A crannog is typically a partially or entirely artificial island, usually built in lakes and estuarine waters of Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Unlike the prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps, which were built on the shores and not inundated until later, crannogs were built in the water, thus forming artificial islands.
The Lewis chessmen or Uig chessmen, named after the island or the bay where they were found, are a group of distinctive 12th century chess pieces, along with other game pieces, most of which are carved from walrus ivory. Discovered in 1831 on Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, they may constitute some of the few complete, surviving medieval chess sets, although it is not clear if a single complete period-accurate set can be assembled from the pieces. When found, the hoard contained 94 objects: 78 chess pieces, 14 tablemen and one belt buckle. Today, 82 pieces are owned and usually exhibited by the British Museum in London, and the remaining 11 are at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh; one chesspiece is owned privately.
Archaeology and geology continue to reveal the secrets of prehistoric Scotland, uncovering a complex past before the Romans brought Scotland into the scope of recorded history. Successive human cultures tended to be spread across Europe or further afield, but focusing on this particular geographical area sheds light on the origin of the widespread remains and monuments in Scotland, and on the background to the history of Scotland.
National Museums Scotland is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. It runs the national museums of Scotland.
Bonar Bridge is a village on the north bank of the Kyle of Sutherland to the west and the Dornoch Firth to the east in the Parish of Creich in the Highland council area of Scotland.
Duddingston is a historic village in the east of Edinburgh, Scotland, next to Holyrood Park.
The Atlantic Bronze Age refers to a cultural complex of the Bronze Age period in prehistoric Europe, spanning approximately 1300–700 BC. This complex includes various cultures in Britain, France, Ireland, Portugal and Spain.
Rev John Thomson FRSE HonRSA was a Scottish minister of the Church of Scotland and noted amateur landscape painter. He was the minister of Duddingston Kirk from 1805 to 1840.
The Migdale Hoard is a group 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. It is named after the nearby Loch Migdale.
Duddingston Loch is a lake, or freshwater loch, in Edinburgh. It is one of the last two remaining natural lochs within the city, the other being Lochend Loch. It is situated to the south of Holyrood Park and lies southwest of the village of Duddingston.
The Whitecleuch Chain is a large Pictish silver chain that was found in Whitecleuch, Lanarkshire, Scotland in 1869. A high status piece, it is likely to have been worn as a choker neck ornament for ceremonial purposes. It dates from around 400 to 800 AD.
Prehistoric art in Scotland is visual art created or found within the modern borders of Scotland, before the departure of the Romans from southern and central Britain in the early fifth century CE, which is usually seen as the beginning of the early historic or Medieval era. There is no clear definition of prehistoric art among scholars and objects that may involve creativity often lack a context that would allow them to be understood.
The Dowris Hoard is the name of an important Bronze Age hoard of over 200 objects found in Dowris, County Offaly, Ireland. Items from the deposit are currently split between two institutions: the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin and the British Museum in London.
Broch of Ayre, also known as St. Mary's Broch, is an Iron Age broch in Orkney, Scotland.
Heathery Burn Cave is a cave near Stanhope, County Durham, England, in which a large collection of Late Bronze Age weapons and tools was discovered and excavated between 1859 and 1872.
The Heights of Brae hoard is a group of at least eleven Bronze Age gold ornaments, currently held in the National Museum of Scotland. Gold bracelets, 'cup-ended ornaments' and a corrugated gold band were discovered through ploughing, and later excavation, in a field in the Highland region in Scotland. The objects date to the Late Bronze Age in Britain, around 950-750 BC, and represent the largest hoard of Bronze Age gold objects from Scotland.
The Adabrock Hoard is a collection of Late Bronze Age artefacts deposited at Adabroc, Isle of Lewis, Scotland around 1000-800 BC. The artefacts comprise two bronze socketed axeheads, a spearhead, a gouge, a hammer, three razors, as well as fragments of decorated bronze vessel, two whetstones and beads of glass, amber and gold. The hoard was discovered in peat, at a depth of 9–10 feet, by Donald Murray in May 1910. The hoard was acquired shortly after discovery by the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland and is accessioned as X.DQ 211-227.
The Talnotrie Hoard is a 9th-century mixed hoard of jewellery, coinage, metal-working objects and raw materials found in Talnotrie, Scotland, in 1912. Initially assumed to have belonged to a Northumbrian metal-worker, more recent interpretations associate its deposition with the activities of the Viking Great Army.
Libberton is a village and historical parish in South Lanarkshire. The village is approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Quothquan and 2.3 miles (3.68 km) south-east of Carnwath. The nearest rivers are the South Medwyn River, the North Medwyn River and the River Clyde which lies the east of the village.
The Late Bronze Age Hoard from Duddingston Loch, Edinburgh
A selection of objects from the Late Bronze Age Hoard from Duddingston Loch, Edinburgh
Spearheads and spearhead fragments from the Late Bronze Age Hoard from Duddingston Loch, Edinburgh
A damaged sword from the Late Bronze Age Hoard from Duddingston Loch, Edinburgh
