just an animal who died in the cave..and wouldn't bother to investigate..?
Removing any identifying clothes and possessions, and covering the face and torso with a dead animal, and hiding the body in a cave.. all seem to me like an attempt at hiding the body and its identity..if it were accidentally found..🤔🤷♀️. Maybe he was a well known person in the area..?
Just my thoughts.
This Accent is PRICELESS!!!
Love the Irish Accent, but the Scottish is also uniquely Delicious! Alwys pits a smile on my face!
...a USA Chicago born girl, lineage from County Kerry, Irish of Basque Orgin.
Thank you kindly!
I only heard English accents amongst the archeologists. The interviewer was, of course, Scots
In the year 536 CE there was a significant event that caused the sky to be shrouded in a dust veil, which led to crop failures, famine, and plague. If this man was indeed sacrificed to the Pictish gods, perhaps this event was the reason why... Is there any way to narrow down the date range? Bayesian inference perhaps?
They still have quite a number of caves to excavate on the Black Isle so let’s hope more clues are thrown up.
Interesting theory, but I'm afraid currently we do not know of a way to get a much more specific date. This may well change as technology develops...
Is that 536 BC ?
I looked it up its AD......wish they would stop mucking about with the nomenclature....its been fine for years ...very silly to change it now !
@@willyrackham2957 BCE/CE is what is used by people working in the archaeological field these days.
I see, you're a GeeBeebies type 🤣🤣 'nuff said.
Incredibly interesting - Thanks for sharing this murder mystery! I hope the channel gets the recognition it needs!
Thank man
A use of fish scales was to wash and dry them, make a wee hole in the edge and sew them to cloth in decorative forms. If the scales have a silvery sheen originally, many cultures used them thus. Just a thought. Excellent vid, thank you.
Interesting theory, thanks, I will run it by the team!
This was brilliant , so interesting and so much enthusiasm. I live in Burghead and have followed the various digs and attended subsequent talk on findings in Elgin mussum.
Glad you enjoyed it
Really interesting , far better than the TV programme .
Very interesting, thank you. It all sounds like a planned ambush murder rather than an opportunistic one. Which brings me to the animal bones. I know archaeologists want everything to be related to ritual feasting, but feasting next to someone you just killed? One would assume they wanted to get the hell out of there (placement suggests being carried by two people). The stone would have been placed there so that animals wouldn't dig bones out (not in a hurry anyway). So if the murder was planned by a group, its likely the place of burial was prepared in the form of a shallow grave with animal bones placed on top of the soil just in case someone went to investigate what the smell is, assuming: Oh, its a rotting animal. Sorry if that sounds too pragmatic, but I think rituals are overrated when it comes to plain murder.
PS: Fish scales and animal hides/bones were commonly used in glue making to join leather and wood. Especially the cartilage. Fish oil has been commonly used in preservation of metals to prevent oxidisation.
The idea of the animal remains used to disguise the smell of decomposition is an interesting theory. There was quite a collection of butchered bones from different animals in there, all placed carefully in tight areas, so it seems a lot of trouble to go to for that. You would have thought that the obvious thing might be to throw a whole rotting animal carcass on top of him if the purpose was to disguise the smell. One to ponder though!
As was said, the one true account of the incident died with him.
I wonder if he could have been sitting on the stone, attacked, then slumped backwards (hence his cross-legged position).
Another theory I'm thinking is that that rock could have been used to cause the massive crushing injury to his skull ... 'final blow.'
@@robertascotland7959 Certainly agree with your first sentence! The sitting idea is one for a forensic person to rule out, but seems a long shot to me. Certainly though the boulder wasn't what was used for the final blow - this was a weapon with a squarish profile that penetrated the cranium - a big blunt boulder wouldn't have done that.
Maybe at that time it didn’t faze them and they thought it was something like a honor that you killed maybe an enemy possibly ?
The animal remains to help disguise the smell was my first thought too, butchered or not doesn't really matter it's the decomposing that will keep people away.
Fascinating 🥰
As was said, the one true account of the incident died with him.
I wonder if he could have been sitting on the stone, attacked, then slumped backwards (hence his cross-legged position).
Another theory I'm thinking is that that rock could have been used to cause the massive crushing injury to his skull ... 'final blow.'
Thanks so much - absolutely fascinating and very well put together and described by those involved. Hats off to the NOSAS.
