1.
Dun Carloway
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Dun Carloway is a broch situated in the district of Carloway, on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis, Scotland. It is a well preserved broch - on the east side parts of the old wall still reach to 9 metres tall. Most brochs were built in the period from 100 BC to 100 AD, Dun Carloway was probably built in the 1st century AD. Through the centuries Dun Carloway remained in use until the level was too high due to build-up of the occupation layers. The broch was occasionally used in times as a stronghold. The Morrisons of Ness put Dun Carloway into use in 1601, the story goes that they had stolen cattle from the MacAuleys of Uig. The MacAuleys wanted their cattle back and found the Morrisons in the broch, one of them, Donald Cam MacAuley, climbed the outer wall using two daggers and managed to smoke out the inhabitants by throwing heather into the broch and then setting fire to it. The MacAuleys then destroyed the broch, presumably in the 16th century the walls of the broch was still largely intact. By the middle of the 19th century a portion of the top of the wall had disappeared. The situation in 1861 is shown in a drawing published in 1890 by Captain Thomas, to prevent further decay Dun Carloway was in 1882 one of the first officially protected monuments in Scotland. Five years later, the broch was placed under state management, since then, restoration has been performed on the broch. At the beginning of the 20th century and in the 1970s there was limited archaeological excavation, Dun Carloway is built on a rock on a steep south slope at the height of 50 metres. It is the best preserved broch in the Outer Hebrides, the wall of the broch rises on the south side to 9.2 metres. Only Mousa Broch and Dun Telve have walls that are higher, the original height of Dun Carloway is unknown. The external diameter is 14.3 metres, the diameter of the inner courtyard is 7.4 metres. The walls vary in thickness from 2.9 to 3.8 metres from the south-east to the north, the entrance is on the north-west side. The entrance is 75 centimetres wide and 1 metre high, the walls on this side of the broch do not exceed the entrance capstone. On the south side of the entrance-passage is a guard cell
2.
Lewis
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Lewis is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides. The total area of Lewis is 683 square miles, Lewis is, in general, the lower-lying part of the island, the other part, Harris, is more mountainous. Due to its flatter, more land, Lewis contains three-quarters of the population of the Western Isles. The islands diverse habitats are home to an assortment of flora and fauna, such as the eagle, red deer and seal. Lewis has a Presbyterian tradition and a rich history and it was once part of the Norse Kingdom of Mann and the Isles. Today, life is different from elsewhere in Scotland, with Sabbath observance. Lewis has a cultural heritage as can be seen from its myths and legends as well as the local literary. The Gaelic name Leòdhas may be derived from Norse Ljoðahús, although other origins have been suggested – most notably the Gaelic leogach and it is probably the place referred to as Limnu by Ptolemy, which also means marshy. It is also known as the Isle of Lewis, another name usually used in a cultural or poetic context is Eilean an Fhraoich. Although this refers to the whole of the island of Lewis and Harris, the earliest archaeological remains date from about 5,000 years ago. At that time, people began to settle in permanent farms rather than following their herds, the small houses of these people have been found throughout the Western Isles, in particular, at Dail Mhor, Carloway. The more striking great monuments of this period are the temples, about 500 BC, island society moved into the Iron Age. The buildings became larger and more prominent, culminating in the brochs – circular, the best remaining example of a broch in Lewis is at Dùn Chàrlabhaigh. The Scots arrived during the first centuries AD, bringing the Gaelic language with them, as Christianity began to spread through the islands in the 6th and later centuries, following Columban missionaries, Lewis was inhabited by the Picts. In the 9th century AD, the Vikings began to settle on Lewis, the Norse invaders intermarried with local people and abandoned their pagan beliefs. At that time, rectangular buildings began to round ones. Lewis became part of the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles, the Lewis chessmen, found on the island in 1831, date from the time of Viking rule. The people were called the Norse Gaels or Gall-Ghàidheil, reflecting their mixed Scandinavian/Gaelic background, the Norse language persists in many island placenames and some personal names to this day, although the latter are fairly evenly spread across the Gàidhealtachd
3.
British Iron Age
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The parallel phase of Irish archaeology is termed the Irish Iron Age. The Iron Age is not a horizon of common artefacts. The British Iron Age lasted in theory from the first significant use of iron for tools, the Romanised culture is termed Roman Britain and is considered to supplant the British Iron Age. The Irish Iron Age was ended by the rise of Christianity, at a minimum, Celtic is a linguistic term without an implication of a lasting cultural unity connecting Gaul with the British Isles throughout the Iron Age. However it cannot be assumed that particular cultural features found in one Celtic-speaking culture can be extrapolated to the others. At present over 100 large-scale excavations of Iron Age sites have taken place, dating from the 8th century BC to the 1st century AD, hundreds of radiocarbon dates have been acquired and have been calibrated on four different curves, the most precise being based on tree ring sequences. In parts of Britain that were not Romanised, such as Scotland, the geographer closest to AD100 is perhaps Ptolemy. Pliny and Strabo are a bit older, but Ptolemy gives the most detail, during the later Bronze Age there are indications of new ideas influencing land use and settlement. Extensive field systems, now called Celtic fields, were being set out and settlements were becoming more permanent, long ditches, some many miles in length, were dug with enclosures placed at their ends. These are thought to indicate territorial borders and a desire to control over wide areas. By the 8th century BC, there is increasing evidence of Great Britain becoming closely tied to continental Europe, especially in Britains South and East. New weapon types appeared with clear parallels to those on the continent such as the Carps tongue sword, phoenician traders probably began visiting Great Britain in search of minerals around this time, bringing with them goods from the Mediterranean. At the same time, Northern European artefact types reached Eastern Great Britain in large quantities from across the North Sea, defensive structures dating from this time are often impressive, for example the brochs of Northern Scotland and the hill forts that dotted the rest of the islands. Some of the most well-known hill forts include Maiden Castle, Dorset, Cadbury Castle, Somerset and Danebury, hill forts first appeared in Wessex in the Late Bronze Age, but only become common in the period between 550 and 400 BC. The earliest were of a simple form, and often connected with earlier enclosures attached to the long ditch systems. Few hill forts have been excavated in the modern era, Danebury being a notable exception. However, it appears that forts were also used for domestic purposes, with examples of food storage, industry. Many hill forts are not in fact forts at all, the development of hill forts may have occurred due to greater tensions that arose between the better structured and more populous social groups
4.
Dry stone
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Dry stone is a building method by which structures are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together. Dry stone structures are stable because of their construction method. Dry stone technology is best known in the context of wall construction, but dry stone artwork, buildings, bridges, Dry stone walls have been traditionally used in building construction as field boundaries and garden or churchyard walls, and on steep slopes as retaining walls for terracing. Some dry-stone wall constructions in north-west Europe have been dated back to the Neolithic Age, some Cornish hedges are believed by the Guild of Cornish Hedgers to date from 5000 BC, although there appears to be little dating evidence. In County Mayo, Ireland, a field system made from dry-stone walls. The cyclopean walls of the acropolis of Mycenae have been dated to 1350 BC, in Belize, the Mayan ruins at Lubaantun illustrate use of dry stone construction in architecture of the 8th and 9th centuries AD. When used as boundaries, dry stone structures often are known as dykes. Dry stone walls are characteristic of areas of Britain and Ireland where rock outcrops naturally or large stones exist in quantity in the soil. They are especially abundant in the West of Ireland, particularly Connemara and they may also be found throughout the Mediterranean, including retaining walls used for terracing. Such constructions are common where large stones are plentiful or conditions are too harsh for hedges capable of retaining livestock to be grown as field boundaries. Many thousands of miles of such walls exist, most of them centuries old, the technique of construction was brought to America primarily by English and Scots-Irish immigrants. The technique was taken to Australia and New Zealand. Similar walls also are found in the Swiss-Italian border region, where they are used to enclose the open space under large natural boulders or outcrops. The higher-lying rock-rich fields and pastures in Bohemias South-Western border range of Šumava are often lined by dry stone walls built of field-stones removed from the arable or cultural land and they serve both as cattle/sheep fences and the lots borders. Sometimes also the dry stone terracing is apparent, often combined with parts of masonry that are held together by a clay-cum-needles composite mortar. Great Zimbabwe is a city in the south-eastern hills of Zimbabwe, near Lake Mutirikwe. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe during the countrys Late Iron Age, construction on the monument began in the 11th century and continued until the 15th century. The exact identity of the Great Zimbabwe builders is at present unknown, the stone city spans an area of 722 hectares which, at its peak, could have housed up to 18,000 people
5.
Scotland
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Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It shares a border with England to the south, and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east. In addition to the mainland, the country is made up of more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles, the Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI, King of Scots, became King of England and King of Ireland, Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain. The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. Within Scotland, the monarchy of the United Kingdom has continued to use a variety of styles, titles, the legal system within Scotland has also remained separate from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland, Scotland constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in both public and private law. Glasgow, Scotlands largest city, was one of the worlds leading industrial cities. Other major urban areas are Aberdeen and Dundee, Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third-largest city in Scotland, the title of Europes oil capital, following a referendum in 1997, a Scottish Parliament was re-established, in the form of a devolved unicameral legislature comprising 129 members, having authority over many areas of domestic policy. Scotland is represented in the UK Parliament by 59 MPs and in the European Parliament by 6 MEPs, Scotland is also a member nation of the British–Irish Council, and the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly. Scotland comes from Scoti, the Latin name for the Gaels, the Late Latin word Scotia was initially used to refer to Ireland. By the 11th century at the latest, Scotia was being used to refer to Scotland north of the River Forth, alongside Albania or Albany, the use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages. Repeated glaciations, which covered the land mass of modern Scotland. It is believed the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, the groups of settlers began building the first known permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. The well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the mainland of Orkney dates from this period and it contains the remains of an early Bronze Age ruler laid out on white quartz pebbles and birch bark. It was also discovered for the first time that early Bronze Age people placed flowers in their graves, in the winter of 1850, a severe storm hit Scotland, causing widespread damage and over 200 deaths. In the Bay of Skaill, the storm stripped the earth from a large irregular knoll, when the storm cleared, local villagers found the outline of a village, consisting of a number of small houses without roofs. William Watt of Skaill, the laird, began an amateur excavation of the site, but after uncovering four houses
6.
Atlantic roundhouse
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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. A form of dry-stone Iron Age dwelling, they are unique to the region, an example of a simple Atlantic roundhouse is at Bu in Orkney, while complex structures include the brochs, duns and wheelhouses. Although constructed out of stone, they are thought to have had a wooden roof similar to that of the timber roundhouses found elsewhere. Examples can be found at Dun Ringill on Skye, Dun Carloway on Lewis, Pierowall on Westray, dunvegan Community Trust plan to re-create an Iron Age roundhouse structure at Orbost on Skye with the help of National Lottery funding
7.
