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Scotland

A large axe-grinding stone near Balfron in Scotland is where Neolithic toolmakers sharpened stone axes thousands of years ago. Source: Dr. Murray Cook

Ancient Giant Axe-Grinding Stone Unearthed in Scotland

Archaeologists and volunteers examining a 4,500-year-old Neolithic site near Balfron, beside Stirling in Central Scotland, recently rolled back turf and revealed a giant slab of sandstone. Marked...
The Mary, Queen of Scots casket was purchased by the Scottish government in 2022 and is now on display.

The Beautiful Casket that Killed Mary, Queen of Scots

Mary I of Scotland, or Mary, Queen of Scots is one of the most iconic monarchs in British history. She had an incredible impact on both Scottish and English history, and her life was one of tragedy,...
The 13th century medieval Kelburn Castle in Scotland received a colourful graffiti makeover in 2007.	Source: Andreas Flohr / CC BY NC ND 2.0

Why is the 13th Century Kelburn Castle covered in Colorful Graffiti?

Kelburn Castle is one of the oldest castles still standing in Scotland. Located in Fairlie, North Ayrshire, Kelburn Castle has a rich history that dates back to the 13th century. Now, however, it is...
Ancient Pictish Cross Stone Slab ‘Complicates History’

Ancient Pictish Cross Stone Slab ‘Complicates History’

A rare stone carved around 1,500-years-ago has been discovered in a Scottish cemetery. Showing a bull, pelicans and script from a bygone alphabet, cross-slab was created by the ancient “painted...
1,300-Year-Old Solid Gold Pommel Is Like No Other

1,300-Year-Old Solid Gold Pommel Is Like No Other

A one-of-a-kind golden sword pommel was discovered by a metal detectorist in Scotland in 2019. Depicting a rare mix of Christian symbols with mythological creatures, the treasure has just been valued...
The crowning ceremony of the Clan Buchannan chief was laced with recreated artifacts and symbols from ancient Scottish history. Source: The Clan Buchanan Society International

Scottish Clan Has a First New Chief Since 1681

The ancient Scottish Clan Buchannan has been without a leader since the 17th century. Now, the rightful heir to the clan has been crowned chief in a ceremony dripping with archetypes from Scottish...
Celtic crannog representation.           Source: photosvac / Adobe Stock

Ancient Elites in North-western Europe Enjoyed High-Island Living

Archaeologists in the UK have shown how ancient elite families retained their command over communities in the medieval world crannogs in north-western Europe. They controlled the communities they...
Reconstructed face of a medieval woman from the 14th century, who was buried at Whithorn Priory, Galloway, Scotland.	Source: Dr Chris Rynn / University of Dundee

The Medieval Faces of Whithorn Priory’s Cold Case Project Revealed

A three-dimensional likeness of a young woman buried at Galloway, Scotland’s Whithorn Priory, laid to rest at one of Scotland’s earliest Christian sites centuries ago, is about to be revealed. The...
Legend has it that Robert the Bruce was inspired to continue his struggle for Scottish independence by a spider in a cave. Source: pedro / Adobe Stock

A Spider Had a Leading Role in the Story of Scottish Independence

Inspiration can come in all shapes and sizes. But the story of the downtrodden Scottish national hero Robert the Bruce, who ruled Scotland in the 14th century, being motivated to continue his...
Viking sword in a Norse landscape…or is it? 	Source: James Thew / Adobe Stock

What’s a Viking Sword? What’s not? The Distinctions of Norse Weaponry

A scourge of early medieval Europe, the Vikings were a fearsome group. The very thought of a Viking sword slashing before you conjures images of fearless warriors raiding and pillaging villages,...
Sigurd the Mighty is said to have been killed by a severed head. Source: Nomad_Soul / Adobe Stock

Sigurd the Mighty Was Killed by a Severed Head

The Norse sagas are filled with astonishing death scenes. In his book Laughing Shall I Die, Lives and Deaths of the Great Vikings , Tom Shippey explains that the defiant Viking attitude to death was...
Robert the Bruce’s heart was found in 1921 and lost again until 1996. Now this King of Scots (Bust of Robert the Bruce at the National Wallace Monument) rests in peace, knowing his final wishes were granted. Source: Left: tussik / Adobe Stock; Right: Otter / CC BY-SA 3.0

The Long Road Taken By Robert the Bruce’s Heart

Robert the Bruce is one of the most, if not the most famous Scotsmen to have ever lived. Infamous for the 14th-century reign that saw him taking on England’s much bigger and better-equipped army and...
Dr. Margaret Maitland, Principal Curator of the Ancient Mediterranean at National Museums Scotland, with the recently discovered ancient Greek graduate yearbook. Source: National Museums Scotland

