6000 years of butchery.

These days the Sands of Forvie are a tranquil National Nature Reserve, the latest phase in a long history of human use. These artifacts, picked up in a small area of the dunes this morning, give an idea of just how long that history has been.

The flint flake is probably around six thousand years old and was made by an community of hunter-gatherers and used for cutting. You must roll on 6000 years for the other three objects. During both World Wars, soldiers of the Gordon Highlanders used the dunes as a training ground for artillery and small arms and the other objects date from that time. The twisted lump of bronze is, I think, part of the fuse from an exploded WW1 artillery shell. To its left there is a 9 mm pistol round and to its right a 45 bullet from a Thompson sub-machine gun, both dating from WW2.