Scotland

Apps and new technology could modernise the search for buried treasure in Scotland, experts say.

More info :

bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c72pn70p595o

New research has uncovered rare evidence of people living in Scotland's mountains after the end of the last Ice Age.

More info :

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-56661834

Archaeologists have discovered that some Scottish crannogs are thousands of years older than previously thought.

More info :

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-48625734

Artists have drawn on Scotland's Neolithic past to create a series of new illustrations.

More info :

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-47893306

Archaeologists have carried out a dig at one of Scotland's biggest and most significant hunter-gatherer sites.

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-47386160

Archaeologists say recent dry weather has given them the best chance since 1976 to detect new sites from the air.

More info :

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-44812713

Artefacts and structures found during archaeological excavations on the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route project are shedding light on land use and settlement in the north east over the past 15,000 years, including Mesolithic pits, Roman bread ovens, prehistoric roundhouses and a cremation complex.

Full story here.

Landmark Scottish castles and chapels are among 28 historic sites at "very high risk" from climate change, according to a new report.

A further 160 properties were found to be at "high risk" from flooding, coastal erosion and slope instability.

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-42687874

Including some prehistoric sites in Shetland and Orkney.

The winners of the Scottish Heritage Angel awards have been revealed.

(Good to see Whithorn and in particular Leslie Merriman receive awards)

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-41638223

The "army of builders" of Stonehenge ate animals brought from as far away as the north east of Scotland, according to a new exhibition at the famous Neolithic site in Wiltshire.

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-41669774

A shortlist of 12 nominees in four different categories has been revealed for the annual Scottish Heritage Angel Awards.

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-41415926

Whithorn Roundhouse worth a vote but then again they are all excellent.

http://www.scotsman.com/news/the-return-of-the-2-500-year-old-ballachulish-goddess-1-4542330

The 2,500-year-old Ballachulish Goddess has “returned” to the Highland lochside where she was found after the Iron Age figure was recreated by a team of archaeologists. The life-size carving, which dates to around 600BC, was discovered face down in Highland peat by workmen in 1880 .....

Article on The Guardian online travel page today...

theguardian.com/travel/2017/jun/19/scotland-prehistoric-rock-carvings-walking-holidays?CMP=twt_gu

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-38553858

Great news!!!

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-38328698

From The Guardian...

"An amateur archaeologist has tracked down hundreds of prehistoric rock engravings in Scotland in what has been described as a “phenomenal” contribution to the understanding of Britain’s earliest artworks.

Walking in all weathers once or twice a week, George Currie, 66, a musician by trade, has located more than 670 Neolithic and Bronze Age carvings over the past 15 years. He told the Observer: “It was ridiculous … I got tired of recording the stuff. I’ve never come across quite so much.”

There are many more to be found, he believes. Describing the thrill of uncovering ancient artworks that no one has seen for thousands of years, he said: “It’s quite a privilege.”

Currie’s discoveries will be included in the biggest research project into British prehistoric rock art, a five-year, £1m study starting next year. The project will be hosted by Historic Environment Scotland (HES) under the leadership of Dr Tertia Barnett, an honorary fellow of the University of Edinburgh. Rock art is “relatively undervalued and little known”, she said. “This project is very exciting.”

More here...

theguardian.com/science/2016/sep/17/rock-art-amateur-archaeologist-scotland?CMP=share_btn_fb

"A digital database of Scotland's Neolithic and early Bronze Age rock art is to be created.

About 6,000 rocks are known in Britain to have ancient cup and ring carvings. More than 2,000 of the sites are found in Scotland.

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has been awarded £807,000 by the Arts and Humanities Research Council towards the five-year project.

The database would include 2D and 3D models of some of the decorated stone.

The project will be launched next year and involve the University of Edinburgh and Glasgow School of Art.

The purpose and significance of rock art to prehistoric and more recent communities is poorly understood, HES said.

Archaeologists believe the markings may have been made for a number of reasons.

These include for rituals, as territorial markers or mapping the stars. They could even be the "doodlings" of bored, ancient shepherds."

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-36671897

Great news! Scientist Mary Somerville too.

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-36111759

Robert Macfarlane, writer and Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, welcomed the choice of Ms Shepherd for the £5 note.

He said: "It is thrilling to see Nan Shepherd celebrated and commemorated in this way.

"Nan was a blazingly brilliant writer, a true original whose novels, poems and non-fiction broke new ground in Scottish literature, and her influence lives on powerfully today."

Excavations at sites deep in the glens, on the National Trust for Scotland’s (NTS) Mar Lodge Estate in Aberdeenshire, have produced radiocarbon dates which demonstrate a human presence as far back as 8,100 BCE.

Report:

The Scotsman

BBC News

From Historic Scotland:

9 April 2014 Archaeologists have uncovered the earliest evidence of the presence of humans in Scotland it was announced today.

