Defending Scotland’s coast: WWII radar stations

Defending Scotland’s coast: WWII radar stations

During WW II Scotland’s coast was defended from attacks from the air and sea. Pill boxes, lines of concrete tank cubes and anti-glider posts were part of the coastal crust to prevent beach landings of planes and vessels with tanks. The famous Churchill Barriers...

Taking to the skies to explore the Moray Firth fish traps

Taking to the skies to explore the Moray Firth fish traps

In April we kicked off our new Coastal Zone Assessment Survey of the south Moray Firth and Aberdeenshire coasts. Over two trips with local volunteers from NoSAS, we walked much of the coastline from Inverness to Culbin Forest. Along this stretch of coast, the low tide...

A walk of discovery in my own backyard

A walk of discovery in my own backyard

Earlier this year I went for a walk along a local stretch of the Fife coast, starting at the famous St Monans salt works and ending at Pittenweem. This must be one of the busiest sections of the Fife Coastal Path, and there are numerous recorded coastal heritage sites...

Handsel Monday and the Wemyss Caves

Handsel Monday and the Wemyss Caves

Today is Handsel Monday!
Handsel Monday was once the main and sometimes only holiday of the year in lowland Scotland. Rural workers got a day off and received small gifts or handsels from their employers.

The curious Fauna, Kirkcudbright Bay

The curious Fauna, Kirkcudbright Bay

Why on earth would you cut hundreds of small circular holes into the hull of your boat? Only to painstakingly plug them all again? That was a question we pondered in 2015 when we first visited Gibbhill in Kirkcudbright Bay and saw this old wooden trawler resting on...

From Scotland to Tanzania

From Scotland to Tanzania

Tropical temperatures, mangroves and coral reefs: at first glance, it might be hard to see similarities between the shores of Scotland and the Indian Ocean coastline. However, our recent trip to the island of Kilwa Kisiwani, on Tanzania’s southeast coast with a team...

Revealing the post-medieval landscape of Higgins Neuk

Revealing the post-medieval landscape of Higgins Neuk

“What you think you will find is not what you find. That ought to be an axiom in archaeology.” (Ben Okri, FT Magazine October 19, 2018) After decades of research had pinpointed Higgins Neuk as the likely location of a royal dockyard built by James 4th , hard evidence...

Picts and the Wemyss Caves

Picts and the Wemyss Caves

The nation of the Picts, the Roman-named ‘painted ones’, or possibly the Latin form of a forgotten native name, emerged from the tribal societies of late Iron Age Scotland through resistance to Roman control. Between the 6th and 9th centuries AD, their territories...

“Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silv’ry Tay…”

“Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silv’ry Tay…”

“Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silv’ry Tay! Alas! I am very sorry to say That ninety lives have been taken away On the last Sabbath day of 1879, Which will be remember’d for a very long time…” The appalling verse of William Topaz McGonagall might wreak havoc on...

Exploring the Clyde with Britain at Low Tide

Exploring the Clyde with Britain at Low Tide

This week, Channel 4’s Britain at Low Tide comes to Scotland to explore the archaeology of the Clyde…here we give you a bit more about one of the stories that will feature. Glaswegians in the 18th century had a problem - its trading ships landed at Port Glasgow, 18...

Britain at Low Tide – Behind the Scenes

Britain at Low Tide – Behind the Scenes

The second series of Britain at Low Tide (Channel 4) features two episodes filmed in Scotland, and the programme is a great opportunity to show off some of our stunning Scottish coastal archaeology. But how do programmes like this get made? The first episode features...

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