Archaeology Scotland

These are so beautifully designed and built! 😍 and extend the existing 'The Bare Bones' learning materials from Forestry and Land Scotland and written by Gavin Lindsay, Matt Ritchie and Alison Sheridan.

Thanks for highlighting @thebefs.bsky.social 🙏

The Bare Bones Toolkit from Archaeology Scotland brings the Early Neolithic to life for learners of all ages 🪨🦴

YouTube video by Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Carved in Stone: Bringing the Picts to Life

TWO videos in a week?!?

For those following Carved in Stone, @stoutstoat.co.uk and I did a talk for @socantscot.bsky.social in December, exploring how we made the book & the enormous questions and conundrums involved!

🏺 #archaeologysky #historysky #ttrpg #picts

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZHn...

Look what just dropped on the doormat! The latest issues of #CurrentArchaeology and our work on Ben Lomond made it on to the front cover! @currentarchaeology.bsky.social @n-t-s.bsky.social @nattrustarch.bsky.social

PICTURES: Winter stroll leads to historic find: Thurso mother and daughter uncover ancient cross near St Mary’s Chapel A casual winter stroll along the Caithness coast led a mother and daughter to discover an archaeological marvel hiding in plain sight.

Pictish cross from a broch alert! From Crosskirk Broch, Caithness

A pile of polished stone axe-heads, ranging in colour from black to brown.

Neolithic axe-heads from the Ness of Brodgar, Orkney #FlintFriday
One of the most iconic tools of Europe's first farmers, wear analysis reveals they were treated in diverse ways, used for cutting wood, chiselling stone, scraping hides and more.

🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

🏺 #Archaeology

Fence with stile in the foreground, behind it the stones of Callanish II, Isle of Lewis

Stile with added standing stones. #Lewis #Callanish #Calanais

Proud of my colleagues @earlymedieval.bsky.social et al. I saw the years of work that went into this firsthand.

Available NOW, free to read online, completely beautiful and packed with discoveries rewriting the end of Empire in Britain and beyond

A Neolithic winter.

The Knap O'Howar on a snowy Papay day in January.

A fastness in time, caught.

#Papay #neolithic #archaeology #orkney

Large wooden version of a king from the Lewis chesspieces, with a stile in the background.

Stile with added chesspiece. #Lewis

Two standing stones forming entrance to chambered cairn. Ante-chamber and chamber comprising lower stone slab boxes in foreground. Distant sky is orange and dark with Mmorning sunrise, green pastures and woodlands below.

And at some places, we can feel closer to the rhythms of the world...

Cairn Holy 1 chambered cairn is a remarkable monument which has been visibly revisted and reused for nearly six thousand years.

#prehistory #TombTuesday @archscot.bsky.social @the.stone.club @megalithic.bsky.social

A short, shallow ditch in grass surrounded by trees, with a line of houses behind.

A 1976 photo of excavations at Bantaskin which revealed the stone base of the Antonine Wall

Hiding in plain sight - a tiny stretch of the Antonine Wall ditch at Bantaskin in Falkirk. The stone base of the Roman wall was excavated here in 1976, but then destroyed to make way for a new road. #RomanSiteSaturday

This looks great, and is a hybrid event, too! Just be sure to reserve your space in advance to get the online link.

Lost and Found: Rediscovering Scotland’s Forgotten Prehistory - Historic Environment Scotland Blog Sites (Bronze Age barrow, Iron Age fort, and settlement) were found using lidar technology, rediscovering Scotland's forgotten prehistory

Loved this post from HES ( you see the staff do brilliant work! )
Lost and Found: Rediscovering Scotland’s Forgotten Prehistory
Scotland has a wealth of prehistoric sites. This is the story of three newly discovered monuments

blog.historicenvironment.scot/2026/01/lost...

Where was Pictland? Some thoughts on the southern frontier of the Kingdom of the Picts

My latest blog is about the frontier of Pictland at Stirling!

scottisharchaeology.substack.com/p/where-was-...

Screenshot from linked article. Text reads: I get to the nature reserve and, not entirely able to shed instinct, head straight for an information board installed by a weeping willow. It tells me the waterworks closed in 1969, then 'nature quickly took over'. I run my fingers over the surface, dusty green-grey and rough with algae and blackspot blown in by the wind and rain. Like the vegetation at the site, this board itself is in succession. I bend down, squinting, and notice rows of tiny triangular meanderings. I'm transfixed at their detail and contemplate the things, human and fellow being, that have brought this slug or snail grazing site together. I continue on, mapping the rest of the site with my body: walking, looking, listening, feeling, sniffing, tracing, filming, writing, photographing, recording. I cycle home. That evening, I overlay a photo of the snail grazing trails on a map of the site. Playing with scale, I trace a course across the nature reserve, to follow the next day.