An assemblage of over 5,000 flint artefacts was recovered in 2005-9 by Biggar Archaeology Group in fields at Howburn, near Biggar in South Lanarkshire, and subsequent studies have dated their use to 14,000 years ago. Prior to the find, the oldest evidence of human occupation in Scotland could be dated to around 13,000 years ago at a now-destroyed cave site in Argyll.

Dating to the very earliest part of the late-glacial period, Howburn is likely to represent the first settlers in Scotland. The flint tools are strikingly close in design to similar finds in northern Germany and southern Denmark from the same period, a link which has helped experts to date them.

The new findings were revealed today (9th April) by Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs in her speech at the Institute for Archaeologists’ annual conference, which is this year taking place in Glasgow. The definitive findings will be published next year in a report funded by Historic Scotland.

During her speech, the Cabinet Secretary announced over £1.4 million of funding for more than 60 projects in 2014/15 through Historic Scotland’s annual Archaeology Programme, and launched the first Scottish Historic Environment Data (SHED) Strategy, which aims to create a collaborative national public information resource for the historic environment.

The hunters who left behind the flint remains at Howburn came into Scotland in pursuit of game, probably herds of wild horses and reindeer, at a time when the climate improved following the previous severe glacial conditions. Glacial conditions returned again around 13,000 years ago and Scotland was once again depopulated, probably for another 1000 years, after which new groups with different types of flint tools make their appearance.

Fiona Hyslop said: “Our heritage helps us to connect our past, present and future. It reveals stories about where we’ve come from and who we are, and helps us to reflect on who we could be. The discovery of the earliest physical evidence of human occupation in Scotland is hugely exciting, in part because it offers us a very tangible link to the past and a physical reminder of the people who came before us.”

The nature of the physical connections made between the peoples in Scotland, Germany and southern Denmark is not yet understood. However the similarity in the design of the tools from the two regions offers tantalising glimpses of connections across what would have been dry land, now drowned by the North Sea.

Alan Saville, President of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Senior Curator, Earliest Prehistory at the National Museums of Scotland and a specialist in the study of flaked flint and stone tools said: “These tools represent a real connection with archaeological finds in north-west Germany, southern Denmark and north-west Holland, a connection not seen elsewhere in Britain at this time. This discovery is both intriguing and revolutionises our ideas about where humans came from in this very early period. In southern Britain, early links are with northern France and Belgium. Howburn is just one chance discovery and further such discoveries will no doubt emerge.”

TWO of Scotland's main heritage bodies are to merge, it has been confirmed.

The Scottish Government published a strategy document for the "historic environment" yesterday as Fiona Hyslop, the culture secretary, launched a Bill to address the management of the nation's built heritage.

The Historic Environment Scotland Bill will bring together Historic Scotland and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS).

The new body will be called Historic Environment Scotland (HES).

The organisation will "be expected to play a key role in delivering the strategy, developed in partnership with stakeholders" which include the Built Environment Forum Scotland, the National Trust for Scotland, the Society of Antiquaries, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and others.

The new strategy, Our Place in Time – A Historic Environment Strategy for Scotland, is now online.

The new Historic Environment Scotland body is expected to be launched in 2015 if the Bill, which has been welcomed by the National Trust for Scotland, passes through parliament.

It will be established in two stages, with the inauguration of the body and a board appointed in April 2015, and the transfer of powers to the new body in October 2015.

Ms Hyslop said: "Combining the skills, expertise and professional experience of Historic Scotland and RCAHMS, HES will take a lead in protecting Scotland's rich historic heritage to ensure it can be enjoyed now and the future."

heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/scottish-heritage-bodies-to-merge.23596654

News for the Scots to think about.

rcahms.gov.uk/news/rcahms-review-update-april

DNA tests on British prehistoric mummies revealed they were made of body parts from several different people, arranged to look like one person.

The four bodies discovered in 2001 on South Uist, in Scotland's Outer Hebrides were the first evidence in Britain of deliberate mummification.

It is thought the body parts may have come from people in the same families.

More here...

bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14575729

themodernantiquarian.com/site/6447/cladh_hallan_round_houses.html

Scotlands 5 World Heritage sites are to link up with a series of interactive events exploring the theme of cultural identity. Includes Neolithic Orkney.

More info :

Http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-12800371

A 79 year old recluse has left his fortune to the National Trust of Scotland. He had never visited apparently and his conception of Scotland was based on the film Brigadoon. His only friend, the barber, got the pug and a vet's bill.

independent.co.uk/news/people/news/love-of-brigadoon-inspires-vegas-tycoon-to-leave-fortune-to-scotland-2176161.html

Visitor numbers soar at the nation's historic sites.

Mentioned are Skara Brae plus Edinburgh and Urquhart Castles both at one time hillforts.

