Chance finds date back 9,000 years and tell a new story of ‘Dream Island’

Chance finds of prehistoric stone tools and pieces of pottery, picked up by a rabbit hole by the guards of Skokholm Island, surprised experts and hinted at a new chapter in the prehistory of this famous island.

Skokholm, nicknamed “Dream Island”, lies two kilometers off the southern Pembrokeshire coast and is owned and managed by The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales. It is known for its tens of thousands of nesting birds in spring and summer.

The nearby Skomer Island is better known for its well-preserved prehistoric archeology. That all changed in March 2021 when wardens Richard Brown and Giselle Eagle, currently alone on the secluded island, picked up a smooth rectangular stone from a rabbit hole near the island’s home, in the shelter of a boulder.

First finds of hunter-gatherer tools

Photos were emailed to archaeologist dr. Toby Driver of the Royal Commission, Wales, part of the team that worked on the nearby Skomer Island, and dr. Andrew David, prehistoric stone mechanic, contacted.

Andrew immediately realizes the significance of the find: ‘The photographs were clearly of a cut-off stone from a late Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age)’, a tool presumably used in tasks such as preparing sealskins for making skin-coated watercraft, or for processing food such as shellfish, between hunter-gatherer communities about 6000-9000 years ago. ‘

“Although this type of tool is well known on coastal yards on the continents of Pembrokeshire and Cornwall, as well as in Scotland and northern France, it is the first example of Skokholm, and the first solid evidence of the late Mesolithic occupation on the island.”

Dr. David, who has led excavations at similar sites in Pembrokeshire, said: “Finding an example in Stockholm is exciting.”

A Burial from the Bronze Age

The discoveries did not stop there. Besides picking up a second Mesolithic pebble the next day, Richard and Giselle also noticed that large pieces of rough earth had been kicked out of the same rabbit holes.

This time it was Jody Deacon, curator of prehistoric archeology at Amgueddfa Cymru – the national museum in Wales, who recognized its significance. A large fragment from a thick-walled pot, adorned with cut lines around the top, is probably the edge of a vase Urn from the early Bronze Age, usually associated with cremation funerals. Such cemeteries dating between 2100 and 1750 BC, about 3750 years ago, are not uncommon in West Wales.

However, it was also the first of its kind from Skokholm Island, or from any of the western Pembrokeshire Islands.

Plan the archeology of Skokholm Island

Archaeologists Toby Driver and Louise Barker of the Royal Commission, Wales, conducted archaeological surveys on the nearby islands of Skomer, Grassholm and Ramsey. There are now plans to visit Skokholm with the other experts later in 2021, as COVID restrictions allow, to further investigate these exciting findings.

Toby explained: “We know from previous aerial surveys and laser scanning in the air by the Royal Commission that Skokholm has the remains of some prehistoric fields and settlements, although they have never been excavated.” Now Skokholm yields wonderful prehistoric finds. It looks like we have an early bronze cemetery built on a hunter-gatherer from the Middle Stone Age disturbed by rabbits. It’s a sheltered spot where the island’s cottage now stands, and it’s clearly been settled for thousands of years. Thanks to the sharp eyes of the guards, we have the first confirmed Mesolithic tools and the first pottery from the Bronze Age of Stockholm. To date, we have nothing similar to the larger islands of Skomer or Ramsey. Despite the exclusion, the Skokholm guards were able to share detailed photos and videos of their daily finds with experts in Wales. This means that we can all share in the excitement of these new discoveries. ‘

Provided by The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales