The significance of faunal remains including lynx, wolf and wildcat from Loch Borralie Cave, near Burness, N. Scotland

Faunal remains were uncovered in a narrow cave near Durness in northern Scotland in the 1990s during the removal of part of the sedimentary infill to aid exploration. Some of the identified species (lynx, wolf and wildcat) are of national significance. We present radiocarbon dates from lynx and wildcat; the lynx date is the oldest so far recorded from a Scottish site. Human remains were also recovered and dated to the Neolithic period, when burial of at least partial remains in caves was a fairly common phenomenon.