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Timeline of prehistoric Scotland

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The ruins of a stone building set on a grassy knoll with blue skies above. The building is circular in outline and all that remains of the structure are the double-skinned walls that rise to two stories in places.
The ruins of Dun Carloway Iron Age broch

This timeline of prehistoric Scotland is a chronologically ordered list of important archaeological sites in Scotland and of major events affecting Scotland's human inhabitants and culture during the prehistoric period. The period of prehistory prior to occupation by the genus Homo is part of the geology of Scotland. Prehistory in Scotland ends with the arrival of the Romans in southern Scotland in the 1st century AD and the beginning of written records.[1] The archaeological sites and events listed are the earliest examples or among the most notable of their type.

No traces have yet been found of either a Neanderthal presence or of Homo sapiens during the Pleistocene interglacials, the first indications of humans in Scotland occurring only after the ice retreated in the 11th millennium BC. Since that time, the landscape of Scotland has been altered dramatically by both human and natural forces.[2] Initially, sea levels were lower than at present due to the large volume of ice that remained. This meant that the Orkney archipelago and many of the Inner Hebridean islands were attached to the mainland, as was the present-day island of Great Britain to Continental Europe. Much of the present-day North Sea was also dry land until after 4000 BC. Dogger Bank, for example was part of a large peninsula connected to the European continent. This would have made travel to western and northern Scotland relatively easy for early human settlers. The subsequent isostatic rise of land makes estimating post-glacial coastlines a complex task and there are numerous raised beaches around Scotland's coastline.[3][4]

Many of the sites are located in the Highlands and Islands. This may be because of the relatively sparse modern populations and consequent lack of disturbance. Much of the area also has a thick covering of peat that preserves stone fragments, although the associated acidic conditions tend to dissolve organic materials.[5] There are also numerous important remains in the Orkney archipelago, where sand and arable land predominate.[6] Local tradition hints at both a fear and veneration of these ancient structures that may have helped to preserve their integrity.[7]

Differentiating the various periods of human history involved is a complex task. The Paleolithic lasted until the retreat of the ice, the Mesolithic until the adoption of farming and the Neolithic until metalworking commenced.[8] These events may have begun at different times in different parts of the country. A number of the sites span very long periods of time and in particular, the distinctions between the Neolithic and the later periods are not clear cut.[9]

Timeline

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Key to predominant "Type":

Letter Type Description
(B) Bone Human or animal material including bone, teeth and shells examined using zooarchaeological techniques.
(E) Environmental Natural occurrences including geological and climatic events.
(F) Building foundations Disturbed ground, timber remains or worked stone.
(M) Metal Metals worked by humans into tools, jewellery etc.
(O) Organic material Biofacts – the dead material of once-living organisms.
(P) Pottery Usually shards of broken pot – complete artefacts only rarely.
(S) Stone Stone tools, stone used as a building material, standing stones, or natural stone features.

Citations in the Type box refer to the information in the entire row.

Palaeolithic

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The whole of Scotland was covered in ice sheets during the coldest periods of the Quaternary glaciation[10] and most of Scotland remained glaciated when the cave paintings of Lascaux in France were created, c. 14,000 BC.[11] Humans began to populate Scotland during the current Flandrian interglacial but settlement began much later than in southern Europe due to the adverse climatic conditions further north. So far, a single site has produced the only definite evidence of Upper Paleolithic human habitation in Scotland.

Date (BC) Location Details Type
12,000 Biggar Flint artefacts found at Howburn Farm, near Elsrickle in 2005 but not dated until 2009. (S)[12][13]
c. 10,000 Islay Stone implements of the Ahrensburgian culture found at Rubha Port an t-Seilich near Port Askaig by foraging pigs in 2015 near a Mesolithic site. Probably a summer camp used by hunters travelling round the coast in boats. (S)[14][15]

Mesolithic

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A small sandy beach lies beyond a grassy foreshore. In the distance, the outline of a range of brown and grey hills is visible under cloudy skies.
A beach on Oronsay, looking towards Jura. Both islands have produced evidence of Mesolithic human settlement.
A sandy bay at left and an area of rough grassland at right lie next to a body of water in the middle distance. High hills under white clouds line the horizon.
Sand Bay and the Inner Sound. The rock-shelter at Sand is an important Mesolithic site.
A view from an elevation above cultivated fields and a mixed wood of conifers and deciduous trees. Various indistinct buildings are visible among these trees. The brown ridge of a hill in the background has conifers growing on its lower slopes.
Kinloch at the head of Loch Scresort, Rùm. This area has provided two early Mesolithic sites.