More info :

pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/2056882

Ramblers Scotland is backing a petition to force a Scottish Government review on unsightly vehicular hill tracks and electrified deer fencing in the Scottish countryside. "Neither requires planning permission and both cause scars on our wild landscapes" says Helen todd, Ramblers Scotland's development officer. The e-petition was launched by Peter Peacock MSP with the Mountaineering Council of Scotland, and can be signed by visiting

www.ramblers.org.uk/scotland/ourwork_scotland/countryside/Planning

(I've just signed the petition/ Hilltracks campaign)

At New Scientist web site:

"Elaborate symbols and ornate depictions of animals carved in stone by an ancient Scottish people have given up their secret – to mathematics. Statistical analysis reveals that the shapes are a forgotten written language. The method could help interpret many other enigmatic scripts – and even analyse animal communication....."

newscientist.com/article/dn18725-mathematics-of-ancient-carvings-reveals-lost-language.html

Full research article available at:

rspa.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2010/03/26/rspa.2010.0041.full.pdf+html

Four solid gold Iron Age neck ornaments which were found by an amateur metal detector have gone on display. Here is the BBC video

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/scotland_video_and_audio/8470436.stm

And some words plus the audio/video from the Edinburgh side of the country.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8469787.stm

Archaeologists have made what they described as a "chance discovery" of a stone arrowhead in the garden of a ruined schoolhouse in Sutherland.

Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division (Guard) said it may have been dropped by a hunter.

It added that it may have arrived from elsewhere and then been lost by a local collector or a teacher at the former parish school in Durness.

The 3cm relic was made from a sedimentary rock called black chert.

In a report by Guard made available on Highland Council's Highland Historic Environment Record, archaeologists said the find had "cast an unexpected light" on the area's prehistoric times.

The spot on rocky ground between two lochs was a perfect place to stalk game, they said.

But the archaeologists added that it could have been lost from a private collection after being found somewhere else locally.

Guard's investigations at the schoolhouse at Loch Croispol is part of community company Durness Development Group's wider efforts to interpret the area's past.

Durness Parish School in the far north fell into a ruined state after its last master was sacked in 1861.

Built in the 1760s, following a campaign by local minister the Reverend Murdo MacDonald, the school had a classroom and accommodation for its teacher.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/8461919.stm

In a silent move, the RCAHMS switched to a state-of-the-art update of the good old Canmore database on 11th March 2009.

It really looks much better and there are obvious advantages over the old format like direct access instead of a log-in procedure and, when available, a 10-digit gridref.

But the best is yet to come:

"Further Canmore developments are being prepared, and from May, you will be able to make your own contributions to the database – a first for any Scottish national collection – including adding text and images through Flickr. You will also be able to customise Canmore to reflect your own requirements with a new 'myCanmore' facility, set up RSS feeds and links into social networking sites."

Now that sounds really great; "myCanmore", no need for grumbling about (type) errors anymore!

For those of you wrestling with the Canmap feature: that is still what it was but maybe it will be updated too. Hope so!

Congrats for the RCAHMS for this big leap forwards towards a virtual museum of Scotland's (pre-) History.

Here's the link to the new Canmore database:

rcahms.gov.uk/new-canmore.html

Enjoy!

Now downloadable at ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/library/des/index.cfm as a .pdf for each year from 1947-2001. However these are facsimiles, so you really need to know which year you want as these won't be truly searchable

MORE THAN 10,000 of the most important ancient and historical sites around Scotland's coastline are at risk of being destroyed by the storms and rising sea levels that will come with global warming.

Sites in jeopardy include the neolithic settlement of Skara Brae on Orkney and the prehistoric ruins at Jarlshof on Shetland. Others under threat range from Viking burial boats to Iron Age brochs and Mesolithic middens.

New surveys for Historic Scotland reveal that the remains of communities up to 9000 years old could be lost for ever due to accelerating coastal erosion.

The potential loss is incalculable and has alarmed experts. "This is a uniquely valuable and totally irreplaceable part of the nation's cultural heritage, with much still to teach us about our past," said Tom Dawson, an archaeologist at the University of St Andrews....

the article continues at the link below

sundayherald.com/news/heraldnews/display.var.1708488.0.10_000_historic_sites_at_risk_from_climate_change.php

The Hunterian museum is re-assembling his(mostly Northern Isles) donation and adding this to their catalogue as they go huntsearch.gla.ac.uk

At present this is text-only but images will be added over the coming months

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1626742006

Scotland's magical ancient circles leave Stonehenge standing

AURA SABADUS

TOURISTS exploring Britain's ancient spiritual heritage are better off visiting Scotland's stone circles than "noisy, overcrowded" Stonehenge, according to research by the National Geographic Traveller. In a survey of the world's best-known heritage sites, the magazine described the famous Megalithic attraction in the south-west of England as a "mess", lacking "charm and magic".