New article from the amazing Lara Band explores her research & filmmaking process when working with urban and post industrial landscapes - with a link to her fab short film www.livingmaps.org/lara-band-mw...

Archaeologists Engage in conversation with Annelise Baer Learn how expert Annelise uses TikTok to combat pseudoscience, engage young audiences, and make archaeology credible, accessible, and fun.

Times change, our methods of interacting with the public and between ourselves changes. This Archaeologists Engage inaugural talk, in conversation with Annelise Baer, will cover the benefits and pitfalls of public engagement on different social media platforms

www.eventbrite.com/e/archaeolog...

Defences of the South Roman camp at Burnswark in south Scotland

Oh thanks for sharing

For #HillfortsWednesday we have a veritable compedium of winter hillforts for your delight, all located in the #Scottish Borders - home to the highest concentration of hillforts in Europe.
1. Corsehope Rings near Heriot
2. Woden Law near Jeburgh
3. Hownam Law near Hownam
4. Chatto Craig

Graphic: Specislist Volunteer, Volunteering Opportunity Stromness Museum

We're seeking a Natural History Specialist Volunteer to help us digitize, research and catalogue specimens in our collection! Find out more from vaorkney.org.uk at: bit.ly/49u5I7k

Friends of Wamphray Church are hosting an update meeting this Sunday. The church closed in 2025 and they are forming a SCIO planning to purchase and sensitively preserve the building which is in Wamphray Glen.

"Dumfries & Galloway! What's Going On?" story here👇

www.dgwgo.com/community-fo...

🧵1/2

Carpow, the fortress base for the third century invasion by Septimius Severus

A tour of the museums stores with Rosie Shackleton!

Finds handling with David from Summerlee

Learning how iron is made at Summerlee

Before the modern curlers how did folks get their hair curled? Here are a pair of early 20th c curling irons!

I had a great day out at @nlheritage.bsky.social Summerlee Museum with students from St Margaret’s in Airdrie exploring their industrial collections! We were lucky to get the chance to peak behind the scenes, and get hands on with their collections!

Heritage Volunteering in Scotland Research Report | Hist Env Scotland The Heritage Volunteering in Scotland report summarises the findings of research into heritage volunteering in Scotland, undertaken in 2025.

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'New survey results depict a mixed bag for volunteering in the heritage sector. Heritage volunteering boosts wellbeing and skills, but is the sector doing enough to support its volunteers? And are we offering experiences that help to develop the roles our sector needs most?'

ow.ly/9MEt50XWAS1

Image of traditional stone-built icehouse, partially covered in turf, at Fascadale Bay on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula, Highlands west coast. The icehouse was built to store the catches of the fishing boats that landed in Fascadale Bay. Full story available at: https://www.archaeologyscotland.org.uk/return-to-the-real-wild-west-and-goodbye-to-ardnamurchan/

Project update @archscot.bsky.social:

"A journey through the Real Wild West. Our Project Assistant Dr Eleanor Harrison continues her exploration of Audrey Henshall’s work in the latest blog: Return to the Real Wild West and Goodbye to Ardnamurchan.”

www.archaeologyscotland.org.uk/return-to-th...

I’ve been lucky enough to be asked to give the Sir John Rhys Memorial Lecture to the British Academy on Thursday 21st May in Cardiff where I’ll present our latest research results on the major Pictish and Viking Age centre at Burghead, Moray. Sign up!

www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/lectu...

Featuring the #KelvinWheelies skatepark excavations in episode 1!

You can find myself, @nts-archaeology.bsky.social and @uofgartshums.bsky.social Prof Michael Given tonight on Digging for Britain at 9pm on BBC2, talking about our 2025 Glencoe season!

Below a wee work in progress reconstruction based on our 2 seasons at Achnacon by me, and a pic by Derek!

Dark blue banner with gold coloured text 'Archaeology Scotland Student Awards' displayed on the left and a shiny gold, metallic Archaeology Scotland logo: circular with a central image of standing stones in front of sunrise surrounded by the text 'Archaeology Scotland'.

Archaeology Scotland's Student Awards 2025: Submission deadline for UG & PGT Dissertations - 9 January 2026.

The awards ceremony will take place during the Scottish Student Archaeology Conference in spring 2026.

Full details and submission link: tinyurl.com/53rh7tek

@archscot.bsky.social