Summary Chance discovery of human bones by contractors at Sumburgh Airport, Shetland, was followed by belated and hasty archaeological investigation of what remained. This and subsequent work shows the site to have consisted of the remains of at least 18 individuals interred in a cist together with various grave goods during a very early part of the Neolithic. The discovery is of major importance; not only are the dated finds and skeletal remains without precedent for Shetland but the funerary rite represented is, on present evidence, unique.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.