When they described Sue Black, did anyone else think of Bones? To me she sounded just like Bones! I found this really interesting and enjoyed the interview with everyday people who nevertheless had a passion for archaeology that was anything but ordinary!
Sue Black is incredible. It's not surprising it reminds you of Bones, Kathy Reichs who wrote the novels that the series is based on is also a forensic anthropologist.
An excellent, excellent story of history, culture and mystery.
Great story and great presentation by the next KING of Scotland 🏴
I enjoyed that and thank you .
Thanks so much Clan chief MacRae
@@TheJourneyHolm-by1qg 😂
My Scottish heritage, like to understand more.
These history cold cases are extremely interesting especially now that so many details can be ascertained by scientific advances, we can learn so much more about the people who lived before us, great video and account of the excavation of these caves, the facial reconstruction really does bring Rosemarkie man to life
I agree! Thank you 😊
Great video. Nice enthusiastic knowledgeable people.
Thanks for watching!
Extremely informative and interesting, throughly enjoyed this, i have always regretted not studying archeology when i was younger, but it has me looking up local amateur archaeology groups, so thanks again
Thank you 😊
Regarding the herring scales - I wonder if they were the waste from processing fish skins to make fish leather? Especially as you didn't find any other part of the herring.
Fish leather is stronger, tougher and more durable than animal leather of the same weight. It is also more water resistant.
Following on, could the later tinkers possibly have inherited their leatherworking skills from earlier leathermakers?
That’s great info. I didn’t even know leather making was possible with fish.
I thought this too 🤗 also very interesting comment below about the use of scales on clothes for 'shimmering' effect but wouldnt they stink? They probably had a way to deal with that mind - there is nothing primitive about these people. We are from the stars 💥
Maybe they used the scales for decorating shoes?!
Perhaps he had already fought outside and received his first heavy blow there, which had already seriously injured him, so he retreated into the cave to recover or hide, perhaps he even fell unconscious due to his injuries. But he was pursued, found and they finished him off.
Interesting to listen to thank you for sharing. Very informative.
Overkill...our guy must have been caught with the wrong Pictish woman 😢
I just found out that I’m a descendent of Lord Ruthven. I’m fascinated by Scotland now.
Hey Randy, tell me more about Lord Ruthven.
Something about avenging a family members death and his sons kidnapped the King of England. Held him hostage for months before being banished and the name Ruthven forbidden. I cant remember where he was held, but it was some thing about the Kings affiliation with the Church.@@TheJourneyHolm-by1qg
They somehow tricked the King with stories of a man with a bag of gold. To get the Kings attention.
It always confuses me how much value is placed on the intentions and motivations of people from the past and, honestly, I don’t think they were really that different from folk alive today - not every action had a deep meaning or significance, sometimes people do things just because they do. I can see the reasons why you’d think this could’ve been a ritual killing or something like that, but I can also see it as just some nasty people killing someone, discarding them after taking all their belongings and chucking their rubbish and a big stone on him as a finishing touch with no more meaning behind it than some evil person/people and the victim being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Imagine someone trying to figure out the significance of the crap we have in our houses these days and relating it to some deep significant spiritual meaning - they’d think I worship some sloth like creature the amount of sloth stuff I have (you mention you like something once and forever more you get gifts related to that one thing)
I have recurring nightmares about sloths. 🦥 I’d definitely think they had spiritual meaning.
Everyone was so well-spoken, no hesitation. I enjoyed this very much. I'm surprised the dude hasn't been given a personal name yet, like the Ice Man found in the Alps.
Thank you. So far he’s just known as Rosemarkie Man. I wonder what name he could be given. No one knows anything about Pictish language, what it sounded like but some place names leave clues like places beginning with Aber or Pit, these were Pictish settlements.
@@TheJourneyHolm-by1qg Let's give him a name...Mark?!
Mark is a possibility. I suppose it depends on whether he had been Christianised by this point or not?
@@TheJourneyHolm-by1qg ! I only shortened Rosemarkie (better than calling him Rosie!)
That makes sense. I like it
This was a thoroughly interesting (ad-free) chat, with timely questions and sufficient answer segments. Was it possible the fish scales were early processing for kippers, smoking in the
caves away from prying eyes and the taxman. The tinkers (non-derogatory name) may have been stripping leather from shoes for making larger garments and hats.
