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The Venerable Bede and the Origins of the English ‘Nation’

The Venerable Bede and the Origins of the English ‘Nation’

How do you define a nation? Most people would probably think of a nation as being a defined geographical area governed by a political body of some sort which acts on behalf of its citizens, who are...
Historic Cold Cases: Five Ancient Archaeological Murder Mysteries

Historic Cold Cases: Five Ancient Archaeological Murder Mysteries

Nothing sticks in the mind quite like an unanswered question, such as a historic murder mystery, an unsettled death, an impenetrable enigma or even an ancient cold case just waiting to be resolved. A...
Urquart Castle on Loch Ness, Scotland

Urquhart Castle – Guardian of Loch Ness and The Site of Bloody Scottish Battles

Urquhart Castle, overlooking Loch Ness from a rocky outcrop, is strategically placed in terms of defense and saw a great many conflicts during its 500 years as a medieval fortress , embroiled as it...
Storms In Scotland Unearth Viking Skeletons

Storms In Scotland Unearth Viking Skeletons

Fierce storms ravaging Orkney, an island group in the far north of Scotland famous for its Neolithic standing stone circles and burial tombs, have unearthed hundreds of ancient human bones in what is...
The Pictish man’s skeleton. (NOSAS)

Medieval Murder Victim in Scotland may have been a Pictish Royal

Researchers in Scotland believe that they are closer to understanding a man who was brutally killed 1,400 years ago. His body was placed in a most unusual position in a cave and investigators believe...
Pictish symbols carved on a standing stone, Aberlemno, Scotland. Source: Stuart /Adobe Stock

Scottish Prof Links Mysterious Pictish Symbols and Distant Gobekli Tepe Signs

The Picts were an ancient race of people who from at least the 1st century AD dominated the northern territories of what is known today as Scotland. In the works of Roman propaganda they are savages...
 Pictish symbol stone found on the bank of River Don, Dyce, Aberdeen, Scotland.

Scottish Fisherman Discovers a “Stunning” Pictish Symbol Stone on Riverbank

The level of the River Don in Dyce, Aberdeen, Scotland has dropped significantly after the extended spell of warm weather which “exposed the ancient relic,” – a Pictish symbol stone, according to a...
Close-up of the undeciphered writing on the Newton Stone. (Deriv.)

Deciphering The Newton Stone’s Mysterious “Unknown Script”

Every once in a while, objects of interest come across my desk that hold certain features that lift them just beyond our understanding. The enigmatic Newton Stone is one such artifact, not only...
The gold hair rings found at Sculptor's Cave near Covesea, Moray.

Children of Gold Uncovered in Pictish Death Cave

Golden rings discovered in a sea cave once adorned a dead child in a bizarre ancient funerary ritual, in Scotland. We might expect to read such a headline in a Peruvian or Chinese archaeological...
Sculptor’s Cave, Covesea, Lossiemouth

What Really Went on in the Sculptor’s Cave Where Hundreds of Bronze Age Child Remains Were Unearthed?

Pictish carvings grace its walls; crucibles, a swan’s neck pin, and bronze arm rings were scattered across its floor – Sculptor’s Cave has had an exciting and varied history stretching back to the...
This is the "Celtic Cross" side of a Pictish stone in Aberlemno, Scotland. This stone dates from around 700AD, and the other side of it has some of the mysterious symbols used by the Picts, who lived in this part of Scotland at the time.

Picking Apart the Picts: The Value of Aberdeen's Newest Discovery

One of the greatest mysteries of Scotland lies in the northeastern portion of the country. Though named for the Scots because the titular medieval clan won a decisive battle, much of Scotland's...
Burghead, recognized as an important seat of power during the Early Medieval Period

Millennium Old Structure Unearthed at Medieval Pictish Fort in Scotland

Archaeologists have recently uncovered the traces of a millennium old building at the location of the Pictish fort of Burghead in Moray, Scotland. The fort dates back to the time of Alfred the Great...
A Match Made in Greek Legend: What Happened When Heracles Met the Snake Woman?

A Match Made in Greek Legend: What Happened When Heracles Met the Snake Woman?

While completing his Twelve Labors, the Greek hero Heracles (a.k.a. Hercules) got up to tons of mischief—and that included bedding a lot of women. In the process, he fathered a whole host of...
Burnt Hill Fort in Dark Ages Scotland Was Likely the Stronghold of the Mysterious Rheged Kingdom

Burnt Hill Fort in Dark Ages Scotland Was Likely the Stronghold of the Mysterious Rheged Kingdom

For years, scholars thought a Scottish Dark Ages hill fort that met a violent, fiery end was a stronghold of the Pictish people. But new research shows Trusty’s Hill was likely the royal stronghold...
Striking Pictish Dragon Carving Discovered During Storms in Orkney

Striking Pictish Dragon Carving Discovered During Storms in Orkney

An 8th century carving of a Pictish dragon (also called a Pictish beast) has been discovered on an eroding cliff face in Orkney, Scotland. The stone decoration is one of the most beautiful Pictish...
Top Ten Builds by the Ancients that Were Exposed in 2015

Top Ten Builds by the Ancients that Were Exposed in 2015: Stone Circles, Architecture, Petroglyphs, Fortresses and More

There is no doubt that our ancient ancestors were adept at creating beautiful and masterful structures. The features they managed to construct easily rival some of the most important works built...