The Mesolithic period in Scotland is characterised by rich assemblages of lithic artefacts that indicate the presence of hunter-gatherer communities, most commonly identified by a narrow blade technology and its characteristic microliths. Most common raw material is flint beach pebbles, however, a variety of other types of geology, usually from local sources, is represented. Although stone tools and their production waste represent the vast majority of archaeological evidence form this period, Mesolithic material culture would have been dominated by organic materials (plant and animal materials) that require anaerobic preservation conditions to prevent decomposition (i.e. permafrost, peat bogs, etc.). Organic artefacts cannot survive in acidic soils of Scotland. However, Mesolithic bone artefacts have been found, surviving due to favourable preservation conditions – most are associated with the Obanian tradition. Other common organic finds are shell middens, including mollusc and fish bones, and charred remains, including hearths and hazelnut shells that can provide radiocarbon dates. Most prolific Mesolithic sites are discovered in coastal landscapes, however, this may be a result of research and recovery bias. No Mesolithic burial sites have been uncovered in Scotland to date.[16] However, human remains have been discovered in the Oronsay middens. Additionally, a handful of Mesolithic dwelling sites have been discovered.

Date (BC) Location Details Type
10,800 Islay A flint arrowhead that was found in a field near Bridgend. This may relate to the end of the Allerød, a relatively warm period that lasted from c. 12,000 to 11,000 BC. This is the only find in Scotland to date from this early part of the Mesolithic. (S)[17][18]
11,000–9640 Scotland-wide The Loch Lomond Stadial cold period. No evidence has been found yet of human activity in Scotland during this time.[19] (E)[18]
8500 Cramond The remains of a temporary camp that has provided more than 3,000 artefacts, including about 300 stone tools and fragments. (O, S)[20][21]
8240 South Queensferry The outline of Scotland's "oldest house" is an oval about 7 metres (23 ft) across discovered in 2012. It was probably occupied during the winter months. (O, F, S)[22]
8000 Aberdeenshire Possibly the world's oldest calendar, discovered at Warren Field in 2004 from aerial photographs. F)[23]
7700–7500 Rùm Burnt hazelnut shells and microscopic charcoal found at Farm Fields, Kinloch indicate a settlement of some kind. This was considered to be the oldest evidence of occupation in Scotland until the confirmation of the Cramond site in 2001. (O)[24][25][26]
7500 and 5500 Applecross A shell midden and rock-shelter at Sand in Wester Ross. The Inner Sound and its environs surrounding the island of Raasay are the focus of investigations researching Scotland's early Mesolithic settlers. The two dates for Sand suggest an intermediary period of abandonment. (B, S)[27][28]
6700 Colonsay A midden pit containing hundreds of thousands of charred hazelnut shells, all harvested in the same year, on a raised beach at Staosnaig. Nearby, smaller pits were used for roasting. (O)[29]
6500 Skye A rock shelter and midden site at An Corran in Staffin, probably related to Sand. (O, S)[28][30]
6500 Islay Stone artefacts including 250,000 flints at Bolsay. (S)[29]
6500–5500 Rùm A beach site above Loch Scresort with stakeholes suggesting tent-like structures. (F, O)[31]
6000 Jura Three stone hearths and traces of red ochre, which are the earliest dated stone-built structures found so far. (S)[32][33]
6000 Coastal inundations The Storegga Slides created a tsunami that reached 25 metres (82 feet) above normal high tides. Evidence of widespread coastal inundations has been found, especially in the north and east. (E)[34]
5300–4300 Oronsay Five middens containing huge quantities of seashells, with some fish bones, antler and human remains. The middens appear to have been filled according to a seasonal rhythm. (B)[35]

Neolithic

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A small area of gravel is enclosed by a stone wall built into the surrounding grassy fields. Various large stones sit inside this enclosure and a low doorway has been constructed at the far end. Beyond the doorway, there is a rocky foreshore and a body of water.
Knap of Howar. The site contains what is probably the oldest preserved house in northern Europe.
A jumble of stone walls, larger stones set into the ground and surrounding grassy areas. Various human figures wander past in the background.
Skara Brae in Orkney is Europe's most complete Neolithic village.
Three tall thin monoliths sit in a grassy field under blue skies with two bodies of water beyond at right and left.
The Standing Stones of Stenness, Orkney
A confused arrangement of individual monoliths of various sizes set in rough ground under cloudy skies.
Callanish Stones – one of the finest stone circles in Scotland
A small round hill lies beyond a field of tall grasses. The hill is also grass covered. A small entrance way to a passage into the hill is just visible at centre and a small human figure stands on top of the elevation.
Maeshowe chambered cairn, Orkney
Various stone-lined depressions have been cut into a sward-covered area near a body of water. Some depressions are small and circular. A larger one in the foreground is semi-circular and contains various arranged piles of stones.
Jarlshof, Shetland, re-discovered in the late nineteenth century
A small, brown conical structure sits on top of wooden piers set into a body of water. Ducks paddle through the water and in the near background there is a tree-lined shore with a white square tower showing amongst the trees. Tree covered hills and grey skies dominate the far background.
Reconstructed crannog on Loch Tay

