The Trepanned Skull - Highland Objects Podcast Seven

In 1903 an excavation at Hillhead Broch, a rather morbid discovery was made: a fragment of a human’s skull. 
This portion of bone – a fragment of the ‘parietal’ section of the skull – was notable for the presence of three drilled holes, which were set out in a roughly triangular shape. It is thought that the skull had been modified ‘post-mortem’. Why?

 

Location: National Museum of Scotland, Chambers St, Edinburgh EH1 1JF