Timeline of prehistoric Scotland - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

This timeline of prehistoric Scotland is a chronologically ordered list of important archaeological site

Archaeological site

An archaeological site is a place in which evidence of past activity is preserved , and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological record.Beyond this, the definition and geographical extent of a 'site' can vary widely,...

s in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

and of major events affecting Scotland's human inhabitants and culture during the prehistoric period. The period of prehistory

Prehistory

Prehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it refers to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing...

prior to occupation by the genus Homo
Homo
Homo may refer to:*the Greek prefix ὅμο-, meaning "the same"*the Latin for man, human being*Homo, the taxonomical genus including modern humans...

is part of the geology of Scotland

Geology of Scotland

The geology of Scotland is unusually varied for a country of its size, with a large number of differing geological features. There are three main geographical sub-divisions: the Highlands and Islands is a diverse area which lies to the north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault; the Central...

. Prehistory in Scotland

Prehistoric Scotland

Archaeology and geology continue to reveal the secrets of prehistoric Scotland, uncovering a complex and dramatic past before the Romans brought Scotland into the scope of recorded history...

ends with the arrival of the Romans

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

in southern Scotland in the 1st century AD and the beginning of written records

Protohistory

Protohistory refers to a period between prehistory and history, during which a culture or civilization has not yet developed writing, but other cultures have already noted its existence in their own writings...

. 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

Neanderthal

The Neanderthal is an extinct member of the Homo genus known from Pleistocene specimens found in Europe and parts of western and central Asia...

presence or of Homo sapiens during the Pleistocene

Pleistocene

The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....

interglacial

Interglacial

An Interglacial period is a geological interval of warmer global average temperature lasting thousands of years that separates consecutive glacial periods within an ice age...

s, 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. Initially, sea level

Sea level

Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...

s 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

Inner Hebrides

The Inner Hebrides is an archipelago off the west coast of Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, which enjoy a mild oceanic climate. There are 36 inhabited islands and a further 43 uninhabited Inner Hebrides with an area greater than...

islands were attached to the mainland, as was the present-day island of Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

to Continental Europe

Continental Europe

Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands....

. Much of the present-day North Sea

North Sea

In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...

was also dry land until after 4000 BC

Anno Domini

and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....

. Dogger Bank

Dogger Bank

Dogger Bank is a large sandbank in a shallow area of the North Sea about off the east coast of England. It extends over approximately , with its dimensions being about long and up to broad. The water depth ranges from 15 to 36 metres , about shallower than the surrounding sea. It is a...

, for example was part of a large peninsula connected to the European continent. This would have made travel to western and northern Scotland

Scotland

relatively easy for early human settlers. The subsequent isostatic

Isostasy

Isostasy is a term used in geology to refer to the state of gravitational equilibrium between the earth's lithosphere and asthenosphere such that the tectonic plates "float" at an elevation which depends on their thickness and density. This concept is invoked to explain how different topographic...

rise of land makes estimating post-glacial coastlines a complex task and there are numerous raised beach

Raised beach

A raised beach, marine terrace, or perched coastline is an emergent coastal landform. Raised beaches and marine terraces are beaches or wave-cut platforms raised above the shore line by a relative fall in the sea level ....

es around Scotland's coastline.

Many of the sites are located in the Highlands and Islands

Highlands and Islands

The Highlands and Islands of Scotland are broadly the Scottish Highlands plus Orkney, Shetland and the Hebrides.The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act of 1886 applied...

. 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

Peat

Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...

that preserves stone fragments, although the associated acid

Acid

An acid is a substance which reacts with a base. Commonly, acids can be identified as tasting sour, reacting with metals such as calcium, and bases like sodium carbonate. Aqueous acids have a pH of less than 7, where an acid of lower pH is typically stronger, and turn blue litmus paper red...

ic conditions tend to dissolve organic materials. There are also numerous important remains in the Orkney archipelago, where sand and arable land

Arable land

In geography and agriculture, arable land is land that can be used for growing crops. It includes all land under temporary crops , temporary meadows for mowing or pasture, land under market and kitchen gardens and land temporarily fallow...

predominate. Local tradition hints at both a fear and veneration of these ancient structures that may have helped to preserve their integrity.

Differentiating the various periods of human history involved is a complex task. The Paleolithic

Paleolithic

The Paleolithic Age, Era or Period, is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools discovered , and covers roughly 99% of human technological prehistory...

lasted until the retreat of the ice, the Mesolithic

Mesolithic

The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....

until the adoption of farming and the Neolithic

Neolithic

The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...

until metalworking

Metalworking

Metalworking is the process of working with metals to create individual parts, assemblies, or large scale structures. The term covers a wide range of work from large ships and bridges to precise engine parts and delicate jewelry. It therefore includes a correspondingly wide range of skills,...

commenced. 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.

Timeline

Key to predominant "Type":
Citations in the Type box refer to the information in the entire row.

Paleolithic

Scotland was still glaciated

Glacier

A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...

when the cave paintings of Lascaux

Lascaux

Lascaux is the setting of a complex of caves in southwestern France famous for its Paleolithic cave paintings. The original caves are located near the village of Montignac, in the department of Dordogne. They contain some of the best-known Upper Paleolithic art. These paintings are estimated to be...

in France were created, c. 14,000 BC. Humans began to populate Scotland during the current Flandrian interglacial

Flandrian interglacial

The Flandrian interglacial or stage is the name given by geologists and archaeologists in the British Isles to the first, and so far only, stage of the Holocene epoch , covering the period from around 12,000 years ago, at the end of the last glacial period to the present day. As such, it is in...

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 Biggar, South Lanarkshire Biggar is a town and former burgh in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is situated in the Southern Uplands, near the River Clyde, around 30 miles from Edinburgh along the A702. The closest towns are Lanark and Peebles, and as such Biggar serves a wide rural area...	Flint Flint Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and... artefacts found at Howburn Farm, near Elsrickle Elsrickle Elsrickle is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It lies on Blackmount Hill which is on the end of the Pentland Hills.It is very rural.... in 2005 but not dated until 2009.	(S)

Mesolithic

The very limited archaeological

Archaeology

Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...

record provides little to suggest that culture in Scotland caught up with developing societies to the south during this period of improved climatic conditions

Holocene climatic optimum

The Holocene Climate Optimum was a warm period during roughly the interval 9,000 to 5,000 years B.P.. This event has also been known by many other names, including: Hypsithermal, Altithermal, Climatic Optimum, Holocene Optimum, Holocene Thermal Maximum, and Holocene Megathermal.This warm period...

. Some finds nonetheless indicate the presence of relatively large and well-organised hunter-gatherer

Hunter-gatherer

A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...

societies. No Mesolithic burial sites have been uncovered in Scotland to date.

Date (BC)	Location	Details	Type
10,800	Islay Islay -Prehistory:The earliest settlers on Islay were nomadic hunter-gatherers who arrived during the Mesolithic period after the retreat of the Pleistocene ice caps. In 1993 a flint arrowhead was found in a field near Bridgend dating from 10,800 BC, the earliest evidence of a human presence found so far...	A flint arrowhead that was found in a field near Bridgend. This may relate to the end of the Allerød Allerød Oscillation The Allerød period was a warm and moist global interstadial that occurred at the end of the last glacial period. The Allerød oscillation raised temperatures , before they declined again in the succeeding Younger Dryas period, which was followed by the present interglacial period.In some regions,... , a relatively warm period that lasted from c. 12,000-11,000 BC. This is the only find in Scotland to date from this early part of the Mesolithic.	(S)
11,000 – 9640	Scotland-wide	The Loch Lomond Stadial Younger Dryas The Younger Dryas stadial, also referred to as the Big Freeze, was a geologically brief period of cold climatic conditions and drought between approximately 12.8 and 11.5 ka BP, or 12,800 and 11,500 years before present... cold period. No evidence has been found yet of human activity in Scotland during this time.	(E)
8500	Cramond Cramond Cramond is a seaside village now part of suburban Edinburgh, Scotland, located in the north-west corner of the city at the mouth of the River Almond where it enters the Firth of Forth....	The remains of a temporary camp that has provided more than 3,000 artefacts, including about 300 stone tools and fragments.	(O, S)
7700 – 7500	Rùm Rùm Rùm , a Scottish Gaelic name often anglicised to Rum) is one of the Small Isles of the Inner Hebrides, in the district of Lochaber, Scotland...	Burnt hazelnut Corylus avellana Corylus avellana, the Common Hazel, is a species of hazel native to Europe and western Asia, from the British Isles south to Iberia, Greece, Turkey and Cyprus, north to central Scandinavia, and east to the central Ural Mountains, the Caucasus, and northwestern Iran. It is an important component of... shells and microscopic charcoal Charcoal Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen... 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)
7500 and 5500	Applecross Applecross The Applecross peninsula is a peninsula in Wester Ross, Highland, on the west coast of Scotland. The name Applecross is at least 1300 years old and is not used locally to refer to the 19th century village with the pub and post office, lying on the small Applecross Bay, facing the Inner Sound, on...	A shell midden Midden A midden, is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, vermin, shells, sherds, lithics , and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human occupation... and rock-shelter at Sand Sand, Applecross Sand on the Applecross Peninsula in Wester Ross, Scotland is a major archaeological site.Sand is the site of a major archaeological excavation on the Inner Sound coast of the Applecross Peninsula in Western Scotland, to the north of the small town of Applecross.A small number of shell middens were... in Wester Ross. The Inner Sound Inner Sound, Scotland The Inner Sound is a strait separating the Inner Hebridean islands of Skye, Raasay and South Rona from the Applecross peninsula on the Scottish mainland.... and its environs surrounding the island of Raasay Raasay Raasay is an island between the Isle of Skye and the mainland of Scotland. It is separated from Skye by the Sound of Raasay and from Applecross by the Inner Sound. It is most famous for being the birthplace of the poet Sorley MacLean, an important figure in the Scottish literary renaissance... are the focus of investigations researching Scotland's early Mesolithic settlers. The two dates for Sand suggest an intermediary period of abandonment.	(B, S)
6700	Colonsay Colonsay Colonsay is an island in the Scottish Inner Hebrides, located north of Islay and south of Mull and has an area of . It is the ancestral home of Clan Macfie and the Colonsay branch of Clan MacNeill. Aligned on a south-west to north-east axis, it measures in length and reaches at its widest...	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)
6500	Skye Skye Skye or the Isle of Skye is the largest and most northerly island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate out from a mountainous centre dominated by the Cuillin hills...	A rock shelter and midden site at An Corran in Staffin, probably related to Sand.	(O, S)
6500	Islay Islay -Prehistory:The earliest settlers on Islay were nomadic hunter-gatherers who arrived during the Mesolithic period after the retreat of the Pleistocene ice caps. In 1993 a flint arrowhead was found in a field near Bridgend dating from 10,800 BC, the earliest evidence of a human presence found so far...	Stone artefacts including 250,000 flints at Bolsay.	(S)
6500 – 5500	Rùm Rùm Rùm , a Scottish Gaelic name often anglicised to Rum) is one of the Small Isles of the Inner Hebrides, in the district of Lochaber, Scotland...	A beach site above Loch Scresort with stakeholes suggesting tent-like structures.	(F, O)
6000	Jura Jura, Scotland Jura is an island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, situated adjacent and to the north-east of Islay. Part of the island is designated as a National Scenic Area. Until the twentieth century Jura was dominated - and most of it was eventually owned - by the Campbell clan of Inveraray Castle on Loch...	Three stone hearth Hearth In common historic and modern usage, a hearth is a brick- or stone-lined fireplace or oven often used for cooking and/or heating. For centuries, the hearth was considered an integral part of a home, often its central or most important feature... s and traces of red ochre Ochre Ochre is the term for both a golden-yellow or light yellow brown color and for a form of earth pigment which produces the color. The pigment can also be used to create a reddish tint known as "red ochre". The more rarely used terms "purple ochre" and "brown ochre" also exist for variant hues... , which are the earliest dated stone-built structures found so far.	(S)
6000	Coastal inundations	The Storegga Slides created a tsunami Tsunami A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake... 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)
5300 – 4300	Oronsay Oronsay, Inner Hebrides Oronsay , also sometimes spelt and pronounced Oransay by the local community, is a small tidal island south of Colonsay in the Scottish Inner Hebrides with an area of just over two square miles....	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)