Scotland's Neolithic discoveries portray a radical departure from the earlier hunter-gatherer societies. During this period, complex societies evolve that are capable of creating substantial structures. Development is by no means linear and architectural advances are often followed by periods of stagnation and even reversal. The Balbridie site, for example, is matched by only two others so far discovered in Scotland at Kelso and in the Forth Valley and they are quite dissimilar from both anything found earlier and the monumental stone structures found later. No timber buildings of a similar size were re-created until the Saxon invasions some four millennia later.[36] The great Orcadian Neolithic monuments were constructed contemporaneously with the emergence of the Ancient Egyptian culture, more than 500 years before the building of the Great Pyramid of Giza and almost a millennium before the sarsen stones of Stonehenge were erected.

Date (BC) Location Details Type
3900–3200 Aberdeenshire Balbridie timber hall. This structure is 26 metres long and 13 metres wide (85 ft by 43 ft) and may have had a roof 10 metres (33 feet) high. It was large enough to accommodate up to 50 people. Braeroddach Loch nearby provides the earliest evidence for pastoralism found so far, dated to 3780. (F, O)[36][37]
3700–2800 Papa Westray Knap of Howar Neolithic farmstead, probably the oldest preserved house in northern Europe, in which Unstan pottery pieces were found. The structure was inhabited for 900 years. (P, S)[38]
3600 Meikleour Cleaven Dyke cursus, a structure that is unique in a Scottish context, and Herald Hill long barrow. (S)[39][40]
3500–2500 West Lothian Excavations at Cairnpapple Hill have unearthed pottery bowls and stone axe heads that indicate rituals in the early period of occupation. A major henge was constructed a millennium later. (See also Bronze Age below.) (P, S)[41]
3500–2000 Orkney A site excavated at Ness of Brodgar from 2003 near Loch of Harray has provided evidence of housing, decorated stone slabs, a massive stone wall with foundations 4 metres (13 ft) wide, and a large building 25 metres (82 ft) long and 20 metres (66 ft) wide described as a Neolithic "cathedral". (P, S)[42][43]
3400 Shetland The Scord of Brouster site in Walls includes a cluster of six or seven walled fields and three stone circular houses that contains the earliest hoe-blades found so far in Scotland. (S)[44]
3200–2800 North Uist Eilean Dòmhnuill in Loch Olabhat may be Scotland's earliest crannog. The final phase bears a resemblance to Knap of Howar. (P, S)[45][46]
3200–2950 Orkney The Barnhouse Settlement, another cluster of buildings including one that may have been used for communal gatherings. (S)[47]
3100–2500 Orkney Skara Brae consists of ten clustered houses and is Northern Europe's most complete Neolithic village. (O, S)[48][49]
3150 South Ronaldsay The Tomb of the Eagles where 16,000 human bones were found, as well as 725 bird bones, predominantly white-tailed sea eagle. This chambered tomb was in use for 800 years or more, and is considered by archaeologists to be one of the finest of its kind in the north of Scotland. (B, S)[50][51]
3100 Orkney The Stones of Stenness are four remaining megaliths of a henge, the largest of which is 5 metres (16 feet) high. (S)[52][53]
3000 Argyll Kilmartin Glen contains 350 Neolithic and Bronze Age relics within a 10-kilometre (6.2 mi) radius, including Dunadd hill fort. (S)[54]
3000? Hirta Shards of pottery of the Hebridean Ware style and a quarry for stone tools discovered on the hillside of Mullach Sgar. Stone hoe-blades, grinders and Skaill knives[55] found in the Village Bay bee-hive shaped storage cleitean. Uncertain date between 3500 and 1500 BC. (P, S)[56]
3000–2500 Westray At Links of Noltland a lozenge-shaped figurine was discovered in 2009, which may have been carved between 3000 and 2500 BC and is the earliest representation of a human face ever found in Scotland. Known as the Westray Wife, the face has two dots for eyes, heavy brows and an oblong nose and a pattern of hatches on the body could represent clothing. (S)[57]
2900–2600 Lewis The Callanish Stones are one of the finest stone circles in Scotland. The 13 primary monoliths of between one and five metres in height form a circle about 13 metres in diameter. (S)[58][59][60]
2700 Orkney Maeshowe, a large and unique chambered cairn and passage grave, aligned so that its central chamber is illuminated on the winter solstice. It was looted by Vikings who left one of the largest collection of runic inscriptions in the world. (S)[61]
2500 Shetland Jarlshof is the best known archaeological site in Shetland. The earliest finds are pottery from this era, although the main settlement dates from the Bronze Age (see below). A site nearby has been dated to 3200 BC. (P)[62]
2500 Orkney Ring of Brodgar, a stone circle 104 metres in diameter, originally composed of 60 stones set within a circular ditch up to 3 metres deep and 10 metres wide. It has been estimated that the structure took 80,000 man-hours to construct. (S)[63]
2500? Hoy The Dwarfie Stane tomb, made from a single huge block of red sandstone with a hollowed-out central chamber. This style is quite unlike any other Neolithic Orkney site. (S)[64]
2460 Rùm The earliest evidence of tree clearance and of arable cultivation recovered from a peat core taken near Kinloch. (O)[37]

