![]() Originally, the pit was on a beach close to the shore and was associated with two smaller, stone-lined pits whose function remains obscure, a hearth, and a second cluster of pits. The scale of the activity and the lack of large game on the island, suggest the possibility that Colonsay may have contained a community with a largely vegetarian diet for the time they spent on the island. The nuts were harvested in a single year, and pollen analysis suggests that all of the hazel trees were cut down at the same time. This discovery gives an insight into communal activity and planning in the period. Similar sites in Britain are known only at Farnham in Surrey and Cass ny Hawin on the Isle of Man. The nuts were radiocarbon dated to 7720☑10 BP, which calibrates to circa 6000 BC. ![]() Hazelnuts have been found on other Mesolithic sites, but rarely in such quantities or concentrated in one pit. The evidence consists of a large, shallow pit full of the remains of hundreds of thousands of burned hazelnut shells. In 1995, evidence of large-scale Mesolithic nut processing, some 8,000 years old, was found in a midden pit on the island of Colonsay in Scotland. The seed has a thin, dark brown skin, which is sometimes removed before cooking. ![]() The kernel of the seed is edible and used raw or roasted, or ground into a paste. The nut falls out of the husk when ripe, about seven to eight months after pollination. ![]() A cob is roughly spherical to oval, about 15–25 millimetres ( 5⁄ 8–1 inch) long and 10–15 mm ( 3⁄ 8– 5⁄ 8 in) in diameter, with an outer fibrous husk surrounding a smooth shell, while a filbert is more elongated, being about twice as long as its diameter. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |