World War II camera is used to photograph excavations near an ancient fortress
A camera belonging to a US soldier during World War II was used to record an archaeological dig in Fife.
There is an old fort on East Lomond Hill near Falkland.
Since 2022, archaeologists have been excavating a large Roman Iron Age and Pictish settlement on the southern slopes of the hill.
Terry Sommer, a California student studying in Scotland, documented this summer’s investigations in black-and-white photographs using a 90-year-old camera that once belonged to her grandfather.
“He brought it with him while serving in World War II,” she said.
“He served as a medic in the U.S. Navy and was stationed at a hospital in China.”
Two years ago, Terry came across the Zeiss Ikon Ikonta 521/16 from the 1930s.
The shutter button was jammed, but she was able to get it repaired at a shop in Edinburgh.
She took the camera to the slopes of East Lomond.
“I wanted to document different aspects of the site: the people who work there, the tools, the different types of recording and parts of the site itself,” she said.
The most recent finds included hearths, i.e. fireplaces built for heating, cooking or metalworking.
Terry said, “I was able to photograph my friend and I digging out one of the fire pits.”
The University of Aberdeen has collaborated with the Falkland Stewardship Trust to research the archaeology of East Lomond.
Prof Gordon Noble said the hill was crowned by a spectacular multi-phase fortification with a series of lower defences.
Excavations and a number of previous projects have uncovered an extensive settlement of five acres (2 ha) on the south side of the fort.
Prof Noble said: “The excavations organised by the Trust and carried out by staff, students and local volunteers from the University of Aberdeen have uncovered dozens of hearths from late Roman Iron Age and Pictish dwellings.”
He said there were also areas for metalworking and hundreds of artifacts, including weapons, crucibles, pottery and gaming figures.
He added: “The aim of the research is to shed light on the role of this hill fort during the Roman occupation of southern Britain, as well as the role of the settlement and the fort in the development of the Pictish kingdoms.”
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