Neolithic

Scotland's Neolithic

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

Saxons

The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...

invasions some four millennia later. The great Orcadian Neolithic monuments

Heart of Neolithic Orkney

Heart of Neolithic Orkney refers to a group of Neolithic monuments found on the Mainland, one of the islands of Orkney, Scotland. The name was adopted by UNESCO when it proclaimed these sites as a World Heritage Site in 1999....

were constructed contemporaneously with the emergence of the Ancient Egyptian culture

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...

, more than 500 years before the building of the Great Pyramid of Giza

Great Pyramid of Giza

The Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis bordering what is now El Giza, Egypt. It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one to remain largely intact...

and almost a millennium before the sarsen

Sarsen

Sarsen stones are sandstone blocks found in quantity in the United Kingdom on Salisbury Plain, the Marlborough Downs, in Kent, and in smaller quantities in Berkshire, Essex, Oxfordshire, Dorset and Hampshire...

stones of Stonehenge

Stonehenge

Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...

were erected.

Date (BC)	Location	Details	Type
3900 – 3200	Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...	Balbridie Balbridie Balbridie is the site of a Neolithic timberhouse in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, situated in the south Deeside near the B9077 road. This archaeological site is one of the earliest known permanent neolithic settlements in Scotland, dating to 3400 to 4000 BC... 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 (30 ft) high. It was large enough to accommodate up to 50 people. Braeroddach Loch nearby provides the earliest evidence for pastoralism Pastoralism Pastoralism or pastoral farming is the branch of agriculture concerned with the raising of livestock. It is animal husbandry: the care, tending and use of animals such as camels, goats, cattle, yaks, llamas, and sheep. It may have a mobile aspect, moving the herds in search of fresh pasture and... found so far, dated to 3780.	(F, O)
3700 – 2800	Papa Westray Papa Westray Papa Westray, also known as Papay, is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, with a population of 65 at the time of the 2001 Census, now increased to 70 people...	Knap of Howar Knap of Howar At Knap of Howar on the island of Papa Westray in Orkney, Scotland, a Neolithic farmstead may be the oldest preserved stone house in northern Europe... Neolithic farmstead, probably the oldest preserved house in northern Europe, in which Unstan Unstan ware Unstan ware is the name used by archaeologists for a type of finely made and decorated Neolithic pottery from the 4th and 3rd millennia BC. Typical are elegant and distinctive shallow bowls with a band of grooved patterning below the rim, using a technique known as "stab-and-drag". A second version... pottery pieces were found. The structure was inhabited for 900 years.	(P, S)
3600	Meikleour Meikleour Meikleour, pronounced , is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. Approximately twelve miles north of Perth and four miles south of Blairgowrie, it is home to the Meikleour Beech Hedges, the tallest and longest hedge in the world.-External links:*...	Cleaven Dyke cursus Cursus thumb\|right\|250px\|[[Stonehenge Cursus]], Wiltshirethumb\|right\|250px\|[[Dorset Cursus]] terminal on Thickthorn Down, DorsetCursus was a name given by early British archaeologists such as William Stukeley to the large parallel lengths of banks with external ditches which they thought were early Roman... , a structure that is unique in a Scottish context, and Herald Hill long barrow Long barrow A long barrow is a prehistoric monument dating to the early Neolithic period. They are rectangular or trapezoidal tumuli or earth mounds traditionally interpreted as collective tombs... .	(S)
3500 – 2500	West Lothian West Lothian West Lothian is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, North Lanarkshire, the Scottish Borders and South Lanarkshire....	Excavations at Cairnpapple Hill Cairnpapple Hill Cairnpapple Hill is a hill with a dominating position in central lowland Scotland with views from coast to coast. It was used and re-used as a major ritual site over about 4000 years, and in its day would have been comparable to better known sites like the Standing Stones of Stenness. The summit... have unearthed pottery bowls and stone axe heads that indicate rituals in the early period of occupation. A major henge Henge There are three related types of Neolithic earthwork which are all sometimes loosely called henges. The essential characteristic of all three types is that they feature a ring bank and ditch but with the ditch inside the bank rather than outside... was constructed a millennium later. (See also Bronze Age below.)	(P, S)
3500 – 2000	Orkney	A site excavated at Ness of Brodgar Ness of Brodgar Ness of Brodgar is an archaeological site covering excavated from 2003 onwards between the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness in the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site near Loch of Harray, Orkney, in Scotland... from 2003 near Loch of Harray has provided evidence of housing, decorated stone slabs, a massive stone wall with foundations 4 metres (13.1 ft) wide, and a large building 25 metres (82 ft) long and 20 metres (65.6 ft) wide described as a Neolithic "cathedral".	(P, S)
3400	Shetland	The Scord of Brouster Scord of Brouster The Scord of Brouster is one of the earliest Neolithic farm sites in Shetland, Scotland. It has been dated to 2220 BC with a time window of 80 years on either side. It comprises three houses, several fields surrounded by walls, and a cairn... site in Walls Walls, Shetland Islands Walls, known locally as Waas, Walls, known locally as Waas, Walls, known locally as Waas, (Old Norse: Vagar = "Sheltered Bays" (voes) - the Ordnance Survey added the "ll" as they thought it was a corruption of "walls"... includes a cluster of six or seven walled fields and three stone circular houses that contains the earliest hoe Hoe (tool) A hoe is an ancient and versatile agricultural tool used to move small amounts of soil. Common goals include weed control by agitating the surface of the soil around plants, piling soil around the base of plants , creating narrow furrows and shallow trenches for planting seeds and bulbs, to chop... -blades found so far in Scotland.	(S)
3200 – 2800	North Uist North Uist North Uist is an island and community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.-Geography:North Uist is the tenth largest Scottish island and the thirteenth largest island surrounding Great Britain. It has an area of , slightly smaller than South Uist. North Uist is connected by causeways to Benbecula...	Eilean Dòmhnuill Eilean Domhnuill Armit identifies the islet of Eilean Dòmhnuill , Loch Olabhat on North Uist, Scotland as what may be the earliest crannog. Unstan ware pottery found there suggests a Neolithic period date of 3200-2800 BC... in Loch Olabhat may be Scotland's earliest crannog Crannog A crannog is typically a partially or entirely artificial island, usually built in lakes, rivers and estuarine waters of Scotland and Ireland. Crannogs were used as dwellings over five millennia from the European Neolithic Period, to as late as the 17th/early 18th century although in Scotland,... . The final phase bears a resemblance to Knap of Howar.	(P, S)