Also the Picts were around much earlier than 400 AD, most likely 400-500 years before that, they had skirmishes with the Romans in first century AD in Scotland Finally, Culloden was
undoubtedly the culmination of religious hatred and fighting that had beseiged Scotland for 120 years before 1746 and the brutality of it was from the bigotry of the men of the era.
So glad this was loaded. Excellent production.
Thank you so much 😊 you have a good grasp of Scottish history. Although the channel is mixed interest I hope to revisit more Scottish history related content as I am fascinated by it. Re the adverts I spent a small fortune on this podcast 😭 so as soon as I can monetise the channel I will unfortunately have to put ads on so I can claw back the costs.
this is awesome
Of all the fascinating topics, the one that caught my attention the most was "Pictish monastery".... Off to research
I can give you a little fact. Not sure how related it is. But in the village of Rosemarkie the museum holds a large Pictish standing stone, the stone was recovered from the entrance to the local church seen in the drone footage at the start of the podcast.
It was used as a massive slab to walk over. Although I’m not sure if there was a further covering on top of it.
If you look up Groam House Museum online, or visit it in person, you will learn much more about the Rosemarkie monastery
I don't know about feasts and sacrifices and rituals. Could just be he got murdered for one reason or another and shoved into the corner of this cave to hide him. The animal bones could even have to do with trying to disguise the rotting body. Like just make it look some place an animal drags its kills or something to explain the rotting meat smell. The types of animals would be interesting. No reason to believe this was violence that was sanctified by the society he lived in, and in fact it seems more likely that he was concealed due to an illicit killing.
The idea of the animal remains used to disguise the smell of decomposition is an interesting theory. There was quite a collection of butchered bones from different animals in there, all placed carefully in tight areas, so it seems a lot of trouble to go to for that. You would have thought that the obvious thing might be to throw a whole rotting animal carcass on top of him if the purpose was to disguise the smell. Also, it seems likely the animal bones were buried along with the body, since they weren't subsequently disturbed by any predators. Impossible to 100% prove, probably, but we believe there must have been some ritual involved in the burial at least...
an idea that the Picts spoke an early non-Indo-European language originally is logical to me Perhaps they had kept a remnant language from Hunter Gatherer folk, or having been in contact with the Neolithic farmer folk, took on their language at least in parts, later taking on Celtic or Gallic if you like. We are talking about a very long length of time, a big part of which was before written texts in this area and in so being there probably has been a long line of evolving peoples, starting with the original H/G and Neolithic farmer EEF. The H/G Y DNA haplogoup most often found or known is I, if I recall correctly, the farmer being G2a etc. Then with the Romans there were many peoples brought into the area within their rank and file. I think (my pet theory) is that what became Pict, at least to what we think of as such, began as H/G peoples early on arriving in England/Scotland area. Later the farmer folk arrived and in so being farmers they set up farms and settlements in the better fertile areas, pushing the hunter folk up into the Highlands and places much less suited for farming, this sets the stage for all the rest I have spoken about.
There's a chance, since at least Orkney retained much of it's megalithic culture and genetic identity well into the Bronze Age thanks to its ancient naval power over the rest of the Isles, and probably remained distinctive until the vikings established their kingdoms in the northern isles. There is also a chance that they spoke an indo-european language that preceded the brythonic and gaelic languages, an proto-italo-celtic branch that derived from the first Bell Beaker folk that replaced most of the megalith builders during early bronze age.
the boulder, and the manner of the killing, I would question if he wasn't seen as a practitioner of black magic, a sorcerer or perhaps he was seen as possessed by a demon.
Stones and weights were often used to prevent the victim from rising from the dead to attack his killers.
See a lot of this kind of burial in Eastern Europe.
The animal bones could have been meat placed there so he would eat it instead of hunting for fresh.
This was the time of pagan religions. They were very superstitious and to them, things like Dragur and Vampires were very real.
Question, this pict was murdered, in today´s times his murder is a crime, but who is to say in the times of this murdered pict, that his murder would even be considered a crime?
Caves are the other world..
Pretty cool. Sorry he lost his life but was left buried for a great find for us in the future to explore and solve. X
I think the only thing that was missing for me, was hearing that chat over a pint 🍻
Herring scales - maybe seasoning, medicine or exfoliant?
Their is a face on the wall behind them.
