WORK on a £1.3 million health centre is to be delayed after an ancient burial cist, containing a cup thought to be more than 4000 years old, was discovered on the site.

Steven Birch, of West Coast Archaeological Services discovered an underground tunnel or corridor, known as a souterrain, a burial cist and a cairn while he was monitoring clearance of the site in Broadford, on Skye.

The discovery of the remains on the site, which was not previously of archaeological interest, will delay the building project by about two weeks while further excavation work is carried out.

Mr Birch said: “There is a surprising range of important archaeological features within such a small area on the site.

“Not only did we uncover the remains of an intriguing cairn-like structure, but there were numerous other features, including a grain-drying kiln, an underground stone-lined passage and a burial cist containing a ceramic Beaker vessel.

“The site is currently being excavated by a team of Highland-based archaeologists and the investigation is revealing exciting new discoveries, which will add to the corpus of known archaeological sites on Skye.”

He said no human remains had been found in the cist, possibly due to the acidity of the soil. However, material has been taken away for chemical analysis to test for the presence of degraded human remains and organic grave goods.

Mr Birch said the souterrain discovered on the site could date to the Iron Age, around 600BC to AD500. He added: “These enigmatic stone or timber-built underground passages may have been used for storage and shelter or even as shrines. There are many good examples on Skye, such as that at Kilvaxter on the Trotternish peninsula.”

Dr Alison Sheridan, head of early prehistory at National Museums Scotland, said the beaker vessel was an example of a type of pottery that has its roots in continental Europe, and was almost certainly introduced to Scotland by a small number of immigrants in the 25th century BC.

She said: “Beaker pottery is most commonly found in graves, where the pots would have contained food or drink for the deceased to take to the afterworld.”

The health centre is being built next to the Dr MacKinnon Memorial Hospital to replace the building currently used by Broadford Medical Practice.

It will serve people living in Broadford and Strath and in the Kyleakin and Kylehrea communities.

The project is still due to be completed by the end of March next year.