Lost for around 5,000 years, an amateur archaeologist has discovered deer carvings inside Kilmartin Glen’s Dunchraigaig Cairn in the west of Scotland. The Neolithic or Early Bronze Age carvings depict two male red deer with fully-grown antlers. Two other deer carvings were also found, along with another engraving of an unidentified creature. Dr. Tertia Barnett, Principal Investigator for Scotland's Rock Art Project at Historic Environment Scotland (HES) explained that until now it was thought that prehistoric animal carvings of this date “didn’t exist in Scotland.”
The carvings were recently discovered inside Dunchraigaig Cairn by Hamish Fenton, an archaeology enthusiast visiting the area, who found the faint marks etched on the capstone of an Early Bronze Age burial cist . HES explained that the illustrations represent “the first time that animal carvings of this date have been discovered in this area,” which was until now famous for its cup and ring marked stones .