Archaeology
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Archaeology, or archeology, is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, Archaeology can be considered both a social science and a branch of the humanities. In North America, archaeology is considered a sub-field of anthropology, archaeologists study human prehistory and history, from the development of the first stone tools at Lomekwi in East Africa 3.3 million years ago up until recent decades. Archaeology as a field is distinct from the discipline of palaeontology, Archaeology is particularly important for learning about prehistoric societies, for whom there may be no written records to study. Prehistory includes over 99% of the human past, from the Paleolithic until the advent of literacy in societies across the world, Archaeology has various goals, which range from understanding culture history to reconstructing past lifeways to documenting and explaining changes in human societies through time. The discipline involves surveying, excavation and eventually analysis of data collected to learn more about the past, in broad scope, archaeology relies on cross-disciplinary research. Archaeology developed out of antiquarianism in Europe during the 19th century, Archaeology has been used by nation-states to create particular visions of the past. Nonetheless, today, archaeologists face many problems, such as dealing with pseudoarchaeology, the looting of artifacts, a lack of public interest, the science of archaeology grew out of the older multi-disciplinary study known as antiquarianism. Antiquarians studied history with attention to ancient artifacts and manuscripts. Tentative steps towards the systematization of archaeology as a science took place during the Enlightenment era in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, in Europe, philosophical interest in the remains of Greco-Roman civilization and the rediscovery of classical culture began in the late Middle Age. Antiquarians, including John Leland and William Camden, conducted surveys of the English countryside, one of the first sites to undergo archaeological excavation was Stonehenge and other megalithic monuments in England. John Aubrey was a pioneer archaeologist who recorded numerous megalithic and other monuments in southern England. He was also ahead of his time in the analysis of his findings and he attempted to chart the chronological stylistic evolution of handwriting, medieval architecture, costume, and shield-shapes. Excavations were also carried out in the ancient towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum and these excavations began in 1748 in Pompeii, while in Herculaneum they began in 1738. The discovery of entire towns, complete with utensils and even human shapes, however, prior to the development of modern techniques, excavations tended to be haphazard, the importance of concepts such as stratification and context were overlooked. The father of archaeological excavation was William Cunnington and he undertook excavations in Wiltshire from around 1798, funded by Sir Richard Colt Hoare. Cunnington made meticulous recordings of neolithic and Bronze Age barrows, one of the major achievements of 19th century archaeology was the development of stratigraphy. The idea of overlapping strata tracing back to successive periods was borrowed from the new geological and paleontological work of scholars like William Smith, James Hutton, the application of stratigraphy to archaeology first took place with the excavations of prehistorical and Bronze Age sites
8.
Scots language
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Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster. It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language which was restricted to most of the Highlands. The language developed during the Middle English period as a distinct entity, although a number of paradigms for distinguishing between languages and dialects do exist, these often render contradictory results. Broad Scots is at one end of a linguistic continuum. Scots is often regarded as one of the ancient varieties of English, alternatively, Scots is sometimes treated as a distinct Germanic language, in the way Norwegian is closely linked to, yet distinct from, Danish. In the 2011 Scottish census, a question on Scots language ability was featured, native speakers sometimes refer to their vernacular as braid Scots or use a dialect name such as the Doric, or the Buchan Claik. The old-fashioned Scotch, an English loan, occurs occasionally, especially in Northern Ireland, the term Lallans, a variant of the Modern Scots word lawlands, is also used, though this is more often taken to mean the Lallans literary form. Scots in Ireland is known in circles as Ulster-Scots or Ullans. Scots is a contraction of Scottis, the Older Scots and northern version of late Old English Scottisc, before the end of the 15th century, English speech in Scotland was known as English, whereas Scottish referred to Gaelic. From 1495 the term Scottis was increasingly used to refer to the Lowland vernacular and Erse, meaning Irish, the Gaelic of Scotland is now usually called Scottish Gaelic. Northumbrian Old English had been established in what is now southeastern Scotland as far as the River Forth by the seventh century and it remained largely confined to this area until the thirteenth century, continuing in common use while Gaelic was the language of the Scottish court. Scots also includes loan words resulting from contact with Gaelic, Early medieval legal documents include a body of Gaelic legal and administrative loans. Contemporary Gaelic loans are mainly for geographical and cultural features, such as ceilidh, loch, from the thirteenth century Early Scots spread further into Scotland via the burghs, proto-urban institutions which were first established by King David I. The growth in prestige of Early Scots in the century. By the sixteenth century Middle Scots had established orthographic and literary norms largely independent of those developing in England, from 1610 to the 1690s during the Plantation of Ulster large numbers of Scots-speaking Lowlanders, some 200,000, settled there. In the core areas of Scots settlement, Scots outnumbered English settlers by five or six to one, Modern Scots is used to describe the language after 1700 when southern Modern English was generally adopted as the literary language though Scots remained the vernacular. In Scotland, Scots is spoken in the Scottish Lowlands, the Northern Isles, Caithness, Arran, in Ulster it is spoken in the Counties of Down, Antrim, Londonderry and Donegal. Dialects include Insular Scots, Northern Scots, Central Scots, Southern Scots, many speakers are either diglossic and/or able to code-switch along the continuum depending on the situation in which they find themselves
9.
Antiquarian
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An antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with attention to ancient artifacts, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives. Today the term is used in a pejorative sense, to refer to an excessively narrow focus on factual historical trivia. The Kaogutu or Illustrated Catalogue of Examined Antiquity compiled by Lü Dalin is one of the oldest known catalogues to systematically describe and classify ancient artifacts which were unearthed. Interests in antiquarian studies of ancient inscriptions and artifacts waned after the Song Dynasty, Books on antiquarian topics covered such subjects as the origin of customs, religious rituals, and political institutions, genealogy, topography and landmarks, and etymology. By contrast, antiquarian works as a form are organized by topic. Major antiquarian Latin writers with surviving works include Varro, Pliny the Elder, Aulus Gellius, the Roman emperor Claudius published antiquarian works, none of which is extant. Some of Ciceros treatises, particularly his work on divination, show strong antiquarian interests, roman-era Greek writers also dealt with antiquarian material, such as Plutarch in his Roman Questions and the Deipnosophistae of Athenaeus. The aim of Latin antiquarian works is to collect a number of possible explanations. The antiquarians are often used as sources by the ancient historians, despite the importance of antiquarian writing in the literature of ancient Rome, some scholars view antiquarianism as emerging only in the Middle Ages. Antiquarianisms wider flowering is more associated with the Renaissance, and with the critical assessment. The development of genealogy as a scientific discipline went hand-in-hand with the development of antiquarianism, genealogical antiquaries recognised the evidential value for their researches of non-textual sources, including seals and church monuments. Many early modern antiquaries were also chorographers, that is to say, they recorded landscapes, in England, some of the most important of these took the form of county histories. They increasingly argued that empirical evidence could be used to refine. Antiquaries had always attracted a degree of ridicule, and since the century the term has tended to be used most commonly in negative or derogatory contexts. Nevertheless, many practising antiquaries continue to claim the title with pride, Antiquary was the usual term in English from the 16th to the mid-18th centuries to describe a person interested in antiquities. From the second half of the 18th century, however, antiquarian began to be used widely as a noun. From the 16th to the 19th centuries, a distinction was perceived to exist between the interests and activities of the antiquary and the historian
10.
Old Norse
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Old Norse was a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during about the 9th to 13th centuries. These dates, however, are not absolute, since written Old Norse is found well into the 15th century, Old Norse was divided into three dialects, Old West Norse, Old East Norse and Old Gutnish. Old West and East Norse formed a continuum, with no clear geographical boundary between them. For example, Old East Norse traits were found in eastern Norway, although Old Norwegian is classified as Old West Norse, most speakers spoke Old East Norse in what is present day Denmark and Sweden. Old Gutnish, the more obscure dialectal branch, is included in the Old East Norse dialect due to geographical associations. It developed its own features and shared in changes to both other branches. The 12th century Icelandic Gray Goose Laws state that Swedes, Norwegians, Icelanders and Danes spoke the same language, another term used, used especially commonly with reference to West Norse, was norrœnt mál. In some instances the term Old Norse refers specifically to Old West Norse, the Old East Norse dialect was spoken in Denmark, Sweden, settlements in Kievan Rus, eastern England, and Danish settlements in Normandy. The Old Gutnish dialect was spoken in Gotland and in settlements in the East. In the 11th century, Old Norse was the most widely spoken European language, in Kievan Rus, it survived the longest in Veliky Novgorod, probably lasting into the 13th century there. Norwegian is descended from Old West Norse, but over the centuries it has heavily influenced by East Norse. Old Norse also had an influence on English dialects and Lowland Scots and it also influenced the development of the Norman language, and through it and to a smaller extent, that of modern French. Various other languages, which are not closely related, have heavily influenced by Norse, particularly the Norman dialects, Scottish Gaelic. The current Finnish and Estonian words for Sweden are Ruotsi and Rootsi, of the modern languages, Icelandic is the closest to Old Norse. Written modern Icelandic derives from the Old Norse phonemic writing system, contemporary Icelandic-speakers can read Old Norse, which varies slightly in spelling as well as semantics and word order. However, pronunciation, particularly of the phonemes, has changed at least as much as in the other North Germanic languages. Faroese retains many similarities but is influenced by Danish, Norwegian, although Swedish, Danish and the Norwegian languages have diverged the most, they still retain asymmetric mutual intelligibility. Speakers of modern Swedish, Norwegian and Danish can mostly understand each other without studying their neighboring languages, the languages are also sufficiently similar in writing that they can mostly be understood across borders
11.
Dun
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Dun is a generic term for an ancient or medieval fort. It is mainly used in the British Isles to describe a kind of hillfort, the term comes from Irish dún or Scottish Gaelic dùn, and is cognate with Old Welsh din comes. In some areas duns were built on any suitable crag or hillock, particularly south of the Firth of Clyde, there are many duns on the west coast of Ireland and they feature in Irish mythology. For example, the tale of the Táin Bó Flidhais features Dún Chiortáin, duns seem to have arrived with the Celts in about the 7th century BC. Early duns had near vertical ramparts made of stone and timber, vitrified forts are the remains of duns that have been set on fire and where stones have been partly melted. Use of duns continued in some parts into the Middle Ages, duns are similar to brochs, but are smaller and probably would not have been capable of supporting a very tall structure. Good examples of this kind of dun can be found in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland and it is ultimately cognate to English town
12.
Shetland
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Shetland /ˈʃɛtlənd/, also called the Shetland Islands, is a subarctic archipelago that lies northeast of the island of Great Britain and forms part of Scotland, United Kingdom. The islands lie some 80 km to the northeast of Orkney and 280 km southeast of the Faroe Islands, the total area is 1,466 km2 and the population totalled 23,210 in 2012. The largest island, known simply as Mainland, has an area of 967 km2, making it the third-largest Scottish island, there are an additional 15 inhabited islands. The archipelago has a climate, a complex geology, a rugged coastline and many low. Humans have lived in Shetland since the Mesolithic period, and the earliest written references to the date back to Roman times. The early historic period was dominated by Scandinavian influences, especially Norway, when Scotland became part of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707, trade with northern Europe decreased. Fishing has continued to be an important aspect of the economy up to the present day, the discovery of North Sea oil in the 1970s significantly boosted Shetland economy, employment and public sector revenues. The local way of life reflects the Scots and Norse heritage of the isles including the Up Helly Aa fire festival, the islands have produced a variety of writers of prose and poetry, often in Shetland dialect. There are numerous areas set aside to protect the fauna and flora. The Shetland pony and Shetland Sheepdog are two well known Shetland animal breeds, other distinguished local breeds include the Shetland sheep, cow, goose, and duck. The Shetland pig, or grice, has been extinct since approximately 1930, the islands motto, which appears on the Councils coat of arms, is Með lögum skal land byggja. This Icelandic phrase is taken from the Danish 1241 Basic Law, Codex Holmiensis, and is mentioned in Njáls saga. The name of Shetland is derived from the Old Norse words, hjalt, in AD43 and 77 the Roman authors Pomponius Mela and Pliny the Elder referred to the seven islands they call Haemodae and Acmodae respectively, both of which are assumed to be Shetland. Another possible early reference to the islands is Tacitus report in AD98, after describing the discovery and conquest of Orkney. In early Irish literature, Shetland is referred to as Inse Catt—the Isles of Cats, the Cat tribe also occupied parts of the northern Scottish mainland and their name can be found in Caithness, and in the Gaelic name for Sutherland. It is possible that the Pictish cat sound forms part of this Norse name and it then became Hjaltland in the 16th century. As Norn was gradually replaced by English in the form of the Shetland dialect which shares similarities with Scots English. The initial letter is the Middle Scots letter, yogh, the pronunciation of which is almost identical to the original Norn sound, /hj/
13.