Ancient Greek ‘Graduate Yearbook’ Discovered in Scottish Vault

An unknown ancient Greek marble inscription stored in a museum vault since the 1880s has been rediscovered in Scotland. New research now shows that the tablet includes a list of young men who took...
Eroding sand dunes revealed an archaeological site at the Links of Noltland on Westray, evidence of a settlement on Bronze Age Orkney. Source: EASE Archaeology

Bronze Age Orkney Welcomed Female Migrants, Claims Controversial Paper

A new DNA study is shining light on Bronze Age Orkney. The results show how an influx of mostly women affected family traditions and spiritual customs on the island. However, some scientists are...
Facial reconstruction of one of the ancient Scots who may have come from Loch Lomond but  was buried at Cramond. Source: Hayley Fisheer / University of Aberdeen

Ancient Scots Were Sometimes Born Apart But Buried Together

Nine ancient Scots were buried in a mass grave in eastern Scotland some 1,400 years ago. However, a new study in the Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences journal shows they were born in...
An aerial view of what remains of Boleskine House, owned by occultist Aleister Crowley from 1899 to 1913, which is the subject of a new film by Scottish filmmaker Ashley Cowie.		Source: Ashley Cowie / www.thebeastoflochness.com/

New Film Shatters 'Fake News' of Occultist Aleister Crowley’s Scottish Boleskine House

A filmmaker from the north of Scotland has vowed to dissolve decades of “fake news” surrounding a famous Boleskine House Jacobite era hunting lodge, and center of Aleister Crowley’s “magical...
A rare Pictish stone discovered near the site of the Battle of Nechtansmere in Scotland. Source: University of Aberdeen

Rare Pictish Stone Uncovered in Scotland’s Birthplace

Archaeologists in Scotland have unearthed a carved Pictish stone which might be associated with the formation of the nation in what has been dubbed “the find of a lifetime.” When describing the...
Covesea Caves with screenshot of one of the bones discovered inside.  Source: Society for Antiquaries of Scotland

Mystical Mummification: Latest Secret of Scotland’s Covesea Caves

The Covesea Caves range just short of Inverness on Scotland’s northeastern coast have been known to archaeologists since 1929, but each round of exploration and analysis throws up fresh surprises...
Artist’s impression of how the completed Caithness Broch will look.	Source: Bob Marshall / Caithness Broch Project

A ‘Functional’ New Iron Age Broch To Be Built in Northern Scotland

An Iron Age broch will be reconstructed in northern Scotland using 2,000-year-old techniques to build the stone tower. Not just that, but it will be filled with Iron Age tools, and folk! A broch, or...
One of the Frankenstein mummies found at Cladh Hallan in Scotland. Source: Mike Parker Pearson / University College London

Why Did Ancient Scots Prepare ‘Frankenstein’ Mummies?

In 2001, a team of archaeologists found a pair of skeletons at an archaeological site on the island of South Uist off the coast of Scotland. At first, it appeared to be a typical Bronze Age discovery...
Rock crystal jar from the Galloway Hoard

Galloway Hoard Restoration Reveals More Surprising Secrets

Researchers have revealed that what is perhaps Europe’s most famous Viking Age hoard – the Galloway Hoard – was not a rapidly concealed family treasure being hidden from invaders. Rather, it was a...
Part of the Upper Tote Cairn that has been destroyed by the landowner.	Source: Crown Office

Scottish Farmer Fined For Destroying Prehistoric Burial Cairn

A Scottish island farmer has been charged for ripping apart a Neolithic burial tomb to build a new shed. You might think the judge’s £18,000 fine sounds quite stiff, but the cairn is damaged beyond...
Broch of Dun Carloway, Isle of Lewis, Scotland.	Source: Manel Vinuesa / Adobe Stock

Advanced Scottish Culture Stopped Romans Taking All Of Britannia

New archaeological evidence demonstrates that Britain’s Hadrian’s Wall was not a cause, but instead an effect of the cultural differences that already thrived between the two territories that would...
A reconstruction of Blair Atholl Man’s face.		Source: Christopher Rynn and Hayley Fisher / Perth Museum & Art Gallery

Scotland’s Blair Atholl Man Was Actually From the West, Says Study

People migrated long distances in early medieval Scotland, concluded a new study on the Blair Atholl Man published in the Tayside and Fife Archaeological Journal . The study reveals that he was not...

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