Scotland's ancient buildings return to the landscape

Some of them stood thousands of years ago, built by those who have shaped Scotland’s landscape over time

Buildings of Scotland’s ancient past are emerging once again as how we used to live is explored inch-by-inch through a series of loyal reconstructions.

Among them are an Iron Age home of loch dwellers, a Pictish roundhouse and a 17th Century turf house which once stood in one of Scotland’s most celebrated glens.

Archaeology is being used to recreate the buildings of our deep past to help us both connect to the history that surrounded them and inform a future shaped by climate change and the need for sustainability.

The Bosta Iron Age house on the Isle of Lewis was reconstructed after a storm shifted sands on the beach to reveal stone walls of a village which had been hidden under the dunes for millennia. PIC: Bernera Museum.

Dr Jeff Sanders , project manager at the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland’s Dig It! project, said: “By bringing these structures back to life, these organisations are not just learning from the past, they’re providing opportunities for the future.

"Often built with a deep understanding of their environment, they offer valuable lessons in sustainable design and resourcefulness. In addition to supporting these projects however you can, we encourage everyone to not just connect with history, but reflect on the challenges of climate change, be inspired by the ingenuity, and imagine a future where we build smarter and live more sustainably.”

On the shores of Loch Tay, an Iron Age-inspired village has emerged follow the redevelopment of the Scottish Crannog Centre in Perthshire, which was partly destroyed by fire in 2021.

The Whithorn Roundhouse in Dumfries and Galloway is a full-scale replica of a roudhouse like those found at Black Loch of Myrton, where people lived around 430BC.

The seven buildings, constructed using traditional methods including reed and heather thatching, dry stone walling and turf building reflect life around the river some 2,500 years ago.

The village forms part of the centre’s new museum at Dalerb, which sits on the other side of the loch from the crannog – a timber building set on stilts on the water – that was lost to the fire.

Once the village is complete, work on three new crannogs will begin with the project rooted in water archaeology of the loch which has been dived by archaeologists for decades in a bid to understand these ancient communities.

The Scottish Crannog Centre’s Iron Age -inspired village is one of many sites where you can find historic buildings constructed using traditional methods .PIC: Yorkshire Exile.

It is now known people were living on Loch Tay between 370BC and 355BC. At least 18 structures dotted the water over time and may have been built due to climactic change, which may have made the scramble for land more competitive, to show wealth or display some sort of cosmological system. The new museum at Dalerb is now open seven days a week.

The Iron Age in Scotland has also been brought to life over at Whithorn in Dumfries and Galloway with the building of a full-scale replica of a roudhouse like those found at Black Loch of Myrton, where people lived around 430BC.

The reconstruction by the Whithorn Trust includes details from the original building including an oak façade and intricately woven flooring made of hazel rods.

In Shetland, the Iron Age Broch and Village at Old Scatness was first discovered in 1975 as a result of roadworks. Reconstructions of several buildings now stand due to the work of staff at students at the University of Bradford who uncovered a later Iron Age village which was built around a broch, or tower house, dating from between 400 to 200 BC. Old Scatness is open from May 3 every Friday over the summer.

The turf and creel house in Glencoe has been reconstructed by archaeologist for National Trust for Scotland following excavations at the remains of a nearby township. PIC: Guy Veale.

Over on the Isle of Lewis, life in the Iron Age was exposed in a storm which shifted sands on Bosta Beach to reveal stone walls of a village which had been hidden under the dunes for millennia.

A well-preserved Late Iron Age settlement of five houses, which dated from 400 to 800 AD, then emerged following an excavation led by CFA Archaeology as part of the University of Edinburgh.

A detailed life-size reconstruction of one of the houses was then created by the Comunn Eachdraidh sgire Bhearbaraidh – or the Bernera Historical Society. It is open to the public over the summer months.

Meanwhile, the National Trust for Scotland’s Turf and Creel House in Glencoe illustrates life in the 17th Century around the time of the infamous massacre of members of a branch of Clan MacDonald. Then, the lower slopes of Glencoe were home to a community of 400 to 500 people with one settlement, Achtriachtan, investigated by trust archaeologists.

Using a mix of evidence and experimentation, they assembled a team of traditional building experts to design and reconstruct one as authentically as possible using materials which only could be found in the surrounding landscape.

In Caithness, there are plans to build the first broch in Scotland in nearly 2,000 years.

Digital reconstruction of the planned broch to be built at Flygla, north of Latheron in Caithness. PIC: Bob Marshall / Caithness Broch Project

The Caithness Broch Project is fundraising to build the broch, a structure regarded as the pinnacle of ancient British architecture and which are unique to Scotland. Caithness claims to have more brochs than anywhere else with the landscape at one time dominated by these towering structures, some which measured up to 13 metres high. They are believed to have been a dwelling of some kind, perhaps for a chieftain or families.

A site north of Latheron has been selected for the broch with the project working with historical reconstruction artist Bob Marshall on the plans.

In East Lothian, a working replica of Scotland’s earliest railway which was built in 1722 to move coal from Tranent to the Cockenzie salt works is due to be built.

Following excavations, the 1722 Waggonway Project has enough knowledge to build a working wooden replica, exactly as it was constructed in the 18th century. They also plan to build several other replica structures associated with the waggonway, including a full-scale working salt pan house to create an industrial heritage attraction.

Dr Susan O’Connor, Head of Grants at Historic Environment Scotland, said: “Historical building reconstructions offer a window to the past in a way unlike any other, and whether someone visits a crannog, a roundhouse or a broch, they will feel like they have stepped back in time.”