Secrets of Scotland's earliest tombs - and the new arrivals who built them 6,000 years ago - to be unlocked

The tombs were likely built by immigrant farmers from France who first arrived in Scotland around 4,000BC.

Scotland’s most ancient monuments - which are likely to have been built by new arrivals from the Continent some 6,000 years ago - are set to be investigated in the first project of its kind.

The Early Neolithic megalithic chambered and passage tombs are scattered across the country, from Argyll to the Outer Hebrides and the Highlands, and are first traces of a new civilisation which emerged around 4,000BC.

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Experts currently believe that these “internationally important” monuments were built by Scotland’s first farmers somewhere between 4300 BC to 3800 BC at the start of the Neolithic period.

Immigrant farmers arrived in Scotland from the north of France around this time and introduced a way of life that was radically different from that of hunter-fisher-foragers who had lived in Scotland for millennia.

Few of these types of tombs have been scientifically dated and now a new project - Scotland’s Earliest Megalithic Monuments - will carry out small scale excavations at a number of sites and radiocarbon material such as remains of bones and charcoal left behind following the burning of plants or nuts.

Dr Helen Spencer, head of research at the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, said: “This was a hugely important time in Scottish prehistory, which is why it's so crucial that we address the gaps in our knowledge.

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“There’s been a lot of debate about the transition from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to farming, including how much was due to migration during the Neolithic period and if any of the changes were driven by local populations who took on and adapted to this new way of life.

“If we can date and sequence the building of these tombs, we can more precisely date when these first farmers, probably from northern France, arrived and therefore the start of farming in Scotland and how fast it spread from the continent. These results would help answer what are arguably some of the biggest questions in Scottish archaeological research.”

The change from mobile hunting-gathering to a more settled farming way of life was the point in Scotland's history where elements of our current society began, such as a more sedentary lifestyle and substantial stone architecture.

The project has been made possible due to a £100,000 bequest left to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland by Audrey Henshall OBE, a highly- regarded archaeologist who died in December 2021 at the age of 94.

Archaeologist Audrey Henshall at Kirk Yetholm in September 2004. PIC: Rosemary Meldrum.Archaeologist Audrey Henshall at Kirk Yetholm in September 2004. PIC: Rosemary Meldrum.
Archaeologist Audrey Henshall at Kirk Yetholm in September 2004. PIC: Rosemary Meldrum. | Rosemary Meldrum

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A graduate of Edinburgh University and then assistant curator at the then National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland , she spent 20 years travelling around Scotland to produce her pioneering two -art study The Chambered Tombs of Scotland 1963 and 1972.

Ms Henshall left the bequest to fund projects that would research pre-Roman archaeology in Scotland with the project the first to be set up in her name.

A total of £50,000 has been awarded to charity Archaeology Scotland to investigate Scotland’s Earliest Megalithic Monuments over two years.

As part of the investigation, communities around the monuments, which have yet to be selected for the project, will be asked to join surveys and excavations.

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Dr Simon Gilmour, Director at the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, said: By leaving a gift in her will, Audrey Henshall made a lasting contribution to the future study of Scotland’s past, and the Society is thrilled to award this first grant to Scotland’s Earliest Megalithic Monuments.

“As their application stated, Archaeology Scotland’s project will honour, ‘through research and public engagement on Early Neolithic megalithic monuments, the legacy of Audrey Henshall and celebrate her major contribution to Neolithic archaeology.”

Dr Gavin MacGregor, Director at Archaeology Scotland, said the charity was “exceptionally grateful” for the award.

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