3200 – 2950	Orkney	The Barnhouse Settlement Barnhouse Settlement The Neolithic Barnhouse Settlement is sited by the shore of Loch of Harray, Orkney Mainland, Scotland, not far from the Standing Stones of Stenness. It was discovered in 1984. The base courses of at least 15 houses have been found... , another cluster of buildings including one that may have been used for communal gatherings.	(S)
3100 – 2500	Orkney	Skara Brae Skara Brae Skara Brae is a large stone-built Neolithic settlement, located on the Bay of Skaill on the west coast of Mainland, Orkney, Scotland. It consists of ten clustered houses, and was occupied from roughly 3180 BCE–2500 BCE... consists of ten clustered houses and is Northern Europe's most complete Neolithic village.	(O, S)
3150	South Ronaldsay South Ronaldsay South Ronaldsay is one of the Orkney Islands off the north coast of Scotland. It is linked to the Orkney Mainland by the Churchill Barriers, running via Burray, Glimps Holm and Lamb Holm.-Geography and geology:...	The Tomb of the Eagles Tomb of the Eagles Located on at cliff edge at Isbister on South Ronaldsay in Orkney, Scotland, the Tomb of the Eagles is a Neolithic chambered tomb. First explored by Ronald Simison in 1958, he conducted his own excavations at the site in 1976... 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)
3100	Orkney	The Stones of Stenness Stones of Stenness The Standing Stones of Stenness is a Neolithic monument on the mainland of Orkney, Scotland. Various traditions associated with the stones survived into the modern era and they form part of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site... are four remaining megalith Megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. Megalithic describes structures made of such large stones, utilizing an interlocking system without the use of mortar or cement.The word 'megalith' comes from the Ancient... s of a henge, the largest of which is 6 metres (19 ft) high.	(S)
3000	Argyll Argyll Argyll , archaically Argyle , is a region of western Scotland corresponding with most of the part of ancient Dál Riata that was located on the island of Great Britain, and in a historical context can be used to mean the entire western coast between the Mull of Kintyre and Cape Wrath...	Kilmartin Glen Kilmartin Glen Kilmartin Glen is an area in Argyll not far from Kintyre, which has one of the most important concentrations of Neolithic and Bronze Age remains in Scotland. The glen is located between Oban and Lochgilphead, surrounding the village of Kilmartin.... contains 350 Neolithic and Bronze Age relics within a 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) radius, including Dunadd Dunadd Dunadd, , is an Iron Age and later hillfort near Kilmartin in Argyll and Bute, Scotland and believed to be the capital of the ancient kingdom of Dál Riata.-Description:... hill fort.	(S)
3000?	Hirta Hirta Hirta is the largest island in the St Kilda archipelago, on the western edge of Scotland. The name "Hiort" and "Hirta" have also been applied to the entire archipelago.-Geography:...	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 found in the Village Bay bee-hive shaped storage cleitean. Uncertain date between 3500 and 1500 BC.	(P, S)
3000 – 2500	Westray Westray Westray is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, with a population of around 550 people. Its main village is Pierowall, with a heritage centre, the ruined Lady Kirk and ferries to Papa Westray.-Geography and geology:...	At Links of Noltland Links of Noltland Links of Noltland is the archaeological site of a Neolithic village near Grobust Bay on the north coast of Westray in Orkney, Scotland.Excavations at the site in the 1980s found a Neolithic building, which is now in the care of Historic Scotland who are funding further excavation... 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. 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)
2900 – 2600	Lewis Lewis Lewis is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The total area of Lewis is ....	The Callanish Stones are one of the finest stone circle Stone circle A stone circle is a monument of standing stones arranged in a circle. Such monuments have been constructed across the world throughout history for many different reasons.... s in Scotland. The 13 primary monolith Monolith A monolith is a geological feature such as a mountain, consisting of a single massive stone or rock, or a single piece of rock placed as, or within, a monument... s of between one and five metres in height form a circle about 13 metres in diameter.	(S)
2700	Orkney	Maeshowe Maeshowe Maeshowe is a Neolithic chambered cairn and passage grave situated on Mainland, Orkney, Scotland. The monuments around Maeshowe, including Skara Brae, were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. It gives its name to the Maeshowe type of chambered cairn, which is limited to Orkney... , a large and unique chambered cairn Chambered cairn A chambered cairn is a burial monument, usually constructed during the Neolithic, consisting of a cairn of stones inside which a sizeable chamber was constructed. Some chambered cairns are also passage-graves.... and passage grave Passage grave thumb\|250px\|right\|A simple passage tomb in [[Carrowmore]] near [[Sligo]] in IrelandA passage grave or passage tomb consists of a narrow passage made of large stones and one or multiple burial chambers covered in earth or stone. Megaliths are usually used in the construction of passage tombs, which... , aligned so that its central chamber is illuminated on the winter solstice Winter solstice Winter solstice may refer to:* Winter solstice, astronomical event* Winter Solstice , former band* Winter Solstice: North , seasonal songs* Winter Solstice , 2005 American film... . It was looted by Vikings who left one of the largest collection of runic inscriptions in the world.	(S)
2500	Shetland	Jarlshof Jarlshof Jarlshof is the best known prehistoric archaeological site in Shetland, Scotland. It lies near the southern tip of the Shetland Mainland and has been described as "one of the most remarkable archaeological sites ever excavated in the British Isles"... 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 Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age... (see below). A site nearby has been dated to 3200 BC.	(P)
2500	Orkney	Ring of Brodgar Ring of Brodgar The Ring of Brodgar is a Neolithic henge and stone circle on the Mainland, the largest island in Orkney, Scotland... , 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)
2500?	Hoy Hoy Hoy is an island in Orkney, Scotland. With an area of it is the second largest in the archipelago after the Mainland. It is connected by a causeway called The Ayre to South Walls...	The Dwarfie Stane Dwarfie Stane The Dwarfie Stane is a megalithic chambered tomb carved out of a titanic block of Devonian Old Red Sandstone located in a steep-sided glaciated valley between the settlements of Quoys and Rackwick on Hoy, an island in Orkney, Scotland.... tomb, made from a single huge block of red sandstone Sandstone Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,... with a hollowed-out central chamber. This style is quite unlike any other Neolithic Orkney site.	(S)
2460	Rùm Rùm Rùm , a Scottish Gaelic name often anglicised to Rum) is one of the Small Isles of the Inner Hebrides, in the district of Lochaber, Scotland...	The earliest evidence of tree clearance and of arable cultivation recovered from a peat core taken near Kinloch Kinloch Castle Kinloch Castle is a late Victorian mansion located on the Isle of Rùm, one of the Small Isles off the west coast of Scotland. It was built as a private residence for Sir George Bullough, a textile tycoon from Lancashire whose father bought Rùm as his summer residence and shooting estate.... .	(O)

