Rare remains of plants have been found on Bronze Age jewellery uncovered in the Highlands.

Archaeologists said the fibrous cords used to knot together bracelets had survived for about 3,000 years.

The ancient hoard, which appears to have been carefully buried, was found at a building site in Rosemarkie on the Black Isle where a Bronze Age village once stood.

It contained nine bronze bracelets and necklaces buried sometime around 1000 BC.

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Rachel Buckley, who led the work, said: “While there are other examples of hoards where it has been postulated that items were bound together due to their positioning, the vegetation in the Rosemarkie hoard has survived for approximately 3,000 years, proving that these artefacts were held together.”

Archaeologists said the finds would help to improve knowledge of the lives, beliefs and deaths of Bronze Age people in the Highlands.