Bronze and Iron Ages

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A small cluster of houses sit among trees at the base of a tall bare hill in the background.
Eildon Hill – a triple peak and hill fort
Three elaborate gold coloured torcs lie on dark red surfaces. A fourth torc is in two pieces.
The four torcs in the Stirling hoard

From the commencement of the Bronze Age to about 2000 BC, the archaeological record shows a decline in the number of large new stone buildings constructed. Pollen analyses suggest that at this time woodland increased at the expense of the area under cultivation. In Orkney, burials were now being made in small cists well away from the great megalithic sites and a new Beaker culture began to dominate. Bronze and Iron Age metalworking was slowly introduced to Scotland from Europe over a lengthy period. (By contrast, the Neolithic monumental culture spread south from northern Scotland into England.) As the Bronze Age developed, Scotland's population grew to perhaps 300,000 in the second millennium BC.[65][66] There were evidently significant differences between the lifestyles of Bronze Age peoples inhabiting Scotland. For example, finds at the Traprain Law site (near modern Edinburgh) suggest that the priests there may have overseen ceremonies on a par with their contemporaries on mainland Europe. On the other hand, although the mummifications found at Cladh Hallan in the Western Isles invite comparisons with Egypt, the simple lifestyle of the inhabitants of this settlement contrasts with that of Tutankamun.

During the 1st millennium BC as the Iron Age emerged from the preceding Bronze Age, it becomes legitimate to talk of a Celtic culture in Scotland,[67][68][69] although the nature of the resident Pictish civilisation and their immediate predecessors remains enigmatic. The Stirling hoard was found by a metal detectorist in September 2009. It has been described as the most significant discovery of Iron Age metalwork in Scotland and is said to be of international significance.[70]

