Dog walkers trigger archaeological race to preserve 2,000-year-old footprints in shifting sands

Two locals, Ivor Campbell and Jenny Snedden, were strolling along the beach with their dogs, Ziggy and Juno, when they spotted "distinct markings," the University of Aberdeen said in a recent press release.

"[Campbell] called council archaeologist Bruce Mann who, suspecting both the significance of the discovery and the race against time they faced to capture it - called in expertise from the University of Aberdeen," the statement added.

A team from the university, led by professor Kate Britton, "dashed to the scene" to study the footprints.

They were in such a rush that they picked up Plaster of Paris from a craft store on the way. 

The expert said that three features proved the footprints were ancient, rather than modern: the semi-fossilized nature of the clay, the fact that the clay had not been previously exposed and the way the prints cut into the stratified sediment layers.

Britton said her team was concerned that "very destructive storms and unusually high spring tides could destroy what they had revealed at any time.

"We prioritized getting to the site, equipping ourselves as best we could in a hurry.… We were all very conscious this truly was an archaeological emergency."

"The weather was still so horrendous that we couldn't fly our drone, and it was a battle just to clear the site to properly see the footprints so we could document them."

Britton added, "Working on the site was like being sand-blasted - truly the worst conditions I have ever worked in."  

After three days of work, archaeologists successfully logged what they could. 

Within days, the sea had destroyed the site.

"We visited again the following week, and could see very few of the features remaining - the sea had claimed the site," said Britton.

Britton had experience working on similar sites in England - and stressed that the site "isn't just interesting because it's rare. It provides some fascinating new insights into human life and the environment in this area millennia ago," she said.

Britton said Campbell and Snedden even became "enthusiastic" participants in the fieldwork.

"[They] let us park our vehicles on their land, offered us warm drinks and respite from the cold, and helped out preparing materials and carrying buckets," she said. "They were brilliant."

She urged members of the public to "keep an eye on known sites at risk, but also to report new sites as they emerge before they are lost forever."