Bronze and Iron Ages

From the commencement of the Bronze Age

Bronze Age

The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron 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

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.) As the Bronze Age developed, Scotland's population grew to perhaps 300,000 in the second millennium BC. There is agreement amongst historians that from about 1000 BC it is legitimate to talk of a Celt

Celt

The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....

ic culture in Scotland, although the nature of the resident Pict

PICT

PICT is a graphics file format introduced on the original Apple Macintosh computer as its standard metafile format. It allows the interchange of graphics , and some limited text support, between Mac applications, and was the native graphics format of QuickDraw.The original version, PICT 1, was...

ish civilisation and their immediate predecessors remains enigmatic. 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

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

) 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

Outer Hebrides

The Outer Hebrides also known as the Western Isles and the Long Island, is an island chain off the west coast of Scotland. The islands are geographically contiguous with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland...

invite comparisons with Egypt, the simple lifestyle of the inhabitants of this settlement contrasts with that of Tutankamun - even if the former's lives may have been preferable to those of the toiling slaves who built Amarna

Amarna

Amarna is an extensive Egyptian archaeological site that represents the remains of the capital city newly–established and built by the Pharaoh Akhenaten of the late Eighteenth Dynasty , and abandoned shortly afterwards...

at this time. The Stirling hoard

Stirling hoard

The Stirling torcs make up a hoard of four gold Iron Age torcs, a type of necklace, all of which date to between 300 B.C. and 100 B.C. and which were buried deliberately at some point in antiquity. They were found by a metal detectorist in a field near Blair Drummond, Stirlingshire, Scotland on 29...

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.

