Rubha Port an t-Seilich

2013 was the year of a remarkable discovery for Islay and Scottish archaeology: the discovery of a 12000 year old Ice Age site at Rubha Port an t-Seilich, (the Point of the Port of the willows).

Archeaologists were in the midst of collecting important evidence from this site dating back to 8000 years BC when, buried beneath Mesolithic deposits, a tiny part of Ice Age sediment was revealed, enough to provide a number of distinctive Ice Age stone tools, 3000 years older than any previous discovery on Islay or Scotland altogether!

Their age and distinctive style means they had been made by reindeer hunting people of the Upper Paleolithic which flourished in mainland Europe towards the end of the last Ice Age. These hunter-gatherers had gradually moved north as woodland spread across what had been tundra landscapes, and used islands as bases for their coastal nomadic lifestyle. They literally would have been the first humans on Islay when the ice started to recide.

The important Mesolithic finds - a diverse range of stone tools, animal bones, plant remains, a fireplace, pits and postholes - demonstrated the use as a base for millennia. The site also produced traces of Neolithic activity. This makes it one of the most important and exciting archeological sites in Scotland, as explained in ‘First footsteps on Islay’ by the University of Reading which is carrying out further exploration of the site.

More information on visiting the area can be found here.