Broch of Mousa
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Broch of Mousa is the finest preserved example of an Iron Age broch or round tower. It is in the island of Mousa in Shetland, Scotland. It is the tallest broch still standing and amongst the best-preserved prehistoric buildings in Europe and it is thought to have been constructed c.100 BC, one of more than 500 brochs built in Scotland. The site is managed by Historic Environment Scotland, the broch is located on the western shore of the island of Mousa. It is accessible by boat from Sandwick, Shetland,14 miles south of Lerwick and it stands on the flat rock surface of a low promontory near the shore overlooking Mousa Sound. It is the tallest broch still standing and amongst the best-preserved prehistoric buildings in Europe and it stands 13.3 metres high and is accessible via a single entrance at ground level. Once inside, a visitor may ascend a staircase to the top. It is the only broch which is nearly to the top. It is built of dry stone with no mortar, the entrance is on the west side but has been altered at various times from its original appearance. The entrance passage is 5 metres long and still has an original bar-hole, inside a hearth and floor tank can be seen in the central space. There is a low stone bench around the base of the inside wall, the broch went through at least two phases of occupation. In its original condition it may or may not have contained a wooden roundhouse resting on the scarcement ledges, at a later date, if the wooden building existed, it was demolished to make way for a small wheelhouse in the interior. Scarcement ledges at heights of 2.1 and 3.7 metres might have supported the putative timber building, the other main feature of the ground floor is the three large cells within the walls. They are entered via thresholds which are 0.7 metres above the floor level, above the lintel of each cell door are further openings which seem designed to let light and air into the chamber behind. The cells all have recesses, or large cupboards, set into the thickness of the wall, above the solid base of the broch are six galleries. They are formed by the space between the two walls of the upper part of the broch, and are partly lit by voids. It is possible to walk along most of the galleries and they were probably used by the builders as an aid to constructing the building, rather than for accommodation or storage. The stair, which begins at the level, is reached by a doorway in the inner wall face
14.
Belgae
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They were discussed in depth by Julius Caesar in his account of his wars in Gaul. Some peoples in Britain were also called Belgae and ORahilly equated them with the Fir Bolg in Ireland, the Belgae gave their name to the Roman province of Gallia Belgica and, much later, to the modern country of Belgium. Thus, a Proto-Celtic ethnic name *Bolgī could be interpreted as The People who Swell, each of these three parts was different in terms of customs, laws, and language. Ancient sources such as Caesar are not always clear about the used to define ethnicity today. The fact that the Belgae were living in Gaul means that in one sense they were Gauls and this may be Caesars meaning when he says The Belgae have the same method of attacking a fortress as the rest of the Gauls. Some translators of Caesar have given crucially different interpretations of his meaning in another passage on the Belgae, W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn rendered the Latin of Caesar in Bello Gallico, II.4 as When Caesar inquired. So Caesars use of the word Germani needs special consideration and he describes a grouping of tribes within the Belgic alliance as the Germani, distinguishing them from their neighbours. The most important in his battles were the Eburones, the other way he uses the term is to refer to any tribe considered to be of similar ancestry and traditions, with ancestry east of the Rhine. So the Germani amongst the Belgae were called Germani cisrhenani, to them from other Germani, such as those living on the east of the Rhine. The later historian Tacitus was informed that the name Germania was recent in his day, the first people to cross the Rhine and oust the Gauls, those now called Tungri, were then called Germani. It was the name of nation, not a race. And so, to begin with, they were all called Germani after the conquerors because of the terror these inspired, and then, once the name had been devised, they adopted it themselves. In other words, the collective name Germani had first been used by the Gauls or Belgae for the intruders from beyond the Rhine, many modern scholars believe that the Belgae were a firmly Celtic-speaking group. For example, Maurits Gysseling, suggest that prior to Celtic and Germanic influences the Belgae may have comprised a distinct Indo-European branch, surviving inscriptions also indicate that Gaulish was spoken in at least part of Belgic territory. The Romans were not precise in their ethnography of northern barbarians, by Germanic, the east of the Rhine was not necessarily inhabited by Germanic speakers at this time. It has been remarked that Germanic language speakers might have been no closer than the river Elbe in the time of Caesar, the sound changes described by Grimms law appear to have affected names with older forms, apparently already in the second century BC. Strong evidence for old Celtic placenames, though, is found in the Ardennes, according to Strabo, the country of the Belgae extended along the coast where 15 tribes were living from the Rhenus to the Liger. Apart from the Germani, the report of Caesar seems to indicate that more of the Belgae had some Germanic ancestry and ethnicity, other tribes that may have been included among the Belgae in some contexts were the Leuci, Treveri, and Mediomatrici
15.
Scotland during the Roman Empire
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Scotland during the Roman Empire refers to the protohistorical period during which the Roman Empire interacted with the area that is now Scotland, which was known to them as Caledonia. Roman legions arrived around AD71, having conquered the Celtic tribes of Britain over the three decades. Aiming to annex all of the island of Albion, Romans under Q, Julius Agricola invaded the Caledonians in the 70s and 80s. An account by Agricolas son-in-law Tacitus mentions a Roman victory at Mons Graupius which became the namesake of the Grampians but has been questioned by modern scholarship and this line was fortified as Hadrians Wall. Several Roman commanders attempted to conquer lands north of this line. The history of the period is complex and not well-documented, the province of Valentia, for instance, may have been the lands between the two Roman walls, or the territory around and south of Hadrians Wall, or Roman Wales. Romans held most of their Caledonian territory only a little over 40 years, some Scottish historians such as Moffat go so far as to say Romes presence was entirely uninfluential. Scots and Scotland proper would not emerge as unified ideas until centuries later, the Scoti, Gaelic Irish raiders who would give Scotland its English name, had begun to settle along the west coast as well. All three groups may have involved in the Great Conspiracy that overran Roman Britain in 367. The era also saw the emergence of the earliest historical accounts of the natives, the most enduring legacies of Rome, however, were Christianity and literacy, both of which arrived indirectly via Irish missionaries. Scotland had been inhabited for thousands of years before the Romans arrived, however, it is only during the Greco-Roman period that Scotland is recorded in writing. The work On the Cosmos by Aristotle or Pseudo-Aristotle mentions two very large islands called Albion and Ierne, the Greek explorer and geographer Pytheas visited Britain sometime between 322 and 285 BC and may have circumnavigated the mainland, which he describes as being triangular in shape. In his work On the Ocean, he refers to the most northerly point as Orcas, pomponius Mela, the Roman geographer, recorded in his De Chorographia, written around AD43, that there were 30 Orkney islands and seven Haemodae. There is certainly evidence of an Orcadian connection with Rome prior to AD60 from pottery found at the broch of Gurness. By the time of Pliny the Elder, Roman knowledge of the geography of Scotland had extended to the Hebudes, Dumna, the Caledonian Forest, and the Caledonians. His information becomes much less reliable in the north and west, famously, his coördinates place most of Scotland north of Hadrians Wall bent at a right angle, stretching due eastward from the rest of Britain. It is likely all of these cultures spoke a form of Celtic language known as Pritennic. The occupants of southern Scotland were the Damnonii in the Clyde valley, the Novantae in Galloway, the Selgovae on the south coast and these peoples may have spoken a form of Brythonic language
16.
Carbon-14
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Carbon-14, 14C, or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic materials is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby, Carbon-14 was discovered on 27 February 1940, by Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben at the University of California Radiation Laboratory in Berkeley, California. Its existence had been suggested by Franz Kurie in 1934, carbon-12 and carbon-13 are both stable, while the half-life of carbon-14 is 5, 730±40 years. Carbon-14 decays into nitrogen-14 through beta decay, a gram of carbon containing 1 atom of carbon-14 per 1012 atoms will emit 0.40 beta particles per second. The primary natural source of carbon-14 on Earth is cosmic ray action on nitrogen in the atmosphere, however, open-air nuclear testing between 1955–1980 contributed to this pool. The different isotopes of carbon do not differ appreciably in their chemical properties, the emitted beta particles have a maximum energy of 156 keV, while their weighted mean energy is 49 keV. These are relatively low energies, the distance traveled is estimated to be 22 cm in air and 0.27 mm in body tissue. The fraction of the radiation transmitted through the dead layer is estimated to be 0.11. Liquid scintillation counting is the preferred method, the G-M counting efficiency is estimated to be 3%. The half-distance layer in water is 0.05 mm. Radiocarbon dating is a dating method that uses to determine the age of carbonaceous materials up to about 60,000 years old. The technique was developed by Willard Libby and his colleagues in 1949 during his tenure as a professor at the University of Chicago, in 1960, Libby was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for this work. One of the frequent uses of the technique is to date organic remains from archaeological sites, plants fix atmospheric carbon during photosynthesis, so the level of 14C in plants and animals when they die approximately equals the level of 14C in the atmosphere at that time. However, it decreases thereafter from radioactive decay, allowing the date of death or fixation to be estimated. A calculation or a comparison of carbon-14 levels in a sample, with tree ring or cave-deposit carbon-14 levels of a known age. Carbon-14 is produced in the layers of the troposphere and the stratosphere by thermal neutrons absorbed by nitrogen atoms. When cosmic rays enter the atmosphere, they undergo various transformations, the resulting neutrons participate in the following reaction, n +14 7N →14 6C + p The highest rate of carbon-14 production takes place at altitudes of 9 to 15 km and at high geomagnetic latitudes. Production rates vary because of changes to the cosmic ray flux caused by the heliospheric modulation, the latter can create significant variations in 14C production rates, although the changes of the carbon cycle can make these effects difficult to tease out. Another extraordinarily large 14C increase has been associated with the 5480 BC event
17.