Date (BC)	Location	Details	Type
	Sutherland Sutherland Sutherland is a registration county, lieutenancy area and historic administrative county of Scotland. It is now within the Highland local government area. In Gaelic the area is referred to according to its traditional areas: Dùthaich 'IcAoidh , Asainte , and Cataibh...	The Migdale Hoard Migdale Hoard The Migdale Hoard is a priceless collection of early Bronze Age jewellery discovered by workmen blasting a granite knoll behind Bonar Bridge, Scotland, near what is known as "Tulloch Hill" in May 1900.... is an early Bronze Age find at Skibo Castle Skibo Castle Skibo Castle is located to the west of Dornoch in the Highland county of Sutherland, Scotland overlooking the Dornoch Firth. Although the castle dates back to the 12th century, the present structure is largely of the 19th century, and early 20th century, when it was the home of industrialist... 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 Jet (lignite) Jet is a geological material and is considered to be a minor gemstone. Jet is not considered a true mineral, but rather a mineraloid as it has an organic origin, being derived from decaying wood under extreme pressure.... buttons.	(M)
2000	West Lothian West Lothian West Lothian is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, North Lanarkshire, the Scottish Borders and South Lanarkshire....	Further to Neolithic developments at Cairnpapple Hill (see above) finds from later dates include Beaker style pottery from 2000 BC, burial cist Cist A cist from ) is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. Examples can be found across Europe and in the Middle East.... s and graves from the Iron Age British Iron Age The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron-Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ireland, and which had an independent Iron Age culture of... or possibly the Christian Christian A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament... era.	(P, S)
2000	Forteviot Forteviot Forteviot is a village in Strathearn, Scotland on the south bank of the River Earn between Dunning and Perth. It lies in the council area of Perth and Kinross...	A Bronze Age tomb Forteviot Bronze Age tomb Forteviot Bronze Age tomb is a Bronze Age burial chamber discovered in 2009 at Forteviot near Perth, Scotland. The Bronze Age tomb is one of a number of archaeological digs at the site that Co-directors of the excavation, Dr Gordon Noble of the University of Aberdeen, and professor Stephen Driscoll... with burial treasures including the remains of an Early Bronze Age ruler laid out on white quartz Quartz Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,... pebbles and birch bark, with possessions including a bronze and gold dagger, a wooden bowl and a leather bag.	(M, S)
2000	Nairn	The Clava cairn Clava cairn The Clava cairn is a type of Bronze Age circular chamber tomb cairn, named after the group of 3 cairns at Balnuaran of Clava, to the east of Inverness in Scotland. There are about 50 cairns of this type in an area round about Inverness... s of Balnuaran are three substantial circular chamber tomb Chamber tomb A chamber tomb is a tomb for burial used in many different cultures. In the case of individual burials, the chamber is thought to signify a higher status for the interree than a simple grave. Built from rock or sometimes wood, the chambers could also serve as places for storage of the dead from one... s surrounded by a "kerb" ring of boulders. They are the best examples of a group of 45 such cairn Cairn Cairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas... s found in Inverness-shire Inverness-shire The County of Inverness or Inverness-shire was a general purpose county of Scotland, with the burgh of Inverness as the county town, until 1975, when, under the Local Government Act 1973, the county area was divided between the two-tier Highland region and the unitary Western Isles. The Highland... .	(S)
2000	Inverness Inverness Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...	A burial cist at Culduthel provided barbed arrowheads and an archer's wristguard studded with gold rivets.	(M, S)
2000	Argyll Argyll Argyll , archaically Argyle , is a region of western Scotland corresponding with most of the part of ancient Dál Riata that was located on the island of Great Britain, and in a historical context can be used to mean the entire western coast between the Mull of Kintyre and Cape Wrath...	Rock art found in the Achnabreac forest near Lochgilphead Lochgilphead Lochgilphead is a town and former burgh in Scotland, with a population of around 3,000 people. It is the administrative centre of Argyll and Bute. The town lies at the end of Loch Gilp and lies on the banks of the Crinan Canal.... includes some of the largest ring marks Cup and ring mark Cup and ring marks or cup marks are a form of prehistoric art found mainly in Atlantic Europe and Mediterranean Europe although similar forms are also found throughout the world including Mexico, Brazil, Greece, and India, where... in Britain. It is likely that the site is connected with nearby Kilmartin Glen, suggesting a millennium-long use of the latter.	(S)
1600 – 1100	South Uist South Uist South Uist is an island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. In the 2001 census it had a usually resident population of 1,818. There is a nature reserve and a number of sites of archaeological interest, including the only location in Great Britain where prehistoric mummies have been found. The...	Cladh Hallan Cladh Hallan Cladh Hallan is an archaeological site on the island of South Uist in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. It is significant as the only place in Great Britain where prehistoric mummies have been found. Excavations were carried out there between 1988 and 2002.... , the only site in the UK where prehistoric mummies Mummy A mummy is a body, human or animal, whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness , very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs, so that the recovered body will not decay further if kept in cool and dry... have been found.	(O, S)
1500? – 200	Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...	Bennachie Bennachie Bennachie is a range of hills in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It has several tops, the highest of which, Oxen Craig, has a height of 528 m... , a prominent hill with Bronze Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age... and Iron Age remains, including a 20 metre (66 ft) diameter roundhouse Roundhouse A roundhouse is a building used by railroads for servicing locomotives. Roundhouses are large, circular or semicircular structures that were traditionally located surrounding or adjacent to turntables... .	(S)
1500 BC – 150AD	East Lothian East Lothian East Lothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy Area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Midlothian. Its administrative centre is Haddington, although its largest town is Musselburgh....	Traprain Law Traprain Law Traprain Law is a hill about 221m in elevation, located east of Haddington in East Lothian, Scotland. It is the site of an oppidum or hill fort, which covered at its maximum extent about 16 ha and must have been a veritable town... , a hill fort Hill fort A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period... and burial site that covered up to 16 ha (40 acres) and was a seat of Votadini Votadini The Votadini were a people of the Iron Age in Great Britain, and their territory was briefly part of the Roman province Britannia... power.	(M, S)
1255	Forth Valley River Forth The River Forth , long, is the major river draining the eastern part of the central belt of Scotland.The Forth rises in Loch Ard in the Trossachs, a mountainous area some west of Stirling...	Three wooden disc-wheels found at Blair Drummond Blair Drummond Blair Drummond is a small rural community near Stirling in Scotland, predominantly located along the A84 road.-Description:... Moss are the earliest evidence for wheeled transport in Britain.	(O)
