Bronze Age pits have been unearthed in Scotland - they may shed fresh light on life on the banks of the Forth 4000 years ago. Archaeologists carrying out a routine inspection found pottery and eight small pits in a routine inspection of a site in South Queensferry. "We found pottery which we could tell was around 4000 years old buried in small pits which were around half a metre deep. It was a surprise when we found this, and it helps fill in a lot of gaps and gives us an idea of what life was like here 4000 years ago," Melanie Johnson, project manager for archaeologists CFA, said.
     It is thought the small pits would have been used for rubbish or burials and proves there were people either living, working or taking part in some kind of activity in the area at the time. Ms Johnson said it was likely the finds were evidence of farmers or people in the fishing trade. She added: "It is more likely to find either pottery or people than homes, because at that time people would have lived in wooden homes and probably been cremated. At that time it would have been surrounded by fields. It's quite nice to find something like this. It is a small-scale find but still very significant."
     Archaeologists will continue to excavate the pits for another two days to try to unearth other clues to Bronze Age life in the area.
The dig is being carried out as part of a planning condition for a development of homes on the site. Although the discovery is significant, it will not jeopardise or delay the development.
     The city council's head archaeologist, John Lawson, said: "In local terms this is a very important discovery. It's the first piece of real evidence we have of prehistoric occupation in South Queensferry, taking us back an extra couple of thousand years. At the moment we are finding quite a lot of prehistoric stuff in rural areas - usually most of it is buried under towns and cities. Anything we find like this is significant, because it helps us form an idea of how occupation first came to the Lothians."

Source: The Scotsman (28 September 2007)