That face doesn’t look very amused
Very interesting but you mentioned Cornwell witch and plenty of tin and Wales you only mentioned coal the most important of all is the WELSH GOLD THE ROYAL FAMILY THEIR WEDDING RINGS ARE PURE WELSH GOLD.🏴
Such an upsetting, heartbreaking story. My grandmother's family comes from Easter Ross. He bears more than a slight resemblance to my father. Hair is different however, the other features are quite good. Could be the ancient of anyone from Ross?
I am actually from this area. I grew up in the village of Rosemarkie
@@TheJourneyHolm-by1qg Even better! Check your DNA with his. See if he is an ancient relative? That would be a headliner!
His facial reconstruction looks very Scottish to me interestingly. Who knows..he possibly was not a very nice man ( maybe he was a serial murderer ) who’s crimes finally caught up to him through vigilante justice or he was an innocent victim of tribal conflict ..wrongly accused of something serious..possibly infidelity..adultery.
Not a bad looking dude…reminds me somewhat of actor Bryan Cranston as far as his phenotype goes.
That’s what I was thinking too, he could have been an innocent victim, but at the same time he could easily have been a danger to someone else and that someone caught him off guard.
Most interesting.
The description of the animal remains is suggestive of some sort of taxidermy.
Looks to me like this man was so scary that people thought he would come back from the dead. And the thought was he could not be dead enough. And needed to stay in this cave.
Are these guys Scots?So much enthusiasm regarding the blow by blow account of this act.
No, Going by the accents they are English, although the interviewer is obviously Scottish. 😊
I figure future tech will allow virtual excavation without upsetting the soil. So much is lost now to the amateur and pros damaging and losing evidence.
Seems like they were none too fond, they ate dinner and threw bones at head.
You're definitely weird like me, I competed in strongman years ago and I always watch archaeology on RUclips.... Subscribed
Welcome turf blacksmith.
They do think that the victim of this may have also been a blacksmith. Which explains his strong upperbody
@@TheJourneyHolm-by1qg yep, smithing has been around for many thousands of years. Whatever date is known for definite, you need to push it back by at least 50%
British archaeology. the Picts were not the Scotia invaders.
I’m curious what the animal bones were, maybe cattle? Also could the initial injuries be caused by an animal with horns? Perhaps he was badly gored and his companions put him out of his misery with a proper weapon… I also wonder if there was pollen analysis to explain the time of year..
Hi Dee, there is a wealth of further information in the link in the description. It takes you to the Rosemarkie Caves blog and there is a lot more information. It’s truly a fascinating history, I know the archaeologists are constrained by their budget to how much testing they can do. What I think is exciting is that they have fully excavated 2 caves and there are some 20 caves in total.
Excellent! I will definitely check it out. Thank you :)
Sadly no pollen analysis (so far anyway). It's an interesting idea, but the injuries to the skull are all consistent with blows from weapons wielded by human assailants
maybe some local chief or invader the people didn't like? Or his own children wanting to inherit rulership? Hiding the body shows it not to be any kind of "legal" killing I'd say. Upper body build can also mean archers and Pictish lasted up till early middle ages
Love this ! Thankyou. So Scotia is the daughter of an Egyptian pharaoh and ancestor of the Gaels.are they the same group as the Pics ?
I’m now reading up on scotia. Can’t believe I’d never heard this story before. Very interesting
Hhmm mythology you say
Goidel glas mixed 30 languages and out popped old Irish 🤔
Leaving Egypt roughly 3000bc to journey thru to Iberia then onto Ireland and finally Caledonia - beautiful story to unite a kingdom as done by Robert De Brus
Hasn't Ireland had 1 majority language and 1 majority language only in its time which is much longer than 3000bc when Goidel created it
@@TheJourneyHolm-by1qg lol......scotia is a made up tale.she's supposed to be buried in ireland(nobody knows where). you have to ask yourself ....why is there no international archaeological interest in locating this famous queens grave. also, no mention of her in the list of egyptian queens. type in....who was queen scotia ?princess scotia grave and other facts.......
Seems like a case of overkill there appesrs to be alot of anger and resentment in how badly he wss beaten . So sad but thats the cycle of life during certain periods where even then tribal mentality and hatred for others still abounds. Absolutely wonderful podcast
Thank you 😊
His initial injuries were not consistent with a sacrificial victim. This looks more like murder. Ritual sacrifice is usually quite controlled not usuallyinvolving multiple injuries such as in this case to the jaw, for example. It is possible that the pieces of bone and probably meat could have been placed on the body to allow their decay to mask the distinctive stench of decaying human flesh (once smelt, never forgotten). It seems possible that the perpetrators were trying to conceal their actions.
