Lundin Links

NO40SW 13 4130 0250.

A cemetery of 17 long cists, arranged in parallel rows E-W at regular distances from each other was uncovered by quarrying work in 1856-8, on the Lundin Estate, 1/4 mile W of Largo station. The extended skeletons usually lay on shells and pebbles covering a floor paved with flagstones. A piece of corroded iron about 2" long was found in one cist. The quarry is situated on the edge of the sandy links bordering the shore, just above high water mark; in 1864 another oriented long cist was found 3' below the surface, a few yards above high water mark. A few skeletal fragments from the cists were donated to the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland (NMAS).

A S Henshall 1958; D Durham 1862; W Turner 1917

NO 412 023. An emergency excavation was carried out following a police report on the finding of a burial on the site of the extensive long cist cemetery at Lundin Links beach. This cist was excavated and the skeleton removed. No grave goods. This skeleton, along with the others from the same burial ground, are now in the possession of Dundee University Anatomy Department.

L M Maclagan-Wedderburn 1967

The exact site of these cists cannot be determined but it is evident from the description that they were found at about NO 4130 0250.

Visited by OS (JP) 18 June 1974

NO 412 024. In August 1996 small excavation, topographic survey and limited augering programme was undertaken at Lundin Links.

As a result of the Historic Scotland coastal erosion survey carried out in the spring of this year, human skeletal material was found eroding out of a possible cairn. The area is known to contain a Pictish cairn cemetery which was partly excavated in the 1960s by C Grieg. The previous excavations revealed both round and square burial cairns as well as individual long cist burials around the cists. Radiocarbon dates place the cemetery firmly in the Pictish period.

A trench was excavated around the site where the skeleton was recorded. Severe erosion since March had removed all trace of the skeleton. The loose soil was sieved and finger/toe bones and a human tooth were all recovered. The excavation was aimed at determining whether the skeleton had been buried under a cairn or was an isolated cist burial. The burial was within a deposit of small stones and pebbles which appear to be a natural shingle beach deposit rather than a cairn.

Six sections along the eroding shoreline were cleaned and recorded. The sites were chosen because layers or lenses were visible and actively eroding. In three cases a possible old ground surface with associated deposits of coal were recorded within the sand dunes. No dating evidence was found. Due to the dramatic history of the dunes these layers may be comparatively recent. In one section there were lenses of gravel and crushed marine shell which appeared to be natural; in another modern building debris was eroding.

An area 50 x 8m around the burial and along the shoreline was investigated by augering. The intention was to record the depth of any changes within the soil make-up and to try and locate further cairns or cists. Cores were taken every 2m on a staggered grid to a depth of 0.5m and additional cores were taken in areas where the results were encouraging. The cores did record stone-rich areas and traces of charcoal but failed to define new cairns or cists. Another area, 30 x 6m, along the shoreline beside the 1960s excavation was also investigated but again failed to locate any new burials. The augering survey was hampered by the depth of sand from the dunes which varied enormously, and also by the outcropping of bedrock.

A very detailed survey was undertaken to locate the 1960s excavation, the present trench, and all features whether modern or natural within an area some 600 x 100m, including part of the shoreline. This will be used to monitor the rate of coastal erosion.

Sponsor: Historic Scotland

B Will 1996

Site recorded by Maritime Fife during the Coastal Assessment Survey for Historic Scotland, Kincardine to Fife Ness 1996