Photographs on the following pages and will be added to once I visit a few more places.
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How far back does history go?
A question which really has no answer regardless of your beliefs, either of a land created by God, or through pure evolution.
Rather than try to go back millions of years for the purpose of my little walk through Scottish time, it is best to start where it is more easily understood.
Early Scottish history is for the most part broken down by archaeologists into 4 time periods.
The Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age, occurring around 10000 years BC.
Neolithic or New Stone Age 5000- 2500 BC.
Bronze Age 2500- 700 BC.
Iron Age and the arrival of the Celts approximately 700 BC.
There are records of some of the settlements these people made dating back to 10, 000 years ago, and it is known that parts of Britain were inhabited 500,000 years ago.
Subsequent glaciations would have wiped out any evidence of the inhabitants prior to the last ice age, with
the last Ice Age believed to have ended about 11,000 years ago.
Some schools of thought believe we are in the early stages of a new ice age today, and with global warming it is certain it is going to happen sooner rather than later.
However that is way outside the subject of this web page so back to Scottish history we go.
Since there are no records of Scotland's inhabitants, prior to the Mesolithic period we will start there and have a little look at what these people were like.
As the Ice Age retreated forests grew to replace the previously barren Tundras, thus making these areas fit for human habitation.
The first records of human habitation in the Mesolithic times show the people to have been hunters and gatherers, moving with the seasons and not penetrating deeply into the interior lands.
They lived on what the land provided making no attempt to alter it to suit their needs.
Evidence of their existence has been found along coasts and rivers and more extensively on the Scottish Islands.
The Island of Oransay has one of the largest "midden" sites on it's coast.
Oransay is a tidal island joined at low tide to the Isle of Colonsay, part of the Hebridean Islands to the West of Scotland.
All of this group of Islands is rich in prehistoric history.
As time and people progressed and things as they always do, change and evolve, we enter the Neolithic time period.
These people were the first of the farmers, agriculture still being today, a major part of Scotland's industry.
These earlier farmers planted crops such as barley and wheat, and also had animals to tend to as opposed to just wild animals native to Scotland.
They appear to have lived in small groups, evidence of this having been found on mainland Scotland and on the Islands.
In one area the stone furniture in a building was found still in place.
It would seem to have been well organised with the remains of stone walls to separate the fields being found.
In other areas of Scotland wooden fencing has been identified.
On excavating Neolithic sites many varied artefacts have been found, showing evidence of the use of flint in tool making, some objects made from clay would suggest that pottery was being produced and other objects seem to have been made as gifts or for personal use.
It looks like this was a very civilised race of people with the main difference from today being that they were BC and therefore worshiped other Gods.
Very many of their burial sites have survived the rigours of time and show that they used communal tombs, built so they could be closed following one burial and re opened at a later date for another.
They were built as Cairns, constructed with usually a single burial chamber, and covered over with rocks to form the Cairn.
A passage would lead to the chamber from the mouth of the Cairn where it would be sealed pending re use.
As the Neolithic period progressed so did it's people.
Soon the large stone work monuments that we see today as Standing Stones, Henges and Stone Circles began to appear and this continued into the Bronze Age.
Many have been excavated for the purpose of radiocarbon dating, but some remain undisturbed and therefore are not dated.
The function of these stones has never been fully established and most likely never will be.
The most popular theories are in some ways proven by what has been found when these sites were excavated.
Communal meeting places to celebrate the solstices.
Ritual meeting places to seal contracts, as is believed to be the case in one of the Kilmartin sites, where one of the stones has a hole carved out of it, and it is believed the purpose of this was for the joining of hands through the hole to make the contract for example, marriage, binding.
The theories are as diverse as the stones themselves.
This was a civilised race and although those of us who are Christian will perhaps see this as pagan worship we have to remember this was all occurring before Christ.
Being near to these stones and touching them does, at least for me, produce an intense feeling that I stand on ancient land and in some inexplicable way, I do feel a connection to these early times.
Perhaps I am just a romantic at heart but visiting one of the most "active" sites at Kilmartin Glen in Argyllshire you cannot help but be aware of a previous civilisation.
Kilmartin Glen is of huge prehistorical importance, this area has around 350 ancient monuments within a 6 mile radius of the village of Kilmartin, 150 of these monuments being prehistoric.
Everything is ancient, from the houses constructed in later times, to the ground itself with the ancient trees and plants.
The amount of stone in this area, that lie in the fields, not connected to any known standing stone or circle is much more than is found in other parts of Scotland.
At this point, although I do intend to photograph all 350 of them, you will be relieved to hear that as yet, I haven't got them all, so the photography pages are not going to bore you to death:-)
During the Bronze age, bronze copper and gold came into use, there is evidence of trade in some of the items made in metals as Scotland does not have the tin needed to mix with copper to make bronze.
Neither does gold occur in any amount here, what was used in these times most likely having come from Ireland.
The way of life alters again throughout this time period, living arrangements were in "round houses", most probably used by only one family.
Implements required for daily living more similar to what is now used appeared.
Beakers for drinking from, hence the name of "Beakers" often used to describe these people, also flatter pottery appeared perhaps used as bowls and plates.
Ornaments and jewellery appeared, again suggesting trade and an interest in self adornment.
Major changes in the methods of burial began to occur, going away from the Neolithic method of communal graves and beginning to lean towards the individual.
Inhumations were becoming more popular in the bronze age with the body being placed in a cist.
A Cist being a stone coffin for want of a better description, made of stone with a stone top.
Often a pot of food would be placed with the body, which was most often in a crouched position.
The term inhumation refers to a human burial where bones are articulated and have not been burnt.
These Cists were often placed in within existing Henges and Stone Circles.
Some have been found inside Neolithic burial cairns, others have been either carved out of stone in the ground or buried then covered with more stone to form Cairns.
Later in the Bronze Age cremation became the preferred method of these evolving people.
So far I have not found anything concrete to say how the cremation was carried out, presumably some sort of funeral pyre.
The remains were placed in pits and then covered over with upturned urn.
There are many of these cremation sites in Scotland, one of the largest is on Tinto Hill, which I can see from my back windows.
The Cairn on top of it measures about 45 meters in diameter, suggesting it was the burial site of someone of importance.
Around this time or perhaps from Neolithic times, Cup and Ring markings appear on the stones.
The significance of these markings is and remains unknown.
Lost somewhere in the passages of time as surely no one did this amount of carving without a good reason.
Oh, for just a tiny trip back in time to see all of this, to find the true answers, to see the people build the Stone Circles, carve the stones and just a little look at our world so long before we became part of it.
Just a tiny trip......I do like my comfort:-))
A good point at which to pause in my journey through time as we now go into the Iron Age and the arrival of the Celts into the AD period.
Please press next to view some photography of things mentioned above and then move on to the next section of history.
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