Why Scotland and France's Auld Alliance (sort of) dates back 6,000 years

About 6,000 years ago, a group of people from what is now northern France are thought to have moved to what is now Scotland where, in a historic moment, they set up the first farms and created this country’s most ancient monuments.

These large stone tombs can still be found from Argyll to the Outer Hebrides and the Highlands, lasting remnants of the first settled communities in a part of the world that had previously been populated by small bands of hunter-gatherers.

Now, thanks to a bequest left by late archaeologist Audrey Henshall, the structures are to be investigated by Archaeology Scotland for two years, with excavations and radiocarbon dating of remains such as bones and charcoal.

It may be difficult to establish – although DNA science can achieve wonders – but it seems likely that descendants of this group will still live in Scotland and France. So, while the ‘Auld Alliance’ dates back to 1295, the familial ties are actually far older than the countries themselves. Then again, the same could probably be said for every other nation on Earth.