Instead, the magazine recommends the unspoilt stone circles in the north of Scotland which, despite growing visitor numbers, remain unspoiled by noise and intrusion. The researchers' verdict on Stonehenge said: "What a mess! Compelling... over-loved... certainly the current experience lacks magic. Crowd control is a good thing, but over-regulation has made the visitor's experience rather disappointing; charm is gone. Good interpretation and so impressive... but you can get a similar impact from lots of other stone circles, especially up north in Scotland, without all the noise and intrusion."

Last night, Scottish tourism bosses seized on the comments, claiming that the protected Neolithic monuments of Orkney, maintained an "awe-inspiring" feel which other world heritage sites had long lost. The islands' 5,500-year-old prehistoric heartland, which was granted World Heritage status by UNESCO in 1999, includes some of the best-preserved archaeological sites in Europe. These include the Ring of Brodgar – a massive ceremonial enclosure and stone circles, and the nearby Standing Stones of Stenness, Barnhouse Village and the tomb of Maeshowe.

Carly Simpson, the marketing executive of VisitOrkney, said: "Although the site is visited by thousands of people each year, the stone circles still maintain a magical, untouched charm, which, sadly, some other World Heritage Sites have lost due to high visitor numbers."

Researchers at the National Geographic Traveller surveyed 94 World Heritage Sites, as varied as the Jurassic Coast of Dorset, the Pyramids of Giza and the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador. The city of Bath rated 78 points, putting it seventh in the overall list. Stonehenge scored only 56 points out of 100, better than the lowest mark – 39 for Kathmandu Valley – but well short of Norway's West Fjords on 87 points.

A spokeswoman for English Heritage said yesterday : "The site has lost some of its magic, but the fact that it is the only UK World Heritage Site to have been nominated as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World is testimony to its universal and enduring appeal."

A spokeswoman for Historic Scotland said: "We are delighted the survey of World Heritage Sites recognises the importance of Scotland's stone circles." The Heart of Neolithic Orkney and its stone circles is one of four World Heritage Sites in Scotland – the others are the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh, New Lanark and the island of St Kilda, all recognised for cultural and natural significance.

UNSPOILT REFLECTION OF ANCIENT TIMES

ORKNEY'S stone circles are Britain's best-preserved ritual centre, reflecting the workings of a prehistoric civilisation unspoilt by urban and industrial development. The site includes a series of related monuments which fall into two complexes some 6km apart.

The Ring of Brodgar comprises a massive ceremonial enclosure and stone circles, dating from between 2500 and 2000BC. Around it are at least 13 prehistoric burial mounds and a stone setting.

Close by are the Standing Stones of Stenness, Barnhouse Village and the tomb of Maeshowe – one of the finest architectural achievements of prehistory.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/5270594.stm

A heatwave has revealed fleeting traces of early settlements to historians taking a bird's eye view of Scotland. The conditions this summer have proved ideal for aerial archaeologists who document the buried sites, which appear in ripening crops or scorched grass. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland said it was one of the best in its 30 years.

Discoveries have included various prehistoric settlements and much more detail at two major Roman forts. Dave Cowley, the aerial survey manager at the RCAHMS, said the findings, across the Scottish lowlands, were significant and helped build a picture of where people had lived. "We've been finding archaeological sites that haven't been productive in the past and that's because of the extreme conditions," he said.

Crops that lie directly above buried features ripen at a different rate from the rest of the field when it is dry, producing "crop marks". Similar markings also form in grass as it parches in the sun.

Mr Cowley said: "Bits of the Borders, some of the Cheviot foothills, parts of Fife and the Moray Plain have produced previously unknown sites. Town Yetholm through to Morebattle have been producing material, which is parched out in grass. We have seen various types of prehistoric settlements usually as circular or rectangular enclosures and burial sites."

According to Mr Cowley, the aerial archaeologists have also been able to see patterns across the whole expanse of the Roman forts at Newstead in the Borders and Carpow in Fife. This has helped to build on the knowledge gained from small, detailed excavations.

"The sites that have been absolutely spectacular visually are two of our Roman forts," he said. "Newstead Roman Fort has shown better this year than it's shown since the 1940s. The line of the fort wall, the ditches and even details like the towers on either side of one of the gateways can be seen. You can also see the arrangement of all the internal roads inside the fort, the possible positions of bread ovens and other internal features. And at Carpow you're seeing raised pits and internal features."

The RCAHMS aerial survey has undertaken about 1,000 flights, using a four-seater Cessna aircraft from its base in Edinburgh, and it has produced more than 100,000 images of the country since 1976. The pictures have significantly improved the historical information about areas where thousands of years of agriculture have levelled and hidden the remains of earlier settlements. The information can also prove crucial to planners when considering sites for new developments such as housing or major pipe routes.