Date (BC) Location Details Type
2250–1950 Sutherland The Migdale Hoard is an early Bronze Age find at Skibo Castle that includes two bronze axes, several pairs of armlets and anklets, a necklace of forty bronze beads, ear pendants and bosses of bronze and jet buttons. (M)[71][72]
2000 West Lothian Further to Neolithic developments at Cairnpapple Hill (see above) finds from later dates include Beaker style pottery from 2000 BC, burial cists and graves from the Iron Age or possibly the Christian era. (P, S)[41]
2000 Forteviot A Bronze Age tomb with burial treasures including the remains of an Early Bronze Age ruler laid out on white quartz pebbles and birch bark, with possessions including a bronze and gold dagger, a wooden bowl and a leather bag. (M, S)[73]
2000 Nairn The Clava cairns of Balnuaran are three substantial circular chamber tombs surrounded by a "kerb" ring of boulders. They are the best examples of a group of 45 such cairns found in Inverness-shire. (S)[74]
2000 Inverness A burial cist at Culduthel provided barbed arrowheads and an archer's wristguard studded with gold rivets. (M, S)[75]
2000 Argyll Rock art found in the Achnabreac forest near Lochgilphead includes some of the largest ring marks in Britain. It is likely that the site is connected with nearby Kilmartin Glen, suggesting a millennium-long use of the latter. (S)[76]
1600–1100 South Uist Cladh Hallan, the only site in the UK where prehistoric mummies have been found. (O, S)[77][78]
1500? – 200 Aberdeenshire Bennachie, a prominent hill with Bronze and Iron Age remains, including a 20-metre (66-foot) diameter roundhouse. (S)[79]
1500 BC – 150 AD East Lothian Traprain Law, a hill fort and burial site that covered up to 16 hectares (40 acres) and was a seat of Votadini power. (M, S)[80]
1255 Forth Valley A tripartite wooden disc-wheel found at Blair Drummond Moss are the earliest evidence for wheeled transport in Britain. (O)[81]
1159± Iceland An eruption of the Hekla volcano caused a significant deterioration in growing conditions and may have halved the Bronze Age population. Production of tools declined thereafter but weapons were made in greater numbers, suggesting a period of considerable unrest. (E)[82]
1000 Melrose The fort on the summit of Eildon Hill has 5 km (3.1 mi) of ramparts and could have had an occasional population of 3000 to 6000. (O)[83]
1st millennium BC Skye The remains of Dun Ringill fort are similar in layout to that of both a broch and a complex Atlantic roundhouse. (S)[84]
800 BC onwards Shetland The main settlement of Jarlshof includes a smithy, a cluster of wheelhouses and a later broch. The site was inhabited until Viking times. (P, S)[85][86]
800 Perthshire A hoard of bronze objects found in a peat bog at Corrymuckloch including three axeheads a sword blade and a large ladle. The ladle is unique in a British context. (M)[87]
700–500 Argyll The "Ballachulish Goddess" or Ballachulish figure – a life-sized female figure in alder (thought to be oak at the time of discovery) with quartz pebbles for eyes found under a wicker structure beneath peat at Ballachulish. The high standard of preservation suggests it was deliberately submerged. (O)[88]
600? Ross-shire Dun an Ruigh Ruaidh on the south west shore of Loch Broom is an early example of a complex Atlantic roundhouse from which the later brochs may have developed. (S)[89]
400 Edinburgh A chariot burial found at Newbridge in 2001, the first such find in Scotland. (M)[90]
300 Skye The remains of the bridge of a lyre found at High Pasture Cave. This small burnt and broken piece is the earliest find of a stringed instrument in western Europe. (W)[91]
200 Kirkcudbright The Torrs Pony-cap and Horns, three enigmatic pieces of bronzework, all with sophisticated decoration in Celtic (Insular La Tène) style, from about 200 BC. (M)[92][93]
100? Mousa Broch of Mousa built during the final period of broch building, it stands some 13 m (43 ft) high and is the finest extant example of these structures, which are unique to the north and west of Scotland. Dun Carloway broch on Lewis is also well preserved and dates from a similar period. (S)[85][94][95]
100 Stirling The Stirling hoard, consisting of four gold torcs, a type of necklace, all of which were manufactured between 300 BC and 100 BC. They were evidently buried deliberately at some point in antiquity. (M)[70]

Sites of uncertain date

[edit]
Steep stones steps lead down to a dark and narrow entrance cut into the side of a grassy hill. Dark wooden railings have been placed either side of the steps.
Burghead chambered well
The entrances to several small caves sit at the base of a rock cliff. Below the entrances the slope is grass-covered and braided with small paths.
Inchnadamph Caves
A black and white drawing of a complex structure resembling a sphere with several elaborately decorated part-spheres stuck to its surface. The decorations include sworls, circular shapes and wavy lines.
An example of a carved stone ball from Towie in Aberdeenshire, dated from 3200 to 2500 BC.[96]

Various sites of importance are as yet undated and difficult to place in the timeline. Others contain items from many different periods whose story has not yet been unraveled or items where the time period and location cannot be easily reconciled. The Hirta and Burghead items may date from the Dark Ages some four centuries or more after the appearance of the Romans and the commencement of the historic era.

