Saturday's Open Day event for the ongoing archaeological dig at Swartigill in Caithness gave the public the chance to see some of the latest finds from the Iron Age site including uniquely patterned pottery sherds.

Last year, the significant discovery of a coloured glass bead known as a Guido Class 13 Northern Spiral raised the profile of the dig as it showed possible trade links with the Roman Empire.

Project leader Rick Barton, from UHI Orkney, said: "We haven't extended the site outwards this year but we've gone down deep into a lot of these structures now and getting into layers that are very rich in cultural materials. We're getting huge amounts of pottery, stone tools and lots of layers of deposits that show signs of people performing activities – possibly domestic or craft specialisation."

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Rick says the evidence shows what the buildings at Swartigill were used for and the complexity of how the site evolved over the years. The excavation has uncovered the remains of a settlement area spanning over 1000 years – from around 350BC until 945AD. It is likely that there were connections with the broch at Thrumster House which would have been constructed within that time frame.

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Previous seasons of excavation at the site have uncovered a complex of structures, which are providing an important window into Iron Age society away from the monumental architecture of the brochs. During the 2021 excavation, a substantial spread of prehistoric pottery was revealed by the bank of the burn, some of which have impressed finger decoration around the rim. The pottery fragments recently discovered show designs that Rick said he had not come across before.

"It will be interesting when we publish our results and get the information out there whether we can make connections to other sites. Nothing springs to mind that it looks like that or this from the catalogues we use. Whether [the pottery designs] are personal to the people making it or part of a wider tradition is difficult to tell at this stage. We may have some craft specialisations here that could have wider implications as to how we understand this era."

Rick said that though Orkney may appear to have many more archaeological treasures, the Swartigill dig is providing "rich and complex" finds that put it on par with any of the archaeological digs he's been involved with throughout the UK. "We know a lot about broch settlements and later Iron Age activities but we don't know a lot about the activities going on at the periphery of the brochs.

"This is an opportunity to get an insight to that." He says that as the dig goes deeper into the various structures at Swartigill it is likely that more specialist finds will be made including "waterlogged features". A flattened area near the burn at the rear of the site has been recently discovered as well and has been referred to as a "courtyard".

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Rick also talked about the "unique digging culture" at Swartigill where specialists and professional archaeologists rub shoulders with students and volunteers with varied experience.

"It lends enthusiasm to some of us old hands who have been about a bit and lets us see the archaeology through other people's eyes. That's something really special about this excavation."

Martin Carruthers of UHI Archaeology Institute in Orkney had just arrived that day to conduct a lecture at Thrumster village hall in the evening but has been heavily involved in the project over the last few years. "It's looking really dramatic now and is obviously an expensive settlement," he said.

"The broch at Thrumster House is contemporary with this site. It's not sitting here isolated but is part of a broader landscape of settlements. For me, that makes it really mouth-wateringly important!"

The team looks forward to more excavations at Swartigill over the coming years and hopefully Yarrows Heritage Trust, which has organised the digs, will once again source the funding.

Islay MacLeod from the Trust said: "A significant amount of pottery has been found for any site in the Highlands. We must take stock and we'll make an announcement within the next six months."

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