A team of archaeologists raced against the tide to document remarkably preserved Roman-era footprints discovered on a Scottish beach after a storm. The fleeting archaeological site, found at Lunan Bay in Aberdeenshire, offered a rare snapshot of human and animal activity from around 2,000 years ago before it was erased by the ocean.
The Unexpected Discovery
The prints were spotted by local residents Ivor Campbell and Jenny Snedden while walking their dogs along the coast. Unusual markings on exposed clay in the storm-damaged dunes caught their eye, prompting them to contact authorities. Archaeologists from the University of Aberdeen arrived to excavate the site under urgent conditions.
“It’s very rare that you get involved in a genuine archaeological emergency where, if we didn’t do it very, very quickly, the whole site would be gone,” said Kate Britton, an archaeologist leading the excavation. The team worked against strong winds and rapidly encroaching tides to record the prints using drones, cameras, and 3D modeling.
What the Footprints Revealed
The site contained impressions from barefoot humans alongside those of red deer and roe deer, suggesting a landscape once very different from the sandy beach it is today. Beneath the prints, charred plant remains were carbon-dated to the late Iron Age, coinciding with the period of Roman invasions in Scotland and the rise of the Picts.
“The late Iron Age dates are in keeping with what we know about the rich archaeology of nearby Lunan Valley,” stated Gordon Noble, an archaeologist at the University of Aberdeen. The prints suggest the area was once a muddy estuary used for hunting or gathering wild plants.
The Site’s Ephemeral Nature
The excavation lasted only two days. When the team returned a week later, the prints had vanished completely, eroded by the sea. The disappearance underscores the fragility of archaeological evidence and highlights the importance of rapid response in such cases.
“Footprints that represent actions of people over minutes, thousands of years ago, were destroyed within days,” said Britton.
The discovery suggests other similar sites may exist along the Scottish coastline, prompting further investigation. While unique, the Lunan Bay footprints serve as a reminder that much of the past remains hidden, waiting for the right conditions to be briefly revealed before disappearing once more.
This find underscores how much we still have to learn about ancient life in Scotland, and how quickly evidence of it can be lost.