Location Details Type
North Sea A flint scraper, found in a marine core taken from the sea bed between Norway and Shetland. The area would have been above sea level between 16,000 and 8000 BC, but the tool might also have been lost overboard at a later date. (M, O, S)[97]
Assynt Discoveries in the Inchnadamph caves suggest human predation on lynx, brown bear, Arctic fox and reindeer. There is some evidence that the site may go as far back as the late Paleolithic era, although carbon dating analysis provides an estimate of 6000 BC. (M, O, S)[98][99]
Moray Diverse ancient artefacts from various periods were so commonly found in the Culbin Sands between Forres and Nairn that in the late 19th century "searching for arrows" was a well-known local pastime. 29,500 items are held by the National Museum of Scotland but many thousands more have been lost. (M, O, S)[100]
Fetlar Funzie Girt dyke is a wall, probably originally a boundary marker of some kind, that runs north–south across the island. Date unknown, but probably Neolithic. The division of the island by the dyke was so marked that the Norse seemed to treat Fetlar as two distinct islands. (S)[101][102]
Aberdeenshire Petrospheres called "carved stone balls" of uncertain date, also found on Orkney, Skye, Iona and Lewis. The Aberdeenshire finds coincide with unusual "recumbent" stone circles, suggesting a Neolithic provenance. (S)[103][104]
Hirta "Horned structures"[105] in Gleann Mòr including the "Amazon's House". Nothing like them exists anywhere else in Britain or Europe, and their original use is unknown. It is possible they are Pictish and date from 400 to 900 AD, although they may be older. (S)[106][107]
Moray The chambered well at Burghead was discovered in 1809. This underground structure is unique in a Scottish context and is probably of Dark Age origin, although it may be older. (S)[108]

