 Although the site had to be excavated quickly because of the threat of coastal erosion owing to bad weather conditions, it yielded many important finds.The site at The Crook Beach, 1 km northeast of Scar, was found in 1985 by John Dearness, a farmer on Sanday.He found bones sticking out of the ground and a small lead object, and thought that he might have discovered the resting place of a dead sailor.