A quiet stroll with their dogs along a windswept Scottish beach turned into one of the most exciting archaeological moments of the year. Ivor Campbell and Jenny Snedden from Angus discovered ancient human and animal footprints preserved in clay for two millennia, suddenly exposed after fierce winter storms battered Lunan Bay.
The rare prints date to the Iron Age, right around the time Romans pushed into Scotland, and archaeologists had just hours to record them before the North Sea claimed them forever.
How a Storm Rewrote History in a Single Tide
Powerful storms in early 2025 hammered the east coast of Scotland. Huge waves and 55-mile-per-hour winds stripped away layers of sand at Lunan Bay, revealing dark clay underneath.
That is when Campbell and Snedden, walking their border terriers Ziggy and Juno, spotted the markings.
“At first we thought they were just dog prints from someone else on the beach,” Campbell told local reporters. “Then we realized there were no modern prints around them at all. They looked ancient.”
The couple immediately contacted Bruce Mann, the council archaeologist for Aberdeenshire and Angus. Mann arrived within hours and knew right away this was special.
Archaeologists Battle Wind and Waves to Save the Evidence
University of Aberdeen researchers rushed to the remote beach. They faced brutal conditions to document the site before the next high tide.
“We had to work fast in the worst conditions I’ve ever encountered for archaeological fieldwork,” said Professor Kate Britton, who led the emergency recording.
The team was literally being sandblasted while the sea ripped away chunks of the site with every wave.
Working on their knees in freezing wind, the archaeologists used brushes, cameras, and 3D photogrammetry to capture every detail. They recorded dozens of human footprints, some clearly made by children, plus hoof prints from deer and what appear to be dog tracks.
One especially clear print shows a barefoot adult walking toward the ancient shoreline. Another set reveals a child running alongside what might have been a family dog 2,000 years ago.
A Window Into Life When Romans Marched North
The footprints date to between 100 BCE and 100 CE, exactly the period when Roman legions under Agricola invaded Scotland.
This part of Angus sits near known Iron Age settlements and Roman marching camps. The prints likely belong to local Pictish or Caledonian families going about daily life, hunting, fishing, or gathering shellfish as Roman forces moved through the area.
“These are real people walking on their beach two thousand years ago,” Britton said. “You can almost feel the moment. A family out for the day, kids running ahead, dogs bounding along. Then the sand covered their steps, and the sea kept their secret until last month.”
The animal tracks are just as important. Deer prints suggest people were hunting or herding in the area. Possible ancient dog prints show domestic dogs were already companions to Iron Age families in Scotland.
Why Fleeting Discoveries Like This Matter More Than Ever
Coastal erosion caused by stronger storms is destroying archaeological sites across Britain. Yet the same forces sometimes reveal treasures hidden for millennia.
Lunan Bay has produced finds before. Bronze Age pottery and Iron Age structures have washed up over the years. But complete footprint tracks are extremely rare in Scotland.
Only a handful of similar sites exist in the UK, most famously the Mesolithic footprints at Formby near Liverpool.
The Lunan Bay discovery adds hard evidence that people lived, worked, and played along this coastline during one of the most dramatic periods in Scottish history, when local tribes faced the might of Rome.
Every print that survived long enough to be recorded tells a human story that almost vanished forever.
Campbell and Snedden say they will never walk that beach the same way again.
“Now every time the dogs pull us down to Lunan Bay after a storm, we scan the sands,” Snedden said. “You never know what the sea is going to give back next.”
The footprints themselves are gone, swept away within days. But the images, measurements, and casts taken by the Aberdeen team will let researchers study these ancient beachgoers for years to come.
One ordinary dog walk reminded us all that history is still under our feet, waiting for the right storm to bring it back to life.
What do you think when you imagine a family walking that same beach 2,000 years ago? Drop your thoughts in the comments below, and if you’re sharing this story, use #LunanBayFootprints so we can all follow the conversation.