See also

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References and footnotes

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Footnotes
  1. ^ Moffat 2005, pp. 225–53, Chapter 7: Caledonia. Petilius Cerilais first led the legions into Scotland between AD 71 and 74. Large parts of Scotland were never held by Rome and Moffat states: "The Romans left us nothing of any enduring cultural value. Their presence was brief, intermittent and not influential."
  2. ^ Edwards, Kevin J and Ralston, Ian B.M. "Environment and People in Prehistoric and Early Historical Times: Preliminary Considerations" in Edwards & Ralston 2003, p.  1.
  3. ^ Murray 1973, p. 69.
  4. ^ Moffat 2005, pp. 46–50.
  5. ^ Peat forms when plant material is inhibited from decaying fully by acidic and anaerobic conditions, often in waterlogged conditions. Much of Scotland's soil cover is either peat, or acidic or both. This results in a lack of finds of bone, jewellery and other household items. See for example Wickham-Jones 2007, p. 25; Moffat 2005, pp. 81, 152; and "What is peat?". International Peat Society. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  6. ^ Wickham-Jones 2007, p. 25.
  7. ^ Moffat 2005, pp. 96–97.
  8. ^ Scottish Archaeological Research Framework (ScARF) 2020. ScARF National Framework. Accessed April 2022.
  9. ^ Moffat (2005) p. 147.
  10. ^ McKirdy et al. (2007) pp. 163, 179
  11. ^ Gillen (2003) p. 174. Small areas of the north east may have remained ice-free, although there is no suggestion they were populated. See Merritt, J.W. et al.. (2003) Cainozoic geology and landscape evolution of north east Scotland. British Geological Survey. Edinburgh. ISBN 0852724632
  12. ^ Haworth, Jenny (10 April 2009) "Scotland's most ancient home found – at 14,000 years old"The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Retrieved 24 June 2009. Archived 23 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ "Earliest site in Scotland discovered" Archived 10 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Biggar Archaeology Group. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  14. ^ Kennedy, Maev (9 October 2015) "Swine team: pigs help uncover ice age tools on Scottish island" The Guardian. London. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  15. ^ "Ice Age tools found on Islay thanks to herd of pigs". (9 October 2015) BBC News Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  16. ^ Finlayson, Bill and Edwards, Kevin J. "The Mesolithic" in Edwards & Ralston (2003) pp. 122–23.
  17. ^ Moffat (2005) p. 42. The author interprets the find as an indication of the presence of a summer hunting party rather than a permanent settlement. This part of Islay may have remained ice free at a time when almost all of Scotland was still in the ice age's grip.
  18. ^ a b Murray (1973) p. 67.
  19. ^ That is, no evidence other than the Islay arrowhead possibility dated to 10,800 BC, assumed to relate to the Allerød. The dates are subject to significant margins of error.
  20. ^ "Cramond" RCAHMS. Retrieved 21 August 2008.
  21. ^ "Earliest evidence found of settlers in Scotland: hazelnuts and stone tools excavated near Edinburgh date to around 8500 BC" British Archaeology. Retrieved 21 April 2008.
  22. ^ Gray, Rebecca (18 Nov 2012) "Bridge works uncover nation's oldest house" The Herald. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  23. ^ "Discovering the Invention of Time?" (18 November 2019) RCAHMS. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  24. ^ Edwards, Kevin J. and Whittington, Graeme "Vegetation Change" in Edwards & Ralston (2003) p. 70.
  25. ^ Occupation at this site is dated to 8590+/-95 uncorrected radiocarbon years BP. Edwards, Kevin J., and Mithen, Steven (Feb. 1995) "The Colonization of the Hebridean Islands of Western Scotland: Evidence from the Palynological and Archaeological Records," World Archaeology. 26. No. 3. p. 348. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  26. ^ Finlayson, Bill and Edwards, Kevin J. "The Mesolithic" in Edwards & Ralston (2003) p. 115.
  27. ^ "Sand" RCAHMS. Retrieved 21 August 2008.
  28. ^ a b Hardy, K. and Wickham-Jones Caroline R. (2000) "Inner Sound, Highland, survey and excavation" Discovery Excav. Scot. 1.
  29. ^ a b Moffat (2005) p. 91.
  30. ^ "An Corran" Archived 20 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine Staffin Community Trust (Urras an Taobh Sear) Retrieved 15 March 2008.
  31. ^ Rixson (2001) p. 1.
  32. ^ Moffat (2005) pp. 90–91.
  33. ^ Mercer, John (1972) "Microlithic and Bronze Age camps, 75–26 ft OD, N Carn, Jura". Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.
  34. ^ Bondevik, S; Lovholt, F; Harbitz, C; Stormo, S; Skjerdal, G (2006). "The Storegga Slide Tsunami – Deposits, Run-up Heights and Radiocarbon Dating of the 8000-Year-Old Tsunami in the North Atlantic". American Geophysical Union.
  35. ^ Moffat (2005) pp. 92–93.
  36. ^ a b Moffat (2005) pp. 109–13
  37. ^ a b Ballantyne, Colin K, and Dawson, Alastair G. "Geomorphology and Landscape Change" in Edwards & Ralston (2003) p. 42.
  38. ^ Wickham-Jones (2007) p. 40.
  39. ^ Barclay, Gordon J. "The Neolithic" in Edwards & Ralston (2003) p. 132
  40. ^ "Cleaven Dyke" RCAHMS. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  41. ^ a b Moffat (2005) pp. 119–23
  42. ^ Ross, John and Hartley, David (14 August 2009) " 'Cathedral' as old as Stonehenge unearthed." Edinburgh. The Scotsman. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
  43. ^ "Neolithic ‘temple’ revealed at site on Orkney" Archived 19 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine Glasgow. The Herald. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
