We are pleased to announce the assemblages from our 2023 excavations at the ‘Summerhouse of MacIain’ in Gleann Leac-na-Muidhe have been allocated by the Treasure Trove panel to the Glencoe Folk Museum. This decision will keep these important artefacts, including the Glencoe Hoard, within the landscape they were found in.
The hoard was discovered by student Lucy Ankers in 2023 during a dig by the University of Glasgow in Gleann Leac na Muidhe, Glencoe. The coins were found in a ceramic pot which had been buried beneath the fireplace in the remains of a “summerhouse” traditionally associated with Alasdair Ruadh “MacIain” MacDonald, 12th Chief of the MacDonalds of Glencoe, who was murdered along with some of his clan during the Massacre of Glencoe. The 36 coins range in date from the late 1500s to 1680, and include pieces from the reigns of Elizabeth I, James VI and I, Charles I, the Cromwellian Commonwealth, and Charles II, as well as coins from France, the Spanish Netherlands and the Papal States.
Other material from the summerhouse assemblages include clay tobacco pipes, bottle glass, a hair pin, shoe buckles, and a substantial assemblage of pottery. The ceramics from this site were described by Derek Hall (pottery specialist) as ‘perhaps the richest assemblage of post-medieval pottery from a rural site in Scotland‘.
The Glencoe Folk Museum is currently closed for redevelopment, however when it reopens you will be able to see some of the exciting finds from our excavations on display. Set within traditional 19th century heather-thatched cottages, Glencoe Folk Museum holds an eclectic array of objects celebrating local heritage and providing an insight into the history of the area and its people.
By Edward Stewart
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