Author: Alberto Pearson

Dalhousie Castle Originally built in the 13th C. and unsuccessfully besieged by King henry IV of England in 1400. It was extended in distinctive pink sandstone around 1450 and further enlarged in 1633 to form a Renaissance house for Lord Ramsay, the Earl of Dalhousie

Blackness Castle Blackness castle once guarded the village of Blackness when it was the seaport of Linlithgow. This is a 15th century keep and courtyard castle . In 1537 work began to thicken the exposed walls with provision for defending guns which transformed Blackness into one of the most effective artillery fortifications in Scotland. It […]

NH 984 576 Pictish Cross-Slab: Ogam-Inscribed A Class II upright cross-slab of grey sandstone – this was found in 1781 during excavations for foundations for Dyke Church which was constructed behind its pre-Reformation predecessor. The stone was erected in Dyke village in commemoration of Rodney’ss victory over the Count de Grasse (Battle of the Saints […]

The excavations undertaken by Fife Council at Holly Road, Leven, have resulted in the identification and preservation (by record) of one of the most important Bronze Age archaeological sites in Scotland. Indeed, the results of this excavation will considerably extend our understanding of life in Bronze Age Scotland. As Dr Alison Sheridan (Keeper of Archaeology, […]

The excavations revealed a previously unrecorded Early Bronze Age cemetery (c. 4,000 years old) enclosed within a ditch. The cemetery contained 11 cist burials (stone graves) and at least one unaccompanied cremation burial of possible Neolithic date (c.5,000 years old). The acidity of the soil resulted in poor preservation of human skeletal material, however, significant […]

Local members of the community were invited to watch the excavations in progress and many local people actually assisted the excavations on-site, particularly after the departure of the Time Team. Educational visits and parties of young people were invited to the site to learn first-hand about the techniques of archaeological investigation, and more importantly, to […]

Balvaird Castle Balvaird Castle was built in the late 15th century by Sir Andrew Murray . It is a stepped L plan tower house with a corbelled parapet and a square stair tower in the re-entrant angle.The Murray and Barclay arms can be seen above the doorway in the stair tower. The tower house is […]

Balgonie Castle Sir John Sibbald first built Balgonie. This is a 15th-century tower house of ashlar rising to 4 storeys with a crenellated parapet and a garret. It sits in a 17th century enclosure which contains ruined buildings of grandeur – one of which was the home of the Covenanting General Alexander Leslie who died […]

Images of Blackstone Edge Roman Road, Littleborough OS grid ref: SD9651 This section of a Roman road belongs to an artery which ran from the fort and settlement of Manchester (Mamucium) in the south to a small fort at Ilkley (Verbeia) in the north. This preserved surface is in outstanding condition and is well worth […]

Middlebie Church A village in Dumfries and Galloway, Middlebie lies on the Middlebie Burn, nearly 2 miles (3 km) east of Ecclefechan. Immediately south of Middlebie, on the banks of the Mein Water, are the remains of Birrens Roman Fort which was originally known as Blatobulgium