Old Scatness
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Old Scatness is an archeological site in the parish of Dunrossness in the South Mainland of Shetland, near Sumburgh Airport consisting of mediaeval, Viking, Pictish, and Iron Age remains. It has been a settlement for thousands of years, each new generation adding buildings, among the discoveries is an Iron Age broch. The site was first unearthed during work for airport improvements in the late 1970s. An arc of the wall was exposed in one side of a green mound during the building of the perimeter road at the airport at Sumburgh Head. Since 1995, University of Bradford staff and students, professional archaeologists and local volunteers have been excavating the site, excavations have uncovered a multi-period settlement with broch, wheelhouses and later dwellings. The site is managed by the Shetland Amenity Trust, in the summer, costumed guides provide tours of the site and the replica Iron Age and Pictish buildings. The visitor centre includes exhibits, and there are demonstrations of ancient crafts. The broch still stands several metres high with an outer wall face. The broch stands at the centre of the settlement and seems to have at least three phases of use. The first phase saw the building of the primary tower, to the western side of the broch the limits of the settlement have been established. The dominant feature was a large circular aisled roundhouse around 10 metres in diameter, the walls of this building stand to over 2 metres high in places. To the west of this was a second building less well-preserved, to the south of Structure 12 was another roundhouse of a similar size but oval in shape. To the north of Structure 12 was another range of buildings, east of this building and closer to the broch, a circular inward-tilting arrangement of stones appeared to be the partially collapsed top of the roof of a corbelled cell. A slightly later roundhouse, to the east of the broch, had the greatest diameter of any of the buildings on site and it seems originally to have had short piers, later rebuilt as long thin ones. There was also a later wheelhouse to the southeast of the broch, a multi-cellular semi-subterranean building was inserted into the fill of Structure 21, and is considered to be characteristic of Pictish architecture. The later Iron Age buildings have yielded Viking-period artefacts suggesting Norse reuse of the buildings, the site was also used in post-medieval times with a 17th-century barn and corn-drier having been discovered. On the north side of the site was a crofthouse of mid-19th-century construction, Old Scatness at Shetland Heritage Old Scatness, Shetland Amenity Trust
18.
Crosskirk Broch
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Crosskirk Broch was a fortification near the present day hamlet of Crosskirk near Thurso, Caithness, Scotland. After thorough archaeological exploration it was destroyed in 1972 since the site had become due to sea erosion. The site was unusual in having a broch, a circular fortification, built within an older promontory fortification with a ring wall. Crosskirk was occupied at the end of the Bronze Age, from the early Iron Age that followed there is carinated pottery that appears to be locally made but is similar to pottery of the same period in southern and eastern England. Uncorrected radiocarbon dates for this pottery are in the 6th and 5th centuries BC and this may be interpreted as being due to the influx of some influential new population. Further use of pottery continued into the period of Roman occupation of the south of Scotland in 80-180 AD. There were also remains of Roman pottery and glassware that may have been Roman in origin, a body was buried in a sitting position in the middle of an approximately circular building around the time that the site was abandoned. There are traces of two long cist burials in the debris of the broch from some time around 600 AD. There used to be a stone with an inscription at Crosskirk, now lost. St Marys Chapel, built around the 13th century and now ruined, is about 30 yards south of the site, some of the land south of the broch was levelled when St Marys was built. In recent times, some of the stones from the mound were removed. The promontory fort predated the broch, which was built inside the older structure, the earlier structure was an outwork that began at the edge of the promontory in the east, a 15 feet thick wall or rampart of rock with an earth core. A gateway that widened towards the outside provided access through the wall, to the west of the gateway the rampart included a structure like a cell, and then there was a recess in the inner face of the wall. The outwork continued west, ending in a made of flagstones that reached to the cliff edge at Chapel Geo. Based on radiocarbon dates, the broch was built around 200 BC, the broch would have given an impression of great strength, rising above the existing defensive wall. It included a guard cell, a chamber and a stair entrance at ground level. Although the wall of the broch was relatively thick, it was built, with a core of earth, rubble. This may be interpreted as being an early, experimental broch design, the roundhouse was not built strongly enough to support a tower more than 4.5 metres, half the height of later towers
19.
Caithness
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Caithness is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Caithness has a boundary with the historic county of Sutherland and is otherwise bounded by sea. The land boundary follows a watershed and is crossed by two roads, the A9 and the A836, and one railway, the Far North Line, across the Pentland Firth ferries link Caithness with Orkney, and Caithness also has an airport at Wick. The Pentland Firth island of Stroma is within Caithness, the name was also used for the earldom of Caithness and the Caithness constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Boundaries are not identical in all contexts, but the Caithness area is now entirely within the Highland council area, Caithness is one of the Watsonian vice-counties, subdivisions of Britain and Ireland which are used largely for the purposes of biological recording and other scientific data-gathering. The vice-counties were introduced by Hewett Cottrell Watson who first used them in the volume of his Cybele Britannica published in 1852. The Caith element of Caithness comes from the name of a Pictish tribe known as the Cat or Catt people, the -ness element comes from Old Norse and means headland. The Norse called the area Katanes, and over time this became Caithness, the Gaelic name for Caithness, Gallaibh, means among the strangers. The Catti are represented in the Gaelic name for eastern Sutherland, Cataibh, Caithness extends about 30 miles north-south and about 30 miles east-west, with an area of about 712 square miles. The topography is flat, in contrast to the majority of the remainder of the North of Scotland, until the latter part of the 20th century when large areas were planted in conifers, this level profile was rendered still more striking by the almost total absence of forest. The underlying geology of most of Caithness is old red sandstone to a depth of over 4,000 metres. This consists of the sediments of Lake Orcadie, which is believed to have stretched from Shetland to Grampian during the Devonian period. Fossilised fish and plant remains are found between the layers of sediment, older metamorphic rock is apparent in the Scaraben and Ord area, in the relatively high southwest area of the county. Caithness highest point is in this area, because of the ease with which the sandstone splits to form large flat slabs it is an especially useful building material, and has been used as such since Neolithic times. Caithness is a land of open, rolling farmland, moorland, the area is fringed to the north and east by dramatic coastal scenery and is home to large, internationally important colonies of seabirds. The surrounding waters of the Pentland Firth and the North Sea hold a great diversity of marine life. Away from the coast, the landscape is dominated by moorland and blanket bog known as the Flow Country which is the largest expanse of blanket bog in Europe. This is divided up along the straths by more fertile farm, the Caithness landscape is rich with the remains of pre-historic occupation
20.
Northern Isles
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The Northern Isles is an archipelago comprising a chain of islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The climate is cool and temperate and much influenced by the surrounding seas, there are two main island groups, Shetland and Orkney. Both have a renewable energy industry. They also share a common Pictish and Norse history, the islands played a significant naval role during the world wars of the 20th century. Tourism is important to both archipelagos, with their distinctive prehistoric ruins playing a key part in their attraction, and there are regular ferry, the Scandinavian influence remains strong, especially in relation to local folklore, and both island chains have strong, although distinct, local cultures. The place names of the islands are dominated by their Norse heritage, the phrase Northern Isles generally refers to the main islands of the Orkney and Shetland archipelagos. Stroma, which lies between mainland Scotland and Orkney, is part of Caithness, and so falls under Highland council area for government purposes. It is, however, clearly one of the isles of Scotland. Fair Isle and Foula are outliers of Shetland, but would normally be considered as part of Shetland, similarly, Sule Skerry and Sule Stack, although distant from the main group, are part of Orkney and technically amongst the Northern Isles. However, the small islands that lie off the north coast of Scotland are in Highland. Orkney is situated 16 kilometres north of the coast of mainland Scotland, the largest island, known as the Mainland has an area of 523.25 square kilometres, making it the sixth largest Scottish island. The total population in 2001 was 19,245 and the largest town is Kirkwall, Shetland is around 170 kilometres north of mainland Scotland, covers an area of 1,468 square kilometres and has a coastline 2,702 kilometres long. Lerwick, the capital and largest settlement, has a population of around 7,500, Orkney has 20 inhabited islands and Shetland a total of 16. The superficial rock of Orkney is almost entirely Old Red Sandstone, Middle Devonian basaltic volcanic rocks are found on western Hoy, on Deerness in eastern Mainland and on Shapinsay. Correlation between the Hoy volcanics and the two exposures has been proposed, but differences in chemistry means this remains uncertain. Lamprophyre dykes of Late Permian age are found throughout Orkney, glacial striation and the presence of chalk and flint erratics that originated from the bed of the North Sea demonstrate the influence of ice action on the geomorphology of the islands. Boulder clay is abundant and moraines cover substantial areas. The geology of Shetland is quite different and it is extremely complex, with numerous faults and fold axes
21.
Hebrides
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The Hebrides comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland. There are two groups, the Inner and Outer Hebrides. This diversity is reflected in the given to the islands. The Hebrides are the source of much of Scottish Gaelic literature, today the economy of the islands is dependent on crofting, fishing, tourism, the oil industry, and renewable energy. The Hebrides have lower biodiversity than mainland Britain, but there is a significant presence of seals, the Hebrides have a diverse geology ranging in age from Precambrian strata that are amongst the oldest rocks in Europe to Paleogene igneous intrusions. The Hebrides can be divided into two groups, separated from one another by the Minch to the north and the Sea of the Hebrides to the south. The Inner Hebrides lie closer to mainland Scotland and include Islay, Jura, Skye, Mull, Raasay, Staffa, there are 36 inhabited islands in this group. The Outer Hebrides are a chain of more than 100 islands, there are 15 inhabited islands in this archipelago. The main islands include Barra, Benbecula, Berneray, Harris, Lewis, North Uist, South Uist, in total, the islands have an area of approximately 7,200 square kilometres and a population of 44,759. A complication is that there are descriptions of the scope of the Hebrides. The Collins Encyclopedia of Scotland describes the Inner Hebrides as lying east of the Minch, there are various islands that lie in the sea lochs such as Eilean Bàn and Eilean Donan that might not ordinarily be described as Hebridean, but no formal definitions exist. In the past, the Outer Hebrides were often referred to as the Long Isle, today, they are also known as the Western Isles, although this phrase can also be used to refer to the Hebrides in general. The Hebrides have a temperate climate that is remarkably mild and steady for such a northerly latitude. In the Outer Hebrides the average temperature for the year is 6 °C in January and 14 °C in summer, the average annual rainfall in Lewis is 1,100 millimetres and sunshine hours range from 1,100 –1,200 per annum. The summer days are long, and May to August is the driest period. The Hebrides were settled during the Mesolithic era around 6500 BC or earlier, after the conditions improved enough to sustain human settlement. Occupation at a site on Rùm is dated to 8590 ±95 uncorrected radiocarbon years BP, there are many examples of structures from the Neolithic period, the finest example being the standing stones at Callanish, dating to the 3rd millennium BC. Cladh Hallan, a Bronze Age settlement on South Uist is the site in the UK where prehistoric mummies have been found
22.
Scottish Borders
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The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lothian and, to the south and east, the administrative centre of the area is Newtown St Boswells. Historically, the name Scottish Borders designated the border region of southern Scotland and. The Scottish Borders are in the part of the Southern Uplands. The region is hilly and largely rural, with the River Tweed flowing west to east through it, in the east of the region, the area that borders the River Tweed is flat and is known as The Merse. Thus, across the region are to be seen the ruins of castles, abbeys. In 1996 the region became a unitary authority area and the districts were wound up, the region was created with the name Borders. Following the election of an area council in 1995 the name was changed to Scottish Borders with effect from 1996. Since the 5th century, there has been evidence of two languages in the area, Brythonic and Old English, the latter of which developed into its modern forms of English. There are two British Parliamentary constituencies in the Borders, Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk covers most of the region and is represented by Calum Kerr of the SNP. The western Tweeddale area is included in the Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale constituency and is represented by Conservative David Mundell, at Scottish Parliament level, there are also two seats. The eastern constituency is Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, which is represented by Conservative John Lamont. The western constituency is Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale and is represented by SNP Christine Grahame, following the 2012 local elections, the council administration is now a coalition of Independents, Scottish National Party and Liberal Democrats. Prior to the election a coalition of Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Independents ruled, the Conservatives are the biggest party on the council with 10 seats, the Liberal Democrats have six. The SNP have nine seats and the Independents have seven, two councillors form the Borders Party. At the Census held on 27 March 2011, the population of the region was 114,000, the region had until September 2015 no working railway stations. Although the area was connected to the Victorian railway system. A bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament to extend the Waverley Line and this section of the route re-opened on 6 September 2015, under the Borders Railway branding
23.
