Scots archaeologists will start digging where two possible Viking boat burial sites are thought to be hidden on the Isle of Mull.
Local volunteers will excavate two mounds later this month after artefacts were discovered three years ago. The Lephin Dig 2022 will be led by Dr Claire Ellis and will run from September 11 to 23 but it has already been established that Vikings settled in the area in the 11th century AD.
Dr Ellis' group previously discovered Norse and Viking artefacts on digs on the island in 2018 and 2019 and from their findings they believe they may find the boat this year. Few Viking boats have ever been found in the UK so this could prove to be a worthy find.
Local punters on the Isle of Mull helped pitch in to fundraise the dig and they will also provide labour on the day too. The excavation, organised by Mull Museum and Argyll Archaeology project, will also be hoping to unearth more undiscovered Norse settlements.
The group organise on their Facebook page and offer links to accommodation for any visitors coming to the island to help with the excavation. Among other finds in 2018 and 2019 they discovered a Norse farmstead and now want to understand how such farm settlements may have been laid out and how they worked.
The project will involve the local schools and all primary and some high schools classes will be invited to come along and be involved in the excavation. In 2019 the pupils actually came in wellies and waterproofs and got down into the trenches and helped with the trowelling.
Back in 2011, archaeologists unearthed a Viking chief buried along with a boat, axe, sword and spear on the remote Scots peninsula of Ardnamurchan. The grave, which was found to be 16 feet long, was the first time an intact find of its kind had ever been made on the mainland United Kingdom.
The project in the Lephin are on the Isle of Mull is ongoing as the team strive to learn more about the history of the area. They have a fundraising page and donations can be made here.
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