SIGNS of life dating back to the Mesolithic period have been found on a country estate in Dumfries and Galloway.

A tiny burnt hazelnut shell found by volunteers on an archaeological dig at the National Trust for ­Scotland’s Threave Garden and Estate has been dated to between 8547 and 8312 BC.

The Galloway Glens community archaeology project Can You Dig It found the shell during a dig in 2019 at Little Wood Hill, which dates back to the Iron Age.

Since then, some of the carbonised material recovered has been sent away for radiocarbon dating at the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC).

A sample recovered by the ­volunteers from the end of the ditch, where it marked the eastern side of an entranceway, has now been dated to between AD 75 to 214 – firmly within the Iron Age, while the hazelnut was dated to the Mesolithic period.

Derek Alexander, head of ­archaeology for the National Trust for Scotland, (NTS), said: “Over the years we have gradually built up an understanding of past human activity at Threave throughout prehistory and history.

“This radiocarbon date for ­Mesolithic activity is really exciting, as it is the first evidence we have from this time and is the earliest date ­recovered at Threave so far.”

Traces of human habitation within Scotland go back to around 12,000 BC, within the Upper Palaeolithic, but a period known as the “Loch Lomond Stadial” saw a dramatic ­climatic downturn in Scotland around 10,900 BC.

This abrupt return to severe cold conditions caused the return of ­glaciers and is considered likely to have caused a complete depopulation of Scotland during this time. By around 9700 BC however, the glaciers and ice-sheets had receded and ­human life began to return to ­Scotland.

Experts said it is possible that the people who burnt this nutshell at Threave could have been among the first to re-populate the country.

Claire Williamson of Rathmell ­Archaeology, who is delivering Can You Dig It for Galloway Glens, said: “The results from these two dates continue to add to the surprises that have already come from this little-known site.

“Having the Iron Age date of the enclosure confirmed was what we were hoping for, but to also have this small indication of Mesolithic life on the estate is amazing.

“This could not have been ­possible without the hard work of the ­volunteers, whose enthusiasm for the archaeology never faltered.

“It’s great to see how, even at this stage, the results of their hard work continue to add to our archaeological knowledge of the area.”