Ancient Scotland

Celtic Scotland Who are the Celts? Where did they come from? Did the tribes of Iron Age Scotland really belong to a European Community of Celts? What did it mean to be Celtic? In this fascinating book, the results of modern archaeology are used, alongside earlier finds and the historical sources, to illuminate this important but surprisingly neglected period of Scottish history. In this new edition of a classic work, Ian Armit explores the prehistoric world of the Celts, from around 1000 BC to AD 500. Fully illustrated with colour photographs, maps and diagrams, the book covers ethnicity and identity, daily life, Celtic art, the Druids, brochs, hillforts and Celtic warfare and the clash with Rome. Ancient Scotland.

Plants and People in Ancient Scotland As this unique and extremely readable account shows, it's not just for the production of whisky that the Scots have made use of their native habitat over the centuries. It describes plant exploitation in Scotland by the earliest inhabitants, the mesolithic people, by their successors of the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron ages, by the Picts and the Norse, and by the peoples of Medieval times down to AD1500. The authors deal with both wild and cultivated food plants, with spice plants, plants used in alcohol production, medical plants, dye plants and plants used for fuel and construction. The diet of the past can also be deduced from the bones and shells of animals on plant-rich archaeological sites. The great reduction in woodlands from prehistoric times, particularly in the Northern Isles and Hebrides, is also covered. There are detailed discussions of the plant remains from the Neolithic village of Skara Brae on Orkney, from Bronze Age graves in Fife, from the sewage-filled defensive ditch at Bearsden Roman Fort, and from the silted-up fifteenth-century drain beneath Paisley Abbey. Particular attention is also paid to the many plants recovered from the broch at Howe on Orkney and from the crannog at Oakbank in Loch Tay. The second part of the book details 40 particularly relevant plants - such as Cereals, Cloudberry, Coriander, Fig, Hazel, Monk's Rhubarb, Opium Poppy and Scots Pine. For each there is an explanation of the formal name, and statements on ecology, medicinal uses and types of remains found in the archaeological layers. Ancient Scotland.

Settlement and Sacrifice Designed throughout with colourful and detailed illustrations, Settlement and Sacrifice clearly describes the dramatic changes of the last thousand years BC. It contains in-depth discussions about distinctive features of the archaeological record and emphasises that the lives recorded by these remains were those of ordinary people living in and changing the landscape around them. Included in the book are specially commissioned illustrations which show how these people may have lived, as well as a list of the later Bronze and Iron Age sites which can be seen around Scotland. This book is part of a newly updated edition of the acclaimed Making of Scotland series produced by Historic Scotland and Birlinn which provides lively, accessible and up-to-date introductions to key themes and periods in Scottish history and prehistory.

Farmers, Temples and Tombs (Making of Scotland S.) Designed throughout with colourful and detailed illustrations, Farmers, Temples and Tombs outlines in a clear and understandable way the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age in Scotland. It contains in-depth features on important Neolithic sites, and emphasises that what are now archaeological sites were once places where normal people lived. Included in the book are specially commissioned illustrations which show how different sites might have looked, as well as a list of Neolithic sites that can be visited across Scotland. This book is part of a newly updated edition of the acclaimed Making of Scotland series produced by Historic Scotland and Birlinn which provides lively, accessible and up-to-date introductions to key themes and periods in Scottish history and prehistory. Ancient Scotland.

Wild Harvesters Designed throughout with colourful and detailed illustrations, Wild Harvesters outlines in a clear and understandable way the Mesolithic Age in Scotland. It contains in-depth features on important discoveries and Mesolithic phenomenon and emphasises that Scotland's first inhabitants were not ignorant savages but ordinary people trying to live as best they could in their landscape. Included in the book are specially commissioned illustrations which show how these people may have lived, as well as an assessment of the archaeological theories current today. This book is part of a newly updated edition of the acclaimed Making of Scotland series produced by Historic Scotland and Birlinn which provides lively, accessible and up-to-date introductions to key themes and periods in Scottish history and prehistory. Ancient Scotland.

Scotland: Archaeology and Early History A survey of Scotland's archaeology and prehistory, from the earliest times to the union of the Picts and the Scots in AD 843. Scotland is unusually rich in field monuments and objects surviving from prehistory, from isolated cairn burial stones to Maes Howe, and from plain pottery bowls to the exquisite silverwork of the St Ninian's Isle treasure. Graham and Anna Ritchie examine these finds and drawing on their own excavations, describe in detail the societies that have inhabited Scotland. Ancient Scotland.

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