'Rosemarkie Man' discovery inspires new snack
A REMARKABLE archaeological discovery at Rosemarkie Beach has been marked in a novel new way.
The skeletal remains of man who was brutally slain more than 1400 years ago were uncovered in a cave at Rosemarkie during an archaeological dig.
The find, named "Rosemarkie Man", attracted widespread interest.
But now Rosemarkie Beach Cafe has produced its own Rosemarkie Man Mega Sandwich to celebrate the archaeological discovery.
It comprises a triple-decker sandwich of three layers of bread stuffed with locally sourced bacon, sausage and tomato.
Philip Eley, who manages the beach cafe on behalf of Rosemarkie Amenities Association, came up with the idea along with his partner Verity Walker.
He explained: "We were looking for something to celebrate the discovery of Rosemarkie Man and decided it had to be something big, because he was a big chap. If he was about today he’d be looking for something substantial to eat so we struck on the idea of doing a huge doorstep sandwich.
"We’re just a small beach cafe and it’s only May but I’ve done about 30 this week. They’re going down a treat.
"The discovery of Rosemarkie Man has put the village and the beach in the spotlight again and people are coming to visit.
"We also do a large bap called the Tubbuck with haggis, bacon and tomato which is named after the largest rock on Rosemarkie Beach.
"We try and them our main products to what we have on the beach."
A team from the Rosemarkie Caves Project found the skeleton of a man buried in a recess of one of the caves on the beach, covered in a layer of sand and with large boulders weighing down his limbs.
Radiocarbon dating indicates that he died sometime between 430 and 630 Ad, commonly referred to as the Pictish period of Scotland.