Edin's Hall Broch
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Edins Hall Broch is a 2nd-century broch near Duns in the Borders of Scotland. It is one of very few found in southern Scotland. It is roughly 28 metres in diameter, in the late 18th century this site was called Woodens Hall or Castle. Its later name change apparently recalls the legend of the three-headed giant The Red Ettin known in tales, edins Hall Broch is one of the most southerly broch survivals, which are more typically associated with Northern Scotland. It is 4 miles north of the town of Duns and it stands on the northeast slope of Cockburn Law just above a fairly steep slope down to the Whiteadder Water. The broch stands in the northwest corner an Iron Age hillfort which presumably pre-dates the broch, the hillfort consists of a double rampart and ditches, enclosing an oval area some 135 metres by 75 metres. The entrance was on the west side, a large circular structure in the centre of the fort, close to the broch, may have been the most important building before the broch’s construction. It is assumed that the dates to the pre-Roman Iron Age. The date of the broch is uncertain but it has been speculated that it was built between the two periods of Roman occupation in Scotland, some time in the 2nd century AD. Excavations at Torwoodlee Broch, also in the Scottish Borders, has shown that it was built, within the hillfort is an array of stone footings marking the positions of houses and other structures. Some of the houses overlie the defences – indicating that they are later than hillfort, the broch has an external diameter of 28 metres, and an internal diameter of 17 metres. This is unusually large compared with a typical Highland broch and suggests that it may not have been as tall as the northern brochs, the walls of the broch survive to a height of between 1.0 and 1.8 metres. The entrance passage is on the east side and has two guard chambers flanking the doorway, the interior of the broch has three intra-mural cells which are all approximately dumb-bell shaped. The cell on the side has the remains of a stone stairway at its north end which presumably rose to the wallhead. The broch lies within an enclosure measuring about 58 by 54 metres. Edins Hall was cleared by antiquarians in the 19th century, the relics recovered were donated to the National Museum of Scotland. These included a stone spindle whorl, a piece of a jet ring, a bead, bones, an oyster shell. Two copper ingots, one of which is now in the National Museum, were found with a metal detector inside the broch in 1976
24.
Bow Castle Broch
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Bow Castle is the remains of an iron-age broch near the Gala Water, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, in the parish of Stow. Bow Castle stands on ground on the edge of a steep slope southwest of the valley of the Gala Water. The broch has a wall 4.1 metres thick, enclosing an area 9.7 metres in diameter, the broch is one of only three remaining in the Borders, the other two are Torwoodlee Broch, and Edins Hall Broch. It was excavated in 1890 when pottery, including some 2nd-century Roman amphora fragments, were found, in 1922 a 2nd-century Roman enamelled bronze brooch in the form of a cockerel was found among the ruins of the wall. Information concerning the dating and use of the broch is limited due to the lack of modern excavations. However, Torwoodlee Broch, two miles to the north, was built and destroyed during the Roman occupations of southern Scotland and it is likely that Bow Castle shared a similar history. Curle, J Notes on two recently discovered at Bow, Midlothian, and torwoodlee, Selkirkshire, Proc Soc Antiq Scot, vol.26
25.
Dumfries and Galloway
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Dumfries and Galloway is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It comprises the counties of Dumfriesshire, Stewartry of Kirkcudbright and Wigtownshire. The administrative centre is the town of Dumfries, following the 1975 reorganisation of local government in Scotland, the three counties were joined to form a single region of Dumfries and Galloway, with four districts within it. Act 1994, however, it has become a local authority. For lieutenancy purposes, the counties are largely maintained with its three lieutenancy areas being Dumfries, Wigtown and the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright. To the north, Dumfries and Galloway borders East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire, in the east the Borders, and to the south the county of Cumbria in England, to the west lies the Irish Sea. The Dumfries and Galloway Council region is composed of counties and their sub-areas, Dumfries and Galloway covers the majority of the Western area of the Southern Uplands, it also hosts Scotlands most Southerly point, at the Mull of Galloway in the west of the region. This road leaves the A714 at Bargrennan, Water of Ken and River Dee form a corridor through the hills called the Glenkens which carries the A713 road from Castle Douglas to Ayr. The Galloway Hills lie to the west of route through the hills. River Nith rises between Dalmellington and New Cumnock in Ayrshire and runs east then south down Nithsdale to Dumfries, Nithsdale carries both the A76 road and the rail line from Dumfries to Kilmarnock. It separates the Carsphairn and Scaur Hills from the Lowther Hills which lie east of the Nith and this gap through the hills separates the Lowthers from the Moffat Hills. River Esk enters the Solway Firth just south of Gretna having travelled south from Langholm, the A7 travels up Eskdale as far as Langholm and from Langholm carries on up the valley of Ewes Water to Teviothead where it starts to follow the River Teviot to Hawick. Eskdale itself heads north west from Langholm through Bentpath and Eskdalemuir to Ettrick, the A701 branches off the M74 at Beattock, goes through the town of Moffat, climbs to Annanhead above the Devils Beef Tub before passing the source of the River Tweed and carrying on to Edinburgh. Until fairly recent times the ancient route to Edinburgh travelled right up Annandale to the Beef Tub before climbing steeply to Annanhead, the present road ascends northward on a ridge parallel to Annandale but to the west of it which makes for a much easier ascent. From Moffat the A708 heads north east along the valley of Moffat Water on its way to Selkirk, moffatdale separates the Moffat hills from the Ettrick hills to the south. There are three National Scenic Areas within this region, Nith Estuary - This area follows the River Nith southward from just south of Dumfries into the Solway Firth. His mausoleum is in St Michaels graveyard, criffel offers the hill walker a reasonably modest walk with excellent views across the Solway to the Lake District. The house of John Paul Jones founder of the American Navy is also open to visitors near Kirkbean, East Stewartry - This takes in the coast line from Balcary Point eastward across Auchencairn Bay and the Rough Firth past Sandyhills to Mersehead
26.
Stirling
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Stirling is a city in central Scotland. The market town, surrounded by farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its merchants and tradesmen, the bridge. Located on the River Forth, Stirling is the centre for the Stirling council area. It is proverbially the strategically important Gateway to the Highlands and it has been said that Stirling, like a huge brooch clasps Highlands and Lowlands together. Similarly he who holds Stirling, holds Scotland is often quoted, stirlings key position as the lowest bridging point of the River Forth before it broadens towards the Firth of Forth, made it a focal point for travel north or south. This invited control for, military advantage in times of unrest, unsurprisingly an excise man was installed in a covered booth in the centre of the bridge to collect tax from any entering the royal burgh with goods. According to a 9th century legend, when Stirling was temporarily under Anglo-Saxon sway, however the sound of a wolf roused a sentry who alerted his garrison to force a Viking retreat. This led to the wolf being adopted as a symbol of the town, even today it appears with a goshawk on the coat of arms along with the recently chosen motto, Steadfast as the Rock. Once the capital of Scotland, Stirling is visually dominated by Stirling Castle, the poet King was educated by George Buchanan and grew up in Stirling. He was later also crowned King of England and Ireland on 25th July 1603, modern Stirling is a centre for local government, higher education, tourism, retail, and industry. The 2011 census recorded the population of the city as 45,750, One of the principal royal strongholds of the Kingdom of Scotland, Stirling was created a royal burgh by King David I in 1130. In 2002, as part of Queen Elizabeths Golden Jubilee, Stirling was granted city status, Stirling was originally a Stone Age settlement as shown by the Randolphfield standing stones and Kings Park prehistoric carvings that can still be found south of the city. The site has been significant since at least the Roman occupation of Britain, due to its naturally defensible crag and tail hill. Coupled to this it enjoys a position which is not far from the Ochil Hills on the border between the Lowlands and Highlands. Its other notable feature is its proximity to the lowest ancient ford of the River Forth. It remained the rivers lowest crossing point until the construction of the Alloa Swing Bridge between Throsk and Alloa in 1885. It is supposed that Stirling is the fortress of Iuddeu or Urbs Giudi where Oswiu of Northumbria was besieged by Penda of Mercia in 655, as recorded in Bede and contemporary annals. Stirling was chartered as a burgh by King David in the 12th century
27.
Sutherland
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Sutherland is a county in the Highlands of Scotland. Sutherland borders Caithness to the east, Ross-shire to the south, in Gaelic the area is referred to according to its traditional areas, Dùthaich MhicAoidh in the northeast, Asainte in the west, and Cataibh in the east. Cataibh is also used to refer to the area as a whole. The name Sutherland dates from the era of Norwegian Viking rule and settlement over much of the Highlands and Islands, although it contains some of the northernmost land in the island of Great Britain, it was called Suðrland from the standpoint of Orkney and Caithness. The northwest corner of Sutherland, traditionally known as the Province of Strathnaver, was not incorporated into Sutherland until 1601 and this was the home of the powerful and warlike Clan Mackay, and as such was named in Gaelic, Dùthaich Ic Aoidh, the Homeland of Mackay. Like its southern neighbour Ross-shire, Sutherland has some of the most dramatic scenery in the whole of Europe and these include high sea cliffs, and very old mountains composed of Precambrian and Cambrian rocks. Much of the population is based in towns, such as Helmsdale and Lochinver. Much of Sutherland is poor relative to the rest of Scotland, with few job opportunities beyond government funded employment, agriculture, further education is provided by North Highland College, part of the University of the Highland and Islands. The Ross House Campus in Dornoch was the first establishment in the UK to provide a degree in Golf Management, the Burghfield House Campus, also in Dornoch, is a hotel school. The inland landscape is rugged and very sparsely populated, despite being Scotlands fifth-largest county in terms of area, it has a smaller population than a medium-size Lowland Scottish town. It stretches from the Atlantic in the west, up to the Pentland Firth, the sea-coasts boast very high cliffs and deep fjords in the east and north, ragged inlets on the west and sandy beaches in the north. The remote far northwest point of Sutherland, Cape Wrath, is the most northwesterly point in Scotland, Sutherland has many rugged mountains such as Ben Hope, the most northerly Munro. The western part comprises Torridonian sandstone underlain by Lewisian gneiss, the spectacular scenery has been created by denudation to form isolated sandstone peaks such as Foinaven, Arkle, Cùl Mór and Suilven. Such mountains are attractive for hill walking and scrambling, despite their remote location, together with similar peaks to the south in Wester Ross, such as Stac Pollaidh, they have a unique structure with great scope for exploration. On the other hand, care is needed when bad weather occurs owing to their isolation, Sutherland has many fine beaches, a remote example being Sandwood Bay, which can only be reached by foot along a rough track. The number of visiting tourists is, naturally, minimal, there are pockets of the native Scots Pine, remnants of the original Caledonian Forest. Owing to its isolation from the rest of the country, Sutherland was reputedly the last haunt of the native wolf, the last survivor being shot in the 18th century. However, other wildlife has survived, including the eagle, sea eagle
28.