1159±	Iceland Iceland Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...	An eruption of the Hekla Hekla Hekla is a stratovolcano located in the south of Iceland with a height of . Hekla is one of Iceland's most active volcanoes; over 20 eruptions have occurred in and around the volcano since 874. During the Middle Ages, Icelanders called the volcano the "Gateway to Hell."Hekla is part of a volcanic... volcano Volcano 2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank\| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15... 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)
1000	Melrose Melrose, Scotland Melrose is a small town and civil parish in the Scottish Borders, historically in Roxburghshire. It is in the Eildon committee area.-Etymology:...	The fort on the summit of Eildon Hill Eildon Hill Not to be confused with Eldon Hill, EnglandEildon Hill lies just south of Melrose, Scotland in the Scottish Borders, overlooking the town. The name is usually pluralised into "the Eildons" or "Eildon Hills", because of its triple peak.... has 5 km (3.1 mi) of ramparts and could have had an occasional population of 3000 to 6000.	(O)
	Skye Skye Skye or the Isle of Skye is the largest and most northerly island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate out from a mountainous centre dominated by the Cuillin hills...	The remains of Dun Ringill Dun Ringill Dun Ringill is an Iron Age hill fort on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. Further fortified in the Middle Ages, tradition holds that it was for several centuries the seat of Clan MacKinnon... fort are similar in layout to that of both a broch Broch A broch is an Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure of a type found only in Scotland. Brochs include some of the most sophisticated examples of drystone architecture ever created, and belong to the classification "complex Atlantic Roundhouse" devised by Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s.... and a complex Atlantic roundhouse Atlantic roundhouse In archaeology, an Atlantic roundhouse is an Iron Age stone building found in the northern and western parts of mainland Scotland, the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.-Types of structure:... .	(S)
	Shetland	The main settlement of Jarlshof includes a smithy Forge A forge is a hearth used for forging. The term "forge" can also refer to the workplace of a smith or a blacksmith, although the term smithy is then more commonly used.The basic smithy contains a forge, also known as a hearth, for heating metals... , a cluster of wheelhouses and a later broch. The site was inhabited until Viking Viking The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to... times.	(P, S)
	Perthshire Perthshire Perthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...	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)
	Argyll Argyll Argyll , archaically Argyle , is a region of western Scotland corresponding with most of the part of ancient Dál Riata that was located on the island of Great Britain, and in a historical context can be used to mean the entire western coast between the Mull of Kintyre and Cape Wrath...	The "Ballachulish Goddess" - a life-sized female figure in oak with quartz pebbles for eyes found under a wicker structure beneath peat at Ballachulish Ballachulish The village of Ballachulish in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, is centred around former slate quarries. The name Ballachulish was more correctly applied to the area now called North Ballachulish, to the north of Loch Leven, but was usurped for the quarry villages at East Laroch and West Laroch,... . The high standard of preservation suggests it was deliberately submerged.	(O)
	Ross-shire Ross-shire Ross-shire is an area in the Highland Council Area in Scotland. The name is now used as a geographic or cultural term, equivalent to Ross. Until 1889 the term denoted a county of Scotland, also known as the County of Ross...	Dun an Ruigh Ruaidh on the south west shore of Loch Broom Loch Broom Loch Broom is a sea loch located in northwestern Ross and Cromarty, in the former parish of Lochbroom, in the west coast of Scotland. The small town of Ullapool lies on the eastern shore of the loch... is an early example of a complex Atlantic roundhouse Atlantic roundhouse In archaeology, an Atlantic roundhouse is an Iron Age stone building found in the northern and western parts of mainland Scotland, the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.-Types of structure:... from which the later brochs may have developed.	(S)
	Edinburgh Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...	A chariot Chariot The chariot is a type of horse carriage used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples. Ox carts, proto-chariots, were built by the Proto-Indo-Europeans and also built in Mesopotamia as early as 3000 BC. The original horse chariot was a fast, light, open, two wheeled... burial found at Newbridge Newbridge chariot The remains of an Iron Age chariot burial, were found near the Bronze burial mound of Huly Hill, at Newbridge, Scotland, 10 km west of Edinburgh in advance of development at the Edinburgh Interchange. The chariot was the first of its kind to be found in Scotland and shows Iron Age Scotland in... in 2001, the first such find in Scotland.	(M)
	Mousa Mousa Mousa is a small island in Shetland, Scotland, uninhabited since the nineteenth century. The island is known for the Broch of Mousa, an Iron Age round tower, and is designated as a Special Protection Area for storm-petrel breeding colonies.-Geography:...	Broch of Mousa built during the final period of broch Broch A broch is an Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure of a type found only in Scotland. Brochs include some of the most sophisticated examples of drystone architecture ever created, and belong to the classification "complex Atlantic Roundhouse" devised by Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s.... building, it stands some 13 m (44 feet) high and is the finest extant example of these structures, which are unique to the north and west of Scotland. Dun Carloway Dun Carloway Dun Carloway is a broch situated in the district of Carloway, on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis, Scotland. It is a remarkably well preserved broch - on the east side parts of the old wall still reaches to 9 metres tall. In places there are also more modern repairs to the east wall... broch on Lewis is also well-preserved and dates from a similar period.	(S)
	Stirling Stirling (council area) Stirling is one of the 32 unitary local government council areas of Scotland, and has a population of about 87,000 . It was created under the Local Government etc Act 1994 with the boundaries of the Stirling district of the former Central local government region, and it covers most of the former...	The Stirling hoard Stirling hoard The Stirling torcs make up a hoard of four gold Iron Age torcs, a type of necklace, all of which date to between 300 B.C. and 100 B.C. and which were buried deliberately at some point in antiquity. They were found by a metal detectorist in a field near Blair Drummond, Stirlingshire, Scotland on 29... , consisting of four gold torc Torc A torc, also spelled torq or torque, is a large, usually rigid, neck ring typically made from strands of metal twisted together. The great majority are open-ended at the front, although many seem designed for near-permanent wear and would have been difficult to remove. Smaller torcs worn around... s, a type of necklace, all of which were manufactured between 300 B.C. and 100 B.C. They were evidently buried deliberately at some point in antiquity.	(M)