The old man is hilarious 😂
Didn't the have a reputation for going into battle naked?
That’s impressive if they did. I had to go and google that and there does seem to be information on that. That said it’s a fairly cold part of the world most of the year
@@TheJourneyHolm-by1qgit's not the cold we're use to it but naked with the midges that take real courage.
That's where the body tats come in. They were supposed to frighten enemies, that's why they went naked. The reason why they were referred to as "blue".
@@dementedopossum8148 the midges melt if you put some kind of dry oil on and they will keep landing on you and melting until the oil is soaked up then eat you alive. They are so relentless. We use to have bear, wolf and beaver but we eat them all and made a new jacket but the midges are something else
@@Cainb420 I think you got the wrong person. I didn't mention midges, someone else did. But living in the West of Ireland I am sadly used to the little terrors.
"UNSOLVED" like Pictish detectives never caught the guy 💀💀🤣🤣
Far North East? Fraserburgh or Wick? Rosemarie are sort of Highland Midlands
It’s further north than Fraserburgh. Just about 20 mins north east of Inverness
He was a executed rapist and the stone was a replacement for
He could well have been a really bad guy
I think he was a kidnapped, noble, and someone took him down to the cave and killed him.
The seashore most likely would have been a mile out .Or further and the cave could have been in a woodland. He could have been murderd cause of rivalry over a women. So made drunk so he could not defend himself then dumped his body in the hole in the cave.
WomAn
We believe that the coastline would have been similar to today in the mid first millenium CE, certainly not a mile further out anyway
He must have had a splitting headache.
Larry did it !!!
I find it curious that archaeological finds like this lead to endless theories, debate and speculation, all of which is utterly pointless. Even the suggestion that he was murdered is empty speculation. He was killed, yes, but it could have been in battle.
All that can be said with certainty is that he was killed and subsequently buried in that cave. That's it.
I agree we will never no for sure, but certainly not that such debate is pointless. If it was a battle then why is he the only body there? The boulder and the patches of butchered animal bone suggest some care was taken over the burial, and that it had some significance. Diet suggests he may have been of high status, and we know he was likely local. It is certainly possible that further finds analysis in the future may be able to add to the picture.
@@jamesmccomas1885 because he was very special to his people? I LOVE this presentation James - please find out more 🙏🦴✨
Give it a few years and they be telling us he’s black
He was most likely blue.
Probably nicked his mates Irn Bru.
Someone didn't like him at all.
A strange attack 🤔 it comes to mind that he could have been staked this way because of rabies?!?
Rabies? Was that what happened to some people with rabies?
@TheJourneyHolm-by1qg Yes, at a certain point, the rabies take over, and couple with the fact that the person has a fever of outrageously high temperature, you get an out of control Rabied zombie. In the black foot tribe, the death would have happened pretty much the same way.
UNSOLVED! 😂
You never know, more clues might show up. There is a lot of digging still to happen in the area.
Conan killed the picts all the time ....
Him and red Sonja together
Sort yourself out b4 q&a.....a bit messy 😂😂😂😂 Tall guy chief perpetrator in mischief......take the whole cover to himself 😂😂😂😂
I’m still learning the podcast craft and still a one man team, hopefully the show grows and I can afford to get in some professionals to organise the composition. Do you enjoy the episode otherwise?
@@TheJourneyHolm-by1qg very very interesting....love it very much 👏 🤣
Never been called "chief perpetrator in mischief" before. I'll take it as a compliment!
I hope you know each other outside of the 'virtual' world or you comment comes across as extremely rude!😂😂 I thoroughly enjoyed your podcast, it was my very first so I thought it was extremely well done, maybe once I've seen more, I may change my opinion! But, as a podcasting Virgin, I enjoyed it! Very very interesting. I know the reason for the fish scales, but can I remember it? If it comes back to me I'll let you know. Right, I'm off to the kitchen, don't for the life of me know why, maybe if I stand in there a while it'll come back to me...............😂😂😂😂
Looking forward to your next Podcast! Chez in Valencia Spain 😘
An amalgamation of Gaelicazation.... spell checks...