The historic site around St Colman’s church, Portmahomack, in Ross-shire, was excavated between 1994 and 2007 by the Tarbat discovery programme. Now known internationally as the first Pictish monastery to be excavated, the results of excavations also found a wealth of evidence relating to medieval Portmahomack. Excavation of the interior of St Colman’s church in 1997 in advance of its conversion into the Tarbat Discovery Centre, revealed 88 burials dating from the 13th to 16th centuries, while the remains of a smithy were found in the field adjacent. The Tarbat Discovery Centre was opened in 1999 by HRH the duke of Rothesay, and has since become an award-winning museum which continues to present the results of the excavation to a wide audience twenty years on.
The Tarbat medieval burials project is a collaborative project involving specialists in archaeological science who are analysing five male burials thought to date to the 15th century. The project, supported by grants from Historic Environment Scotland and the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, includes facial reconstruction, radiocarbon dating, stable isotope analysis to understand diet and origin, and ancient DNA analysis to understand genetic heritage and explore possible familial relationships.
The five burials include a unique ‘six-headed burial’ belonging to two men, one of whom died violently by the sword, and both of whom were accompanied by four extra skulls. This burial is thought to be contemporary with an iron-working smithy which was at work in the field next to St Colman’s church in the 15th century. The smithy was involved in the upkeep and production of bladed weapons, probably swords and other arms. The face of one of the men in the sixheaded grave has been reconstructed by specialists at the FaceLab, Liverpool John Moores University. Another burial in the group belonged to a man who had been buried in a wooden coffin wearing clothes. The remains of both his leather ankle boots and woollen leg hose were preserved; they represent a very rare survival and are the only known surviving example from the medieval period.