Iron Age cists of dry-stone coursed masonry are known in East Lothian (with a particular concentration around Dunbar), Berwickshire and Roxburghshire, and in some other parts of Scotland (Halliday and Ritchie 1982; Crone 1992). Some are corbelled (for example North Belton and Kelloe Mains).
In July 1923, an Early Iron Age grave was uncovered at Burnmouth, Berwickshire, revealing a remarkably well-preserved burial (Craw 1924). The grave, situated near a quarry and constructed with small boulders and sandstone slabs, contained the skeleton of a man estimated to be around 35 years old tall. The body was laid on its right side with knees slightly flexed and hands positioned near the chest. Notably, between the hands and the skull were several grave goods including an iron knife and two bronze spoons. The bronze spoons are of particular importance being part of a broader class of pre-Roman Iron Age artifacts found across Britain, Ireland, and France, typically in pairs with similar distinguishing features. Their purpose remains speculative, though the perforation may suggest use as a strainer. The Eucharistic theory has been dismissed due to their pre-Christian origin. The Burnmouth spoons are considered modest in decoration and execution compared to their southern counterparts. The skeleton has recently been radiocarbon dated to 210-0BC, which is consistent with the date of the spoons.
In 1964, an unusual cist was discovered at Kelloe Mains, Berwickshire during ploughing. The cist contained a poorly preserved crouched inhumation without any associated grave goods. The Kelloe Mains cist was distinctive in its construction. Unlike typical cists made from large upright slabs, this one was built using small stones arranged in a corbelled fashion. All four walls were corbelled from floor to capstone.
Burial 3 from Winton House was a cist built of at least two courses of flat stones, which formed a chamber. In addition to the recent damage, the burial had been disturbed in antiquity and only an incomplete skull and bones from the left arm and leg were retrieved from the base of the cist, the remains of a 30–40 years old female. There was no dating evidence (Dalland 1991).
A cist and a series of ditches were discovered during a watching brief on groundworks at Dunbar Golf Course, East Lothian. The cist contained the remains of a child of approximately three years of age, which yielded a radiocarbon date of AD 75–242. The cist was constructed with dry-stone masonry and lined with local sandstone. The child was buried face down in a flexed position, with a copper alloy penannular brooch placed near the ribcage. This brooch, unusually small and likely locally produced, suggests Roman Iron Age influence but is not necessarily a Roman import.
Analysis of the child’s bones revealed signs of nutritional stress, including cribra orbitalia and enamel hypoplasia, likely linked to iron-deficiency anaemia and weaning. The brooch’s small size and placement suggest it may have been a child-specific item, possibly reused or repurposed. The burial fits within a broader pattern of Iron Age burials in East Lothian, where grave goods are rare and typically include ornaments like brooches. This site contributes to the limited corpus of Iron Age child burials with grave goods in Scotland and highlights the complexity of burial practices, including the reuse of burial spaces and the symbolic role of personal ornaments.