Sites of uncertain date

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

Hirta

Hirta is the largest island in the St Kilda archipelago, on the western edge of Scotland. The name "Hiort" and "Hirta" have also been applied to the entire archipelago.-Geography:...

and Burghead

Burghead

Burghead is a small town in Moray, Scotland, about 8 miles north-west of Elgin. The town is mainly built on a Peninsula which projects north-westward into the Moray Firth, meaning that most of the town has sea on 3 sides. The present town was built between 1805 and 1809, destroying in the...

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 North Sea In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...	A flint scraper, found in a marine core taken from the sea bed between Norway Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million... 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)
Assynt Assynt Assynt is a civil parish in west Sutherland, Highland, Scotland – north of Ullapool.It is famous for its landscape and its remarkable mountains...	Discoveries in the Inchnadamph Inchnadamph Inchnadamph is a hamlet in Assynt, Sutherland, Scotland. The name is an anglicisation of the Gaelic name Innis nan Damh meaning 'meadow of the stags'... caves suggest human predation on Lynx Eurasian Lynx The Eurasian lynx is a medium-sized cat native to European and Siberian forests, South Asia and East Asia. It is also known as the European lynx, common lynx, the northern lynx, and the Siberian or Russian lynx... , Brown Bear Brown Bear The brown bear is a large bear distributed across much of northern Eurasia and North America. It can weigh from and its largest subspecies, the Kodiak Bear, rivals the polar bear as the largest member of the bear family and as the largest land-based predator.There are several recognized... , Arctic Fox Arctic fox The arctic fox , also known as the white fox, polar fox or snow fox, is a small fox native to Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and is common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. The Greek word alopex, means a fox and Vulpes is the Latin version... and Reindeer Reindeer The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size... . There is some evidence that the site may go as far back as the late Paleolithic Paleolithic The Paleolithic Age, Era or Period, is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools discovered , and covers roughly 99% of human technological prehistory... era, although carbon dating Oxidizable carbon ratio dating Oxidizable carbon ratio dating is a method of dating in archaeology and earth science that can be used to derive or estimate the age of soil and sediment samples up to 35,000 years old... analysis provides an estimate of 6000 BC.	(M, O, S)
Moray Moray Moray is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland.- History :...	Diverse ancient artefacts from various periods were so commonly found in the Culbin Sands Culbin Sands, Forest and Findhorn Bay Culbin Sands, Forest and Findhorn Bay is a huge area of coast and countryside and an SSSI in Moray, Scotland, stretching from just east of the town of Nairn eastwards to the village of Findhorn and its bay... between Forres Forres Forres , is a town and former royal burgh situated in the north of Scotland on the Moray coast, approximately 30 miles east of Inverness. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several occasions... and Nairn Nairn Nairn is a town and former burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is an ancient fishing port and market town around east of Inverness... 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 National Museum of Scotland The National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the Royal Museum next door, with collections covering science and technology, natural history, and world... but many thousands more have been lost.	(M, O, S)
Fetlar Fetlar Fetlar is one of the North Isles of Shetland, Scotland, with a population of 86 at the time of the 2001 census. Its main settlement is Houbie on the south coast, home to the Fetlar Interpretive Centre...	Funzie Girt dyke Funzie Girt dyke Funzie Girt is an ancient dividing wall that was erected from north to south across the island of Fetlar in Scotland. Some sources describe it as having been built in the Neolithic, but the date of construction is not certainly known. The line of the wall, which ran for over , once divided the... 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)
Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...	Petrosphere Petrosphere In archaeology, a petrosphere is the name for any spherical man-made object of any size that is composed of stone. These mainly prehistoric artefacts may have been created and/or selected, but altered in some way to perform their specific function, including carving and painting.Several classes of... s called "Carved Stone Balls Carved Stone Balls Carved Stone Balls are petrospheres, usually round and rarely oval. They have from 3 to 160 protruding knobs on the surface. Their size is fairly uniform, they date from the late Neolithic to possibly the Iron Age and are mainly found in Scotland... " of uncertain date, also found on Orkney, Skye Skye Skye or the Isle of Skye is the largest and most northerly island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate out from a mountainous centre dominated by the Cuillin hills... , Iona Iona Iona is a small island in the Inner Hebrides off the western coast of Scotland. It was a centre of Irish monasticism for four centuries and is today renowned for its tranquility and natural beauty. It is a popular tourist destination and a place for retreats... and Lewis. The Aberdeenshire finds coincide with unusual "recumbent" stone circles, suggesting a Neolithic provenance.	(S)
Hirta Hirta Hirta is the largest island in the St Kilda archipelago, on the western edge of Scotland. The name "Hiort" and "Hirta" have also been applied to the entire archipelago.-Geography:...	"Horned structures" 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)
Moray Moray Moray is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland.- History :...	The chambered well at Burghead Burghead Burghead is a small town in Moray, Scotland, about 8 miles north-west of Elgin. The town is mainly built on a Peninsula which projects north-westward into the Moray Firth, meaning that most of the town has sea on 3 sides. The present town was built between 1805 and 1809, destroying in the... 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)

External links

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Timeline

Paleolithic

Mesolithic

Neolithic

Bronze and Iron Ages

Sites of uncertain date

See also

External links