Retirement the start of new chapter for historian Chris

One of the country's most respected historians, Chris Tabraham, is retiring from Historic Scotland after more than four decades.

Originally from Cumbria, Mr Tabraham, who is principal historian with the organisation, moved to Liverpool to study ancient and medieval history and archaeology.

Following this he joined Historic Scotland, and was based at Argyle House in the Capital.

At 21 he was the youngest inspector of ancient monuments in the UK, at a time when there were just five inspectors to cover the whole of Scotland.

Rising through the ranks, Mr Tabraham became principal historian in 2006.

A favourite memory of his career is spending five summers directing excavations at Threave Castle in Dumfries and Galloway.

He said: "We discovered a range of fascinating items dating from the 14th century which had been discarded into a buried harbour.

"I particularly remember some porridge bowls made out of ash which had the logo of the Black Douglases, the 'Bludy hart', branded into the undersides. It's fascinating to think that even then, people were obsessed with logos!"

Another highlight of the job has been travelling around Scotland. "It has been a privilege to meet so many interesting people, such as the stonemasons who do the most fantastic job for preserving our heritage."

Mr Tabraham has written more than 50 books during his career, including guidebooks on the history of Scotland, its battles, castles and archaeological digs.

Historic Scotland's head of understanding and access, Doreen Grove, has been a colleague of Mr Tabraham's for many years.

She said: "He was absolutely dedicated to the job

"Chris realised you had to make history interesting to people, make it important to them so they would look after it."

During his employment, Mr Tabraham managed to visit all of Historic Scotland's 345 sites with the exception of Eagle Rock, the site of an ancient Roman carving depicting a Roman imperial eagle at a site near Cramond.

It was this site that was used to host friends and colleagues for a fitting goodbye to a man who has dedicated most of his life to preserving Scotland's history.

Now, at the age of 62, it is expected his retirement will be anything but quiet.

Three of this books will be published over the summer months and he already has plans for his next project – an investigation into the history and architecture of the 17th Century Ulster Scots.