Prehistoric site Archive

Maes Howe – Where the Dead Live on Orkney

This unassuming mound has been through a lot: death rituals, Viking graffiti and UFO researchers. And once a year, right on the winter solstice, the inside of Maes Howe even sees the sun. “Nonsense! Elvis was far too unfit to build that!” a woman scolds her husband. The historian who runs the tours at Maes […]

Skara Brae – Solid Stone Living on Orkney

Owning your own terraced house was in high demand even in the Stone Age. At Skara Brae, its residents made that dream come true. The interior: standard issue for the era, right across the board … She sighed contentedly, casting one more checking glance at the fish bait in the storage tank. Here in Skara […]

Dun Carloway – Broch on the Outer Hebrides

Dun Carloway rises up like a fang, jagged and sharp. The Iron Age tower is considered one of the best-preserved brochs in Scotland. And it once played a gruesome role in a clan feud. The Morrisons were mangy cattle thieves! And this time they were foolish enough to get caught. Donald Cam MacAulay and his […]

Shandwick Stone – A Magnificent Pictish Stone

Not much is known about this ancient Scottish people. But the Shandwick Stone gives a real sense of Pictish culture – it’s one of their finest surviving relics. It’s so different from the Celtic crosses in the west of Scotland. The Shandwick Stone radiates a warmth all of its own, thanks to the sandstone’s soft […]

Camster Cairns – Eerie Burial Mounds in Caithness

Eerie. Grey stone tombs in a bleak, boggy landscape in the middle of nowhere. The Camster Cairns have patiently kept their secret here for thousands of years. A Stone Age death cult is thought to have taken place in these two burial monuments around 5,000 years ago – though exactly what was celebrated in the […]

Standing Stones of Stenness – Three Stone Giants

Es sind nur drei, aber sie flößen Respekt ein. Denn die Standing Stones of Stenness ragen bis zu sechs Meter weit in den Himmel. Sie sind scharfkantig geschnitten und weit über das flache Land von Orkney sichtbar.

Jarlshof – 4,000 Years of History in One Place

Blick vom großen Gebäude über die Ausgrabungen am Jarlshof

Es ist die Top-Sehenswürdigkeit auf Shetland. Und das zu Recht. Denn der Jarlshof ist ein faszinierendes Stück Geschichte vor beeindruckender Kulisse.

Callanish Stones – Mythical Stone Circle

Eine große Ansammlung an Monolithen auf einer Wiese mit blauem Himmel und Wolken

There are many magnificent stone circles in the Highlands, but Callanish on the Isle of Lewis is different—much more complex and wild. Unlike other stone circles, the Stones of Callanish—or “Calanais” in Gaelic—on the Isle of Lewis are not uniformly hewn, which gives each stone its own unique character. Furthermore, Callanish consists not just of […]

Broch of Clickimin – an Iron Age fort

Once upon a time, the tower stood up to ten metres tall on an island in Loch Clickimin in Shetland. And to this day, it remains a mystery.

Muir of Dinnet and Burn o’ Vat – a walk through the millennia

Ein Stein mit kunstvoller Steinmetzarbeit aus der Zeit der Pikten steht in einer grünen Landschaft

In the Muir of Dinnet nature reserve in the Cairngorms, trails lead not only through beautiful countryside, but also through history.