V. Gordon Childe
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Vere Gordon Childe, better known as V. Gordon Childe, was an Australian archaeologist and philologist who specialized in the study of European prehistory. Here, he embraced the socialist movement and campaigned against the First World War, growing critical of Labor, he authored an analysis of their policies and joined the far-left Industrial Workers of the World. In doing so he introduced the continental European concept of a culture to the British archaeological community. From 1927 through to 1946 he worked as the Abercromby Professor of Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh, throughout, he continued to publish prolifically, producing excavation reports, journal articles, and books. With Stuart Piggott and Grahame Clark he co-founded The Prehistoric Society in 1934, remaining committed to his socialist ideals, he embraced Marxism, and used Marxist ideas as an interpretative framework for archaeological data. He also became a sympathiser with the Soviet Union and visited the country on a number of occasions. His beliefs resulted in him being legally barred from entering the United States, upon retirement, he returned to Australias Blue Mountains, there committing suicide. Childe was born on 14 April 1892 in Sydney, New South Wales and he was the only surviving child of the Reverend Stephen Henry and Harriet Eliza Childe, a middle-class couple of English descent. Stephen Childe was a second-generation Anglican priest, ordained into the Church of England in 1867 after gaining a BA from the University of Cambridge, becoming a teacher, in 1871 he married Mary Ellen Latchford, together having five children. They moved to Australia in 1878 and it was here that Mary died, and in 1886 Stephen married Harriet, an Englishwoman from a wealthy background who had moved to Australia as a child. Gordon Childe was raised alongside five half-siblings at his fathers country house. Reverend Childe worked as the minister for St. Thomas Parish, a sickly child, Gordon Childe was educated at home for a number of years, before gaining a private school education in North Sydney. In 1907, he began attending Sydney Church of England Grammar School, gaining his Junior Matriculation in 1909, in July 1910 his mother died, his father soon took Monica Gardiner as his third wife. At university, he became a member of the Debating Society. Also while there, he became a friend of fellow undergraduate Herbert Vere Evatt. Ending his studies in 1913, Childe graduated the year with various honours and prizes. Wishing to continue his education, he gained a £200 Cooper Graduate Scholarship in Classics, allowing him to afford the fees at Queens College. He set sail for Britain aboard the SS Orsova in August 1914, at Queens, Childe was entered for a diploma in classical archaeology followed by a Literae Humaniores degree, although he never completed the former
29.
Stately home
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An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people. However, the term also encompasses houses that were, and often still are, frequently, the formal business of the counties was transacted in these country houses. With large numbers of indoor and outdoor staff, country houses were important as places of employment for rural communities. In turn, until the agricultural depressions of the 1870s, the estates, of country houses were the hub. However, the late 19th and early 20th centuries were the swansong of the traditional English country house lifestyle, increased taxation and the effects of World War I led to the demolition of hundreds of houses, those that remained had to adapt to survive. While a château or a schloss can be a fortified or unfortified building, if fortified, it is called a castle, but not all buildings with the name castle are fortified. The term stately home is subject to debate, and avoided by historians, as a description of a country house, the term was first used in a poem by Felicia Hemans, The Homes of England, originally published in Blackwoods Magazine in 1827. In the 20th century, the term was popularised in a song by Noël Coward. The books collection of homes also includes George IVs Brighton town palace. The country houses of England have evolved over the last five hundred years, before this time, larger houses were usually fortified, reflecting the position of their owners as feudal lords, de facto overlords of their manors. The Tudor period of stability in the saw the building of the first of the unfortified great houses. Henry VIIIs Dissolution of the Monasteries saw many former ecclesiastical properties granted to the Kings favourites, woburn Abbey, Forde Abbey and many other mansions with abbey or priory in their name became private houses during this period. Other terms used in the names of houses to describe their origin or importance include palace, castle, court, hall, mansion, park, house, manor, and place. Burghley House, Longleat House, and Hatfield House are among the best known examples of the prodigy house. Some of the best known of Englands country houses were built by one architect at one time, Montacute House, Chatsworth House. They finally ran out of funds in the early 20th century, an example of this is Brympton dEvercy in Somerset, a house of many periods that is unified architecturally by the continuing use of the same mellow, local Ham Hill stone
30.
Mousa
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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, Mousa lies a mile off the east coast of Mainland Shetland in the parish of Dunrossness about 15 miles south of Lerwick. Almost divided in two by inlets, East and West Hams, the island is 1.5 miles long, geologically beds of hard sandstone alternate with muddy limestones that weather to produce fertile soil. A quarry provided flagstones for Lerwick, mousa’s fertile soil supports a rich diversity of plants, including sheep’s-bit and creeping willow in the herb-rich grassland, despite the wind, salt spray and grazing by sheep. The Norse tended to consider an island to be something that they could circumnavigate, thus Mousa was considered two islands, namely North Isle and South Isle. Mousa Broch is the best preserved Iron Age fortification in the British Isles, the 2000-year-old round tower stands above a rocky shoreline, one of a pair of brochs guarding Mousa Sound. They may be part of a chain of brochs in this part of Shetland, the other of the pair, at Burland on the Mainland is far less well preserved. Many brochs were the focus of a settlement, but there has never been a full investigation to confirm this at Mousa. It was cleared out in 1860 and 1919, Mousa has survived intact to such a height and is thought to never have been much higher than it is today. It escaped stone gathering for nearby stone walls and croft houses, Mousa is mentioned in the Orkneyinga Saga as being used as a place of defence during invasions, as well as a lovers hideout. The entrance passage into Mousa is long, reflecting the enormous thickness of its walls, at its base the broch is 15m in diameter, but the interior is only 6m in diameter. Within the huge thickness of the base of the walls are a range of chambers used for storage. On the inside a steep flight of steps leads to the top of the wall, halfway up is a landing which probably gave access to an upper level of the interior of the broch, built on a ledge running around the circumference of the interior. Mousa is known for grey and common seals, guillemots, Arctic terns, Mousa holds c.6,800 breeding pairs of European storm-petrels in total. This represents about 8% of the British population and 2. 6% of the world population, the island has been designated a Special Protection Area and is run as a reserve by the RSPB. Storm petrels may also be found at the reserve of Haaf Gruney, the island is readily accessed using the passenger-only ferry which operates from the Shetland Mainland at Leebitton, Sandwick in summer time
31.
Orkney
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Orkney /ˈɔːrkni/, also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of Great Britain. Orkney is 16 kilometres north of the coast of Caithness and comprises approximately 70 islands, the largest island Mainland is often referred to as the Mainland. It has an area of 523 square kilometres, making it the sixth-largest Scottish island, the largest settlement and administrative centre is Kirkwall. A form of the dates to the pre-Roman era and the islands have been inhabited for at least 8500 years, originally occupied by Mesolithic and Neolithic tribes. Orkney was invaded and forcibly annexed by Norway in 875 and settled by the Norse, the Scottish Parliament then re-annexed the earldom to the Scottish Crown in 1472, following the failed payment of a dowry for James IIIs bride Margaret of Denmark. Orkney contains some of the oldest and best-preserved Neolithic sites in Europe, Orkney is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, a constituency of the Scottish Parliament, a lieutenancy area, and a historic county. The local council is Orkney Islands Council, one of only three Councils in Scotland with a majority of elected members who are independents. In addition to the Mainland, most of the islands are in two groups, the North and South Isles, all of which have a geological base of Old Red Sandstone. The climate is mild and the soils are fertile, most of the land being farmed. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, the significant wind and marine energy resources are of growing importance, and the island generates more than its total yearly electricity demand using renewables. The local people are known as Orcadians and have a distinctive Orcadian dialect of Scots, there is an abundance of marine and avian wildlife. Pytheas of Massilia visited Britain – probably sometime between 322 and 285 BC – and described it as triangular in shape, with a northern tip called Orcas and this may have referred to Dunnet Head, from which Orkney is visible. Speakers of Old Irish referred to the islands as Insi Orc island of the pigs, the archipelago is known as Ynysoedd Erch in modern Welsh and Arcaibh in modern Scottish Gaelic, the -aibh representing a fossilized prepositional case ending. The Anglo-Saxon monk Bede refers to the islands as Orcades insulae in his seminal work Ecclesiastical History of the English People. Norwegian settlers arriving from the ninth century reinterpreted orc as the Old Norse orkn seal. The plural suffix -jar was later removed in English leaving the modern name Orkney, according to the Historia Norwegiæ, Orkney was named after an earl called Orkan. The Norse knew Mainland Orkney as Megenland Mainland or as Hrossey Horse Island, the island is sometimes referred to as Pomona, a name that stems from a sixteenth-century mistranslation by George Buchanan, which has rarely been used locally. A charred hazelnut shell, recovered in 2007 during excavations in Tankerness on the Mainland has been dated to 6820–6660 BC indicating the presence of Mesolithic nomadic tribes
32.
Scapa Flow
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Scapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. Scapa Flow is one of Britains most historic stretches of water - located within the Orkney Islands and its sheltered waters have been used by ships since prehistory and it has played an important role in travel, trade and conflict throughout the centuries - especially during both World Wars. It is currently a world-famous diving location, with the wrecks of the scuttled German Fleet offering unique diving challenges, Scapa Flow is also a major oil port serving the Flotta Oil Terminal, and is a prime location of ship-to-ship transfers of crude oil product and liquefied natural gas. The world’s first ship-to-ship transfer of LNG took place in Scapa Flow in 2007. Vikings anchored their longships in Scapa Flow more than a thousand years ago, the facility was closed in 1956. The Viking expeditions to Orkney are recorded in detail in the 11th century Orkneyinga sagas, en route back to Norway Haakon anchored some of his fleet in Scapa Flow for the winter, but he died that December whilst staying at the Bishops Palace in Kirkwall. The enterprise ended in failure and rout at the Battle of Carbisdale, historically, the main British naval bases were located near the English Channel to better face Britains old enemies, France, Spain, and the Netherlands. First Rosyth was considered for the base, then Invergordon at Cromarty Firth, john Rushworth Jellicoe, admiral of the Grand Fleet, was perpetually nervous about the possibility of submarine or destroyer attacks on Scapa Flow. These blocked approaches were backed by minefields, artillery, and concrete barriers, only two attempts to enter the harbour were made by German U-boats during the war, and neither was successful. U-18 tried to enter in November 1914, but a trawler searching for submarines rammed it, causing U-18 to flee, uB-116 made the second attempt in October 1918 but encountered the sophisticated defences then in place. It was detected by hydrophones before entering the anchorage, then destroyed by shore-triggered mines, after waiting for the bulk of the British fleet to leave on exercises, he gave the order to scuttle the ships to prevent their falling into British hands. Nine German sailors died when British forces opened fire as they attempted to scuttle their ship, SMS Emden was amongst the ships the British managed to beach. This Emden should not be confused with her predecessor, destroyed in the Battle of Cocos on 9 November 1914 by the Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney, at least seven of the scuttled German ships, and a number of sunken British ships, can be visited by scuba divers. These ships posed a hazard to navigation, and small boats, trawlers and drifters, moving around the Flow regularly became snagged on them with the rise. The Admiralty initially declared that there would be no attempt at salvage, in the first few years after the war, there was abundant scrap metal as a result of the huge quantities of leftover tanks, artillery and ordnance. By the early 1920s, the situation had changed, in 1922, the Admiralty invited tenders from interested parties for the salvage of the sunken ships, although at the time few believed that it would be possible to raise the deeper wrecks. During the next eight years, Cox and his workforce of divers, engineers, in this fashion the submerged hulls were made into air-tight chambers and raised with compressed air, still inverted, back to the surface. Cox endured bad luck and frequent fierce storms which often ruined his work, swamping and re-sinking ships which had just been raised
33.
