'Really intricate' 4,000-year-old necklace shows prehistoric Scotland was far from primitive

Prehistoric Scotland can seem like a primitive place. We have no ruins of once-great ancient cities like Babylon, no mighty, fallen statues to a Scottish version of ‘Ozymandias, King of Kings’ upon which poets like Percy Shelley can muse about the fragility of power.

However, there are more modest remains that are just as fascinating, such as a 4,000-year-old necklace found buried in a grave close to the River Tay in 1870, which experts have only now put back together.

It was made with beads of Whitby jet from North Yorkshire, demonstrating the trade links between different parts of this island. It was, according to Dr Matthew Knight, senior curator of prehistory at National Museums Scotland, “really intricate, really skilfully designed”. There were also considerable signs of wear, suggesting it was worn often, a favourite item, perhaps, of the grave’s occupant, thought to have been a woman.

Through items such as these, Scotland’s ancient inhabitants are showing they were far from primitive. But more than that, they are talking to us – and we should try to hear the poetry in their words.