A 2,000-year-old skeleton unearthed at a Scottish burial site shows striking evidence of intentional brain removal after death, shedding remarkable new light on the complex funeral rituals of Iron Age Britons. The discovery, described as a complete surprise by the researchers involved, points to mortuary customs that were previously unknown in the archaeological record of prehistoric Britain.
Identifying funerary practices in Iron Age Britain — the period running from around 800 BC to the Roman invasion in 43 AD — has long been a challenge, as human remains from this era rarely survive. However, the unique environmental conditions of north-west Scotland support the preservation of bone, offering a rare window into the past. Researchers from the University of York, working as part of the COMMIOS project, excavated and examined two individuals buried in a low stone cairn at Loch Borralie in Sutherland, near the north-west tip of the Scottish mainland. Their findings, published in the journal Antiquity, reveal a level of postmortem bone manipulation that has no known parallel in Iron Age archaeology.
Map showing the location of the Loch Borralie cairn and other Iron Age sites mentioned in the study. (map by Helen Goodchild. Produced using Copernicus data and information funded by the European Union - EU-DEM layers/Antiquity)
Bones Whittled and Brains Removed
The osteological examination of the adult female, referred to as Individual 1, uncovered a series of deliberate postmortem modifications. Her skull displayed distinct striations on the inside — incision marks made by a sharp implement — which researchers interpret as evidence that her brain was intentionally removed shortly after death. As Dr. Laura Castells Navarro, lead author of the research from the University of York's Department of Archaeology, explained in The Independent:
"The adult female displayed incisions on the inside of her cranium, suggesting her brain had been intentionally removed after death. We have no other comparison of this type of practice."
Fragments of the skull of the woman buried at Loch Borralie showing internal striations consistent with intentional brain removal. (Rebecca Ellis-Haken / Antiquity / CC BY 4.0)
In addition to the skull modifications, four of the woman's long bones — both humeri, an ulna, and a femur — had been carefully whittled to sharp points, suggesting they were fashioned into tools before being returned to the grave. "I think they got the long bones and broke them in half and then worked them to a taper. It's beautifully smooth," Dr. Castells Navarro told New Scientist. Crucially, the bones were then reassembled in their correct anatomical positions within the cairn, a detail that speaks to the care and intentionality of the ritual.
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Iron Age long bones from Loch Borralie, Scotland, whittled to sharp points as part of a postmortem burial ritual. (University of York / CC BY 4.0)
A Community's Reverence for the Dead
The motivation behind the extensive manipulation of the skeletal remains is, as Dr. Castells Navarro acknowledged, "very difficult to interpret." However, the care with which the woman was reassembled and deposited in the cairn suggests she commanded a level of reverence and respect within her community. Adelle Bricking at Museum Wales offered one interpretation to New Scientist, suggesting that part of the grieving process may have required the ceremonial breaking-up of a person to release their spirit.
"Death isn't the end, where they just bury people and leave them alone," she said. "They're exhuming them, selecting certain remains, working them, handling them and then finally placing them in a special place as their appropriate next step in their afterlife."
This treatment fits a wider pattern of postmortem bone modification seen across prehistoric Britain and mainland Europe, including the tradition of cutting sections of bone into amulets found in southern France and Bulgaria. The Loch Borralie case is, however, the first documented instance of what appears to be deliberate brain removal in the Iron Age record. The juvenile male buried alongside the woman, Individual 2, showed no such modifications, though ancient DNA analysis revealed the two were most likely maternal second cousins.
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A Maritime Network of Prehistoric Communities
Beyond the burial practices themselves, the study sheds light on the social networks of prehistoric Scotland. Isotope analysis showed that both individuals grew up around 80 kilometres southeast of Loch Borralie, while their ancient DNA revealed genetic connections to people buried at sites in Orkney, roughly 175 kilometers to the northeast, and at Applecross, some 225 kilometers to the southwest. This evidence suggests that Iron Age communities along the northern coast of Scotland were highly mobile, moving in small groups across the sea.
"Our research shows that prehistoric maritime communities periodically moved around the north coast and Northern Isles of Scotland, possibly in small groups," Dr. Castells Navarro explained in the University of York press release. "This movement allowed for the spread and maintenance of cultural practices and traditions." Andrew Lamb at the University of Edinburgh noted that these people likely used wooden-framed boats covered in animal hide — similar to an Irish currach — fit for rugged seafaring along the northern coastline. The findings suggest that complex funerary traditions were not isolated local customs but were shared and maintained across vast distances through the interconnectedness of Iron Age communities.
"I think we can assume that the Iron Age dead were not forgotten, and still had meaning to the living," Dr. Castells Navarro concluded, "with a continued interaction between the living and the dead across time and distance."
Top image: Iron Age bones from Loch Borralie, Scotland, including femus whittled to sharp points as part of a postmortem burial ritual. Source: University of York
By Gary Manners
References
Castells Navarro, L., Metz, S., Bleasdale, M., Evans, J., Legge, M., Büster, L., Reich, D., Armit, I. 2026. Reconnecting the dead in Iron Age Britain: funerary processing and long-distance connectivity at Loch Borralie, Scotland. Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. Available at: https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2026.10353
Killgrove, K. 2026. 2,000 years ago in Scotland, people removed a corpse's brain and fashioned the arm bones into tools. Live Science. Available at: https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/2-000-years-ago-in-scotland-people-removed-a-corpses-brain-and-fashioned-the-arm-bones-into-tools
Marshall, M. 2026. Iron Age Britons may have removed the brains of the dead. New Scientist. Available at: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2529799-iron-age-britons-may-have-removed-the-brains-of-the-dead/
Parveen, N. 2026. Iron Age Britons likely removed corpse brains in strange funeral ritual. The Independent. Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/iron-age-britons-funeral-ritual-b2992995.html
University of York. 2026. Evidence of Iron Age brain removal and bone tools found in Scotland. Available at: https://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2026/research/iron-age-brain-removal-bone-tools/
