In 2011, archaeological excavations at Rhynie, near the site of the "Rhynie Man", dug up a fortified settlement. It dates to the early medieval period. Among the finds at the site were fragments of a late 5th or 6th century Roman amphora. It is the only known example of a Roman amphora from Eastern Britain that dates to the post-Roman period. This must have been imported from the Mediterranean region. It means that the inhabitants of the settlement must have been of high status. Archaeologists have said that the settlement may have been a royal family site where Pictish kings lived.