Outer Hebrides
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The Outer Hebrides, also known as the Western Isles, Innse Gall or the Long Isle or Long Island, is an island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. The islands are geographically coextensive with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. They form part of the Hebrides, separated from the Scottish mainland and from the Inner Hebrides by the waters of the Minch, the Little Minch, Scottish Gaelic is the predominant spoken language, although in a few areas English speakers form a majority. Most of the islands have a formed from ancient metamorphic rocks. The 15 inhabited islands have a population of 27,100. From Barra Head to the Butt of Lewis is roughly 210 kilometres, There are various important prehistoric structures, many of which pre-date the first written references to the islands by Roman and Greek authors. The Western Isles became part of the Norse kingdom of the Suðreyjar, control of the islands was then held by clan chiefs, principal of whom were the MacLeods, MacDonalds, Mackenzies and MacNeils. The Highland Clearances of the 19th century had an effect on many communities. Much of the land is now under control and commercial activity is based on tourism, crofting, fishing. Sea transport is crucial and a variety of services operate between the islands and to mainland Scotland. Modern navigation systems now minimise the dangers but in the past the stormy seas have claimed many ships, religion, music and sport are important aspects of local culture, and there are numerous designated conservation areas to protect the natural environment. The islands form an archipelago whose major islands are Lewis and Harris, North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist, and Barra. Lewis and Harris has an area of 217,898 hectares and is the largest island in Scotland and it incorporates Lewis in the north and Harris in the south, both of which are frequently referred to as individual islands, although they are connected by land. The island does not have a name in either English or Gaelic. The largest islands are deeply indented by arms of the sea such as Loch Ròg, Loch Seaforth, There are also more than 7,500 freshwater lochs in the Outer Hebrides, about 24% of the total for the whole of Scotland. North and South Uist and Lewis in particular have landscapes with a percentage of fresh water. Harris has fewer large bodies of water but has innumerable small lochans, Loch Langavat on Lewis is 11 kilometres long, and has several large islands in its midst, including Eilean Mòr. Although Loch Suaineabhal has only 25% of Loch Langavats surface area, of Loch Sgadabhagh on North Uist it has been said that there is probably no other loch in Britain which approaches Loch Scadavay in irregularity and complexity of outline
34.
Dun Telve
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Dun Telve is an iron-age broch located about 4 kilometres southeast of the village of Glenelg, Highland, in Scotland. It is one of the best preserved brochs in Scotland, Dun Telve stands on the north bank of the Abhainn a’Ghlaine Bhig, in the lower reaches of Gleann Beag. It lies next to the road which leads south from Glenelg. The neighbouring broch of Dun Troddan lies 470 metres to the east, and it is thought that the broch was robbed for stone in 1722. Dun Telve was popular with tourists by the late 18th century and it was surveyed in detail in 1871–1873 by Henry Dryden. The building was brought into state care between 1882 and 1901 and the markers that define the area of guardianship are still visible. The broch has never been archaeologically excavated, the broch is now in the care of Historic Scotland. The broch consists of a tower which measures 18.3 metres in diameter. The external walls are 4.3 metres thick at the base and 1.2 metres thick at the top, the entrance is on the west but it has been modified, probably in the mid-19th century. On the south side of the passage is a small side-chamber. A doorway on the side of the interior of the broch provides access first to an internal cell. Access up the tower is by a stone stair. The presence of two horizontal stone ledges, or scarcements, up the height of the surviving section suggests that there were two upper floors, the top floor would have been around 9 metres above ground level. Structures appended to the west and northwest sides of Dun Telve include at least one rectangular building, Glenelg Brochs, Dun Telve And Dun Troddan, Historic Scotland
35.
Dun Troddan
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Dun Troddan is an iron-age broch located about 5 kilometres southeast of the village of Glenelg, Highland, in Scotland. It is one of the best-preserved brochs in Scotland, Dun Troddan stands on a level rock platform north of the Abhainn a’Ghlaine Bhig, in the lower reaches of Gleann Beag. It lies just north of the road leading south from Glenelg. It can be accessed via a steep path, the neighbouring broch of Dun Telve lies 470 metres to the west, whilst the semi-broch known as Dun Grugaig is around 2 kilometres to the southeast. Dun Troddan was first sketched in about 1720 when it was still an intact tower and it is thought that it was over 12 metres high in 1720, and it was described as being by far the most entire of any in that Country. It was robbed for stone in 1722 during the construction of Bernera Barracks in Glenelg, the broch was visited by Thomas Pennant in 1772, and it was still a substantial structure, although it had lost the upper gallery by this time. It was cleared of debris without any supervision and consolidated by the Office of Works in the years between 1914 and 1920, the broch is now in the care of Historic Scotland. The broch consists of a tower which measures around 17.5 metres in diameter. The external walls are 4.5 metres thick at the base, the entrance is on the southwest side, and is now roofless. On the left side of the passage is a small side-chamber. The broch has features now missing from Dun Telve, these include a number of postholes in the floor, built into the hearth is a broken quern-stone. The central court is an almost perfect circle with a diameter of 8.56 metres, an internal doorway in the remaining high part of the wall provides access to a stairway. From here it is possible to ascend nine stairs to a first floor landing, the landing is 5.7 metres long, at a height of 2.4 metres above the central court. At the end of the landing can be seen the first step which would have led up the flight of stairs. Glenelg Brochs, Dun Telve And Dun Troddan, Historic Scotland
36.
Glenelg, Highland
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Glenelg is a village and civil parish in the Lochalsh area of Highland in western Scotland. The parish covers an area including Knoydart, North Morar. At the 2001 census it had a population of 1,507, the smaller settlement zone around the village had a population of 283. In 2011 Highland Council estimated that the community of Glenelg and Arnisdale had a population of 291, Glenelg is located by the Kyle Rhea narrows, where the Isle of Skye is closest to the mainland. Between November and February, the access to Glenelg is by road. Between March and October, there is the option to cross the Kyle Rhea strait by ferry and its proximity to Skye meant that Glenelg was formerly of more strategic importance. Cattle reared on Skye were routinely made to swim the 534 metres to the mainland before being herded to market along the road to Kinlochhourn. Following the initial Jacobite risings, Glenelg was chosen as one of four sites in the Highlands for a military barracks and these were completed in 1725 and a military road soon linked Glenelg to the rest of General George Wades road network. Ultimately unsuccessful in preventing the 1745 uprising and not needed after the Highland Clearances, a person from Glenelg is known in Gaelic as an Eilgeach. Between March and October, a vehicle ferry connects to Kylerhea on Skye across the powerful currents of the narrows. The ferry used on the crossing since 1982 is the MV Glenachulish, built in 1969 for the Ballachulish crossing by the Ailsa Shipbuilding Company in Troon, it is now operated by a local Community Interest Company. The ferry can transport six cars plus foot passengers on the open deck and it is unusual in that the ferry ties up alongside the slipway and the crew manually turn the deck, which is built on a turntable, for cars and passengers to embark and disembark. When the Ballachulish Bridge opened in 1975, it became the vessel for Corran, Kylesku. The ferry is a tourist attraction in itself, the former structure of the Sandaig lighthouse has now been erected on the slipway to serve as a souvenir shop. Another attraction in recent years are a pair of resident sea eagles During the summer, Glenelg attracts tourists to the remains of two of the best-preserved brochs on mainland Scotland. The villages only pub is the Glenelg Inn, there is also a village shop. Glenelg Amateur Football Club is known to locals by their nickname of The Duffers, were re-formed in 2011 by Grant MacLeod, although the name nowadays refers to the whole district, it is likely that it originally referred only to the glen containing the brochs. The specific element of the name is elsewhere, such as in Elgin and is generally accepted as being a kenning for Ireland
37.
Dun Dornaigil
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Dun Dornaigil is an Iron Age broch in Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands. It is in Strathmore on the bank of the Strathmore River. It is under the care of Historic Scotland, the interior has been filled and is now inaccessible. Dun Dornaigil is located next to the Strathmore River, south of Ben Hope, under the care of Historic Scotland, it has limited parking space and an information board for visitors. The broch has an diameter of about 14.5 metres. The walls of Dun Dornaigil generally survive from 2 to 3 metres around the circumference of the broch, the entrance is on the northeast side but is filled with debris. There is a massive triangular lintel over the entrance which measures 1.4 metres along the base, the interior of the broch is still filled with collapsed rubble from the upper levels and is therefore not accessible
38.
Ground floor
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Ground Floor was an American comedy series created by Bill Lawrence and Greg Malins, that aired from November 14,2013, through February 10,2015, on TBS. The series stars Skylar Astin, Briga Heelan, Rory Scovel, mcGinley, and followed Brody, a successful banker who falls for Jenny, an intelligent maintenance supervisor, who works in the same building. Following earlier reports, the show was announced to have been cancelled on February 13,2015. Ground Floor follows Brody, a young and successful banker at Remington Trust, from here, they deal with their growing feelings for each other, much to the annoyance of their co-workers, while trying to find a balance between their vastly differing work environments. Skylar Astin as Brody Carol Moyer Briga Heelan as Jenny Miller Rory Scovel as Mark Harvard Shrake Rene Gube as Mike Threepeat Wen James Earl as Derrick Dupree Alexis Knapp as Tori John C. McGinley as Remington Stewart Mansfield Emily Heller as Lindsay Harris Anna Camp as Heather TBS placed an order for Ground Floor on February 21,2013. The series was created by Bill Lawrence and Greg Malins, with Lawrence serving as producer alongside Jeff Astrof and Jeff Ingold. Casting announcements began in February 2013, with John C, mcGinley first cast as Mr. Mansfield, the boss. Rory Scovel then joined the series as Harvard, a classic know-it-all who harbors an oft demonstrated crush on his ground-floor co-worker Jennifer. Alexis Knapp was the last actor cast in the series as Tori, Knapp and Astin have previously worked together in the comedy Pitch Perfect. On May 10,2013, TBS placed an order on Ground Floor. On March 6,2014, TBS announced the second season renewal of Ground Floor that would consist of ten episodes and premiere December 9,2014. Prior to its second season renewal, the first season averaged 1.8 million viewers in Live +7 delivery, official website Ground Floor at the Internet Movie Database
39.
Broch of Culswick
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The Broch of Culswick is an unexcavated coastal broch in the Shetland Islands of Scotland. It has good all around, including Foula and Vaila isles. The broch stands on the top of a platform and is about 3 metres high at its tallest point. Much rubble has fallen into the centre and this broch has a massive triangular lintel stone over the entrance, which is partly filled with rubble. Drawings by Low in 1774 and Skene in 1805 reveal that the structure survived very well up to those dates, the Broch of Culswick is located a kilometre west of Culswick in the parish of Sandsting. It is on top of a steep, smooth knoll near cliffs, the Broch of Culswick has an external diameter of around 16 metres with walls preserved up to a height of 3.5 metres. The main entrance is clearly visible but debris nearly fills the passage, the lintel is a massive triangular stone. A guard cell was visible to the right of the main entrance, the interior of the broch is full of debris. The inside face of an upper gallery can be seen above the entrance, media related to Broch of Culswick at Wikimedia Commons
40.
