THE SCIENCE OF MIDDEN HUNTING

Strathaven based MSP Linda Fabiani, has lodged a motion in the Scottish Parliament congratulating local scientists working at the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC) in East Kilbride, the facility is located at the former National Engineering Laboratory (NEL), on the work they have done in uncovering a prehistoric rubbish site on the Island of Iona.

The radiocarbon dating specialists from SUERC dated the Bronze Age finds at the site between 930 and 810 BC after the National Trust for Scotland brought them in to study the finds.

Ms Fabiani commented:

“The use of an East Kilbride research facility by the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) shows the level of scientific expertise that is available within the town and adds to the success of other East Kilbride science companies.

“East Kilbride has for many years been a popular location for science based industries and the recognition by the NTS of the knowledge available here is further proof that the town has an infrastructure that can continue to attract such skilled jobs.”

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S3M-03928 Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (Scottish National Party): East Kilbride’s Cutting Edge— That the Parliament congratulates archaeologists from the National Trust for Scotland and radiocarbon dating specialists at the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC) in East Kilbride who have uncovered a prehistoric midden on the island of Iona and confirmed that it dates from between 930 and 810 BC, during the Bronze Age; believes that such significant finds are crucial to our understanding of the historical development of the Scots people and nation; welcomes the SUERC radiocarbon laboratory’s use of modern scientific methods to illuminate Scotland’s ancient past, and agrees that this latest milestone confirms East Kilbride’s position at the cutting edge of Scotland’s achievements in science.