  44. ^ Fleming (2005) p. 47 quoting Clarke, P.A. (1995) Observations of Social Change in Prehistoric Orkney and Shetland based on a Study of the Types and Context of Coarse Stone Artefacts. M. Litt. thesis. University of Glasgow.
  45. ^ Armit (1998) pp. 33–35.
  46. ^ Crone, B.A. (1993). "Crannogs and chronologies". Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. 123: 245–54. Archived from the original on 10 June 2007.
  47. ^ Wickham-Jones (2007) p. 25 and p. 39.
  48. ^ Clarke, David (2000) Skara Brae. Edinburgh. Historic Scotland.
  49. ^ "Skara Brae Prehistoric Village" Historic Scotland. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
  50. ^ Pitts, M (2006). "Flight of the eagles". British Archaeology. 86: 6.
  51. ^ "Tomb of the Eagles" Tomb of the Eagles. Retrieved 11 February 2008.
  52. ^ Wickham-Jones (2007) p. 28.
  53. ^ Armit (1998) pp. 68–70.
  54. ^ Moffat (2005) pp. 165–67.
  55. ^ A flaked stone with a sharp edge used for cutting. This Neolithic tool is named after Skaill Bay, the location of World Heritage Site Skara Brae in Orkney. See Saville, Alan (1994). "A decorated Skaill knife from Skara Brae, Orkney". Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. 124: 103–111.
  56. ^ Fleming (2005) pp. 38, 53, 56.
  57. ^ Urquhart, Frank (21 August 2009) "Face to face with the 5,000-year-old 'first Scot'." Edinburgh. The Scotsman.
  58. ^ Li, Martin (2005) Adventure Guide to Scotland. Hunter Publishing. p. 509.
  59. ^ Murray (1973) p. 122.
  60. ^ "Lewis, Callanish, 'Tursachan' " RCAHMS. Retrieved 21 April 2008.
  61. ^ Armit (1998) pp. 54–57, 178–79.
  62. ^ Nicolson, James R. (1972) Shetland. David & Charles. Newton Abbott. pp. 33–35.
  63. ^ Wickham-Jones (2007) pp. 28–29.
  64. ^ Wickham-Jones (2007) pp. 53–54.
  65. ^ Moffat (2005) pp. 154, 158, 161.
  66. ^ Whittington, Graeme; Edwards, Kevin J (1994). "Palynology as a predictive tool in archaeology". Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. 124: 55–65. Archived from the original on 7 June 2007.
  67. ^ Moffat (2005) pp.182–83.
  68. ^ Keay and Keay (1994) p. 148.
  69. ^ Armit, Iain and Ralston, Ian B.M. "The Iron Age" in Edwards & Ralston (2003) p. 169.
  70. ^ a b Mike Wade (5 November 2009). "Treasure hunt novice struck £1m gold on first outing". The Times. London. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
  71. ^ Anderson, Joseph (1901) "Notice of a hoard of bronze implements, and ornaments, and buttons of jet found at Migdale, on the estate of Skibo, Sutherland, exhibited to the society by Mr. Andrew Carnegie of Skibo". Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  72. ^ "Anklets of Bronze" National Museums Scotland. Retrieved 29 April 2008.
  73. ^ Keys, David (14 August 2009) "Ancient royal tomb found in Scotland". London. The Independent. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
  74. ^ Armit (1998) pp. 60–61.
  75. ^ Moffat (2005) p. 156.
  76. ^ "Achnabreac cup and ring marks" Archived 6 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Forestry Commission. Retrieved 23 February 2008.
  77. ^ "Mummification in Bronze Age Britain" BBC History. Retrieved 11 February 2008.
  78. ^ "The Prehistoric Village at Cladh Hallan". University of Sheffield. Retrieved 21 February 2008.
  79. ^ "'Royal' Iron Age roundhouse found" (26 June 2007) BBC News. Retrieved 18 February 2008.
  80. ^ Moffat (2005) pp. 182, 249.
  81. ^ Cowie, Trevor G., and Shepherd Ian A.G. "The Bronze Age" in Edwards & Ralston (2003) pp. 156–57. Dated to 2810+/-85 BP, the find is associated with the discovery of lengths of wooden track of uncertain date.
  82. ^ Moffat (2005) pp. 170, 177.
  83. ^ Moffat (2005) p. 182.
  84. ^ "Skye, Dun Ringill" RCAHMS. Retrieved 22 June 2008.
  85. ^ a b Kirk, William (1983) p. 106.
  86. ^ " Jarlshof & Scatness" Shetland Heritage. Retrieved 2 August 2008.
  87. ^ Moffat (2005) p. 189.
  88. ^ Armit, Ian "The Iron Age" in Omand (2006) p. 58
  89. ^ Harding, D. W. 2004 "The Iron Age in Northern Britain: Celts and Romans, Natives and invaders". Oxford. Routledge. p. 121.
  90. ^ Moffat (2005) p. 195.
  91. ^ "Skye cave find western Europe's 'earliest string instrument'". BBC. 28 March 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  92. ^ "Horns of bronze". Museum of Scotland. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  93. ^ Sandars (1968) pp. 260–261
  94. ^ "AD 200 – Valtos: brochs and wheelhouses" archaeology.co.uk Retrieved 1 August 2009.
  95. ^ Armit (1998) pp. 115–16.
  96. ^ "Carved stone ball". National Museums of Scotland. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
  97. ^ Finlayson, Bill and Edwards, Kevin J. "The Mesolithic" in Edwards & Ralston (2003) pp. 113–4.
  98. ^ Finlayson, Bill and Edwards, Kevin J. "The Mesolithic" in Edwards & Ralston (2003) p. 113.
  99. ^ Murray, W.H. (1977) The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland. London. Collins. p. 355.
  100. ^ Ross, Sinclair (1992) The Culbin Sands: Fact and Fiction. University of Aberdeen. p. 88. This extensive dunes complex was forested in the first half of the 20th century.
  101. ^ "Archaeology" Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Fetlar Interpretive Centre. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  102. ^ "Fetlar, Funziegirt". Canmore. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  103. ^ Barclay, Gordon J. "The Neolithic" in Edwards & Ralston (2003) p. 137.
  104. ^ Kirk, William (1983) p. 110.
  105. ^ Ruined buildings with a main court and two or more smaller cells and a forecourt formed by two curved or horn-shaped walls.
  106. ^ Quine, David (2000) St Kilda. Grantown-on-Spey. Colin Baxter Island Guides. ISBN 1-84107-008-4 pp. 91–92.
  107. ^ Fleming (2005) p. 23.
  108. ^ Burghead Well (1968) Ancient Monuments of Scotland. Crown copyright leaflet.
General references
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