Jarlshof
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Jarlshof is the best known prehistoric archaeological site in Shetland, Scotland. It lies near the tip of the Shetland Mainland and has been described as one of the most remarkable archaeological sites ever excavated in the British Isles. It contains remains dating from 2500 BC up to the 17th century AD, the Bronze Age settlers left evidence of several small oval houses with thick stone walls and various artefacts including a decorated bone object. The Iron Age ruins include several different types of structures, including a broch, the Pictish period provides various works of art including a painted pebble and a symbol stone. The Viking age ruins make up the largest such site visible anywhere in Britain and include a longhouse, excavations provided numerous tools and a detailed insight into life in Shetland at this time. The most visible structures on the site are the walls of the Scottish period fortified manor house, the site is in the care of Historic Scotland and is open from April to September. In 2010 The Crucible of Iron Age Shetland including Mousa, Old Scatness, Jarlshof lies near the southern tip of the Shetland Mainland, close to the settlements of Sumburgh and Grutness and to the south end of Sumburgh Airport. The south Mainland also provides a location for arable cultivation in a Shetland context. Jarlshof is only one mile from Scatness where the remains of another broch, there is a small visitor centre at Jarlshof with displays and a collection of artefacts. The name Jarlshof meaning Earls Mansion is a coinage of Walter Scott and it was more than a century later before excavations proved that there had actually been Viking Age settlement on the site, although there is no evidence that a Norse jarl ever lived there. The remains at Jarlshof represent thousands of years of human occupation, other than the Old House of Sumburgh the site remained largely hidden until a storm in the late 19th century washed away part of the shore, and revealed evidence of these ancient buildings. Formal archaeological excavation started in 1925 and Jarlshof was one of two sites which were the first to be excavated using modern scientific techniques between 1949–52. Although the deposits within the broch had been disturbed by earlier attempts. Buildings on the site include the remains of a Bronze Age smithy, an Iron Age broch and roundhouses, a complex of Pictish wheelhouses, a Viking longhouse, no further excavations have been undertaken since the early 1950s and no radiocarbon dating has been attempted. The earliest finds are pottery from the Neolithic era, although the settlement dates from the Bronze Age. A site nearby has been dated to 3200 BC, the Bronze Age in Scotland lasted from approximately 2000 BC to 800 BC. The oldest known remains on the Jarlshof site date from this period and these buildings may have been partly subterranean at the earliest period of inhabitation, a technique that provided both structural stability and insulation. There is also evidence of a stall with a waste channel leading to a tank in a courtyard
41.
Burroughston Broch
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Burroughston Broch is an Iron Age broch located on the island of Shapinsay in the Orkney Islands, in Scotland. The site overlooks the North Sea on the northeast part of Shapinsay, excavated in the mid 19th century, Burroughston Broch is still well-preserved. The drystone walls are up to four metres thick in some parts, some remains of stone fittings are evident in the interior. Burroughston Broch overlooks the North Sea at the northeast corner of Shapinsay island, slightly to the south lies Linton Bay. The broch stands at the foot of a sloping field just above the low rocky shoreline. It is one of the best preserved brochs in Orkney, the walls of Burroughston Broch have an external diameter of around 18 metres, and an internal diameter of around 10 metres. From the outside, the building appears as a grassy mound, the entrance passage is on the east side, and is about 4 metres long,1.2 metres wide and 1.8 metres high. There is a guard room opening from the left side of the passage. Inside the broch, the face of the upper gallery is still visible. A deep well is present in the floor, the upper part being dry stone masonry. In the sloping area in front of the entrance are traces of out-buildings now covered with turf. A wall, ditch and rampart, which once encircled the broch, are still evident around the structure. The broch was excavated around 1862 by the estate-workers of Colonel D. Balfour under the direction of the antiquarian George Petrie, Petrie made notes on the structures while Sir Henry Dryden made a plan of them. Excavation was confined to the interior of the broch and to an area immediately outside the entrance. Little information is known about the finds, according to Petrie, they were mostly deer-horn fragments, many ox and sheep bones and several rude stone vessels of different sizes, including a possible triangular lamp. Balfour Castle Geo of Ork Quholm The Ouse Media related to Burroughston Broch at Wikimedia Commons
42.
Shapinsay
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Shapinsay is one of the Orkney Islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland. There is one village on the island, Balfour, from which roll-on/roll-off car ferries sail to Kirkwall on the Orkney Mainland, other landmarks include a standing stone, an Iron Age broch, a souterrain and a salt-water shower. With an area of 29.5 square kilometres, Shapinsay is the eighth largest island in the Orkney archipelago and it is low-lying and fertile, consequently most of the area is given over to farming. Shapinsay has two nature reserves and is notable for its bird life, at the 2011 census, Shapinsay had a population of 307. The economy of the island is based on agriculture with the exception of a few small businesses that are largely tourism-related. Plans for the construction of a wind turbine are under consideration, unlike most of the larger Orkney islands, the derivation of the name Shapinsay is not obvious. The final ay is from the Old Norse for island, haswell-Smith suggests the root may be hjalpandis-øy owing to the presence of a good harbour, although anchorages are plentiful in the archipelago. The first written record dates from 1375 in a reference to Scalpandisay, another suggestion is Hyalpandis island, although no one of that name is known to be associated with Shapinsay. Standing stones provide evidence of the human occupation since Neolithic times. According to Tacitus, the Roman general Agricola subdued the inhabitants of the Orkney Islands, during the 18th century, a croft named Grukalty was renamed Agricola. Roman coins have found on Shapinsay, but they may have been brought to the island by traders. Shapinsay is briefly mentioned in the Norse sagas, the Saga of Haakon Haakonsson states that Haakon IV of Norway anchored in Elwick Bay before sailing south to eventual defeat at the Battle of Largs. The 18th century saw the beginnings of change to agriculture on Shapinsay, the family owned the estate of Sound, which covered the western part of the island. Sound had passed from the Tulloch family to the Buchanan family in the 17th century, in 1674, Arthur Buchanan built the house of Sound, where Balfour Castle now stands. His granddaughter married James Fea, who is best known for his role in the capture of the Orkney Pirate John Gow, Fea was a supporter of the Jacobite Rebellion, and the house was burned by Hanoverian troops in revenge. The estate was acquired by Andrew Ross, Stewart Depute in Orkney of the Earl of Morton, rosss heirs, the Lindsay brothers, sold the estate to Thomas Balfour in 1782. To raise the funds, Balfour had to sell his military commission and borrow from his brother, John. Once installed on the island, he built a new house, Cliffdale and he also reformed the local agriculture, enclosing fields and constructing farm buildings
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Arable land
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Arable land is, according to one definition, land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops. In Britain, it was contrasted with pasturable lands such as heaths which could be used for sheep-rearing. A quite different kind of definition is used by various agencies concerned with agriculture, the abandoned land resulting from shifting cultivation is not included in this category. Data for ‘Arable land’ are not meant to indicate the amount of land that is potentially cultivable, a briefer definition appearing in the Eurostat glossary similarly refers to actual, rather than potential use, land worked regularly, generally under a system of crop rotation. According to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations the worlds Arable land amounted to 1,407 M ha, out of a total 4,924 M ha land used for agriculture, as for year 2013. Agricultural land that is not arable according to the FAO definition above includes, Permanent crop - land that produces crops from woody vegetation, other non-arable land includes land unsuitable for any agricultural use. Although such limitations may preclude cultivation, and some will in some cases preclude any agricultural use, for example, US NRCS statistics indicate that about 59 percent of US non-federal pasture and unforested rangeland is unsuitable for cultivation, yet such land has value for grazing of livestock. Similar examples can be found in many rangeland areas elsewhere, land incapable of being cultivated for production of crops can sometimes be converted to arable land. New arable land makes more food, and can reduce starvation and this outcome also makes a country more self-sufficient and politically independent, because food importation is reduced. This process is extremely expensive. An alternative is the Seawater Greenhouse which desalinates water through evaporation and condensation using solar energy as the energy input. This technology is optimized to grow crops on land close to the sea. The people covered the islands with a layer of seaweed. Israel, The construction of desalination plants along Israels coast allowed agriculture in areas that were formerly desert. The desalination plants, which remove the salt from water, have created a new source of water for farming, drinking. Slash and burn agriculture uses nutrients in wood ash, but these expire within a few years, terra preta, fertile tropical soils created by adding charcoal. Some examples of fertile land being turned into infertile land are. Rainforest deforestation, The fertile tropical forests are converted into infertile desert land, for example, Madagascars central highland plateau has become virtually totally barren, as a result of slash-and-burn deforestation, an element of shifting cultivation practiced by many natives
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Water supply
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Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. However, about 14% did not have access to a water source and had to use unprotected wells or springs, canals. A clean water supply - in particular water that is not polluted with fecal matter from lack of sanitation - is the single most important determinant of public health. Destruction of water supply and/or sanitation infrastructure after major catastrophes poses the threat of severe epidemics of waterborne diseases. Water supply systems get water from a variety of locations after appropriate treatment, including groundwater, surface water, the water treatment steps include, in most cases, purification, disinfection through chlorination and sometimes fluoridation. Treated water then flows by gravity or is pumped to reservoirs. In the U. S, the single family home uses about 69.3 gallons of water per day. This includes toilet use, washing machine use, showers, baths, tap use, many of the 3.5 billion people having access to piped water receive a poor or very poor quality of service, especially in developing countries where about 80% of the world population lives. Water supply service quality has many dimensions, continuity, water quality, pressure, and it is estimated that about half of the population of developing countries receives water on an intermittent basis. Drinking water quality has a micro-biological and a physico-chemical dimension, there are thousands of parameters of water quality. For more details, please see the entries on water quality, water treatment. Water pressures vary in different locations of a distribution system, Water mains below the street may operate at higher pressures, with a pressure reducer located at each point where the water enters a building or a house. In poorly managed systems, water pressure can be so low as to only in a trickle of water or so high that it leads to damage to plumbing fixtures. Typical UK pressures are 4–5 bar for an urban supply, however, some people can get over eight bars or below one bar. A single iron main pipe may cross a valley, it will have the same nominal pressure. So people at the bottom of a 100-foot hill will get about 3 bars more than those at the top, the effective pressure also varies because of the pressure loss due to supply resistance even for the same static pressure. An urban consumer may have 5 metres of 15 mm pipe running from the main, so the kitchen tap flow will be fairly unrestricted. A rural consumer may have a kilometre of rusted and limed 22 mm iron pipe, for this reason, the UK domestic water system has traditionally employed a cistern feed system, where the incoming supply is connected to the kitchen sink and also a header/storage tank in the attic
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Levenwick
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Levenwick is a small village about 17 miles south of Lerwick, on the east side of the South Mainland of Shetland. It is part of the parish of Dunrossness and the Levenwick Health Centre provides medical support for the Dunrossness area, in the literature of the isles, it is associated with George Stewart, author of the pioneering Shetland Fireside Tales, who lived here in his youth. Today Levenwick is home to a number of artists, including Amy Moncrieff, Anne Bain and it was also where musician Ian Bairnson grew up. This article is based on http, //shetlopedia. com/Levenwick a GFDL wiki